1864 — Nov 8, bark Mojave founders, Lake MI storm betwn Sheboygan WI & Big Sable Pt. MI-10

–10-11 Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. 2004, p. 154. (notes Capt. and 10 crew)
— 10 Mansfield. Great Lakes Maritime History (Vol. 1). 1899. “M”
— 10 McNeil. “Mojave, (Bark), sunk, 1 Nov 1864.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
— 10 Shelak, Benjamin J. Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. 2003, pp. 90-91.
— 10 Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files (website). “M.” (webpage)

Narrative Information

Mansfield: “Mojave, bark, foundered L. Mich., ’64, 10 lives lost.” (Chapter 42. List of Lake Vessels. “M.”)

McNeil: “Mojave, (Bark), sunk, 1 Nov 1864.”
Lives: 10
….
Geographic Coverage: Big Sable Point, Michigan, United States
Latitude: 44.05778 Longitude: -86.51425.”

Shelak: “Four years after the Lady Elgin disaster, Captain Malott and his crew from the Augusta were working a new boat, the three-mased bark Mojave, when it met disaster. A year old, the Mojave and its crew set sail in fine weather, only to disappear on September 8, 1864. The fact that this was the anniversary of the collision with the Lady Elgin may be more than mere coincidence. While it is possible that the Mojave disappeared with the full crew of ten due to a sudden squall, a shifting of the cargo, a collision with some sort of debris, or for some other reason, there are those who suspect that the Mojave’s crew were murdered for retribution. There were also those who suspected Captain Malott of being a Confederate sympathizer. There were even far-fetched claims that Malott rammed the Lady Elgin to destroy the political clout of the Irish Union Guard.” (Shelak, Benjamin J. Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. 2003, pp. 90-91.)

Swayze: “Mojave
Type at loss: bark, wood, 3-mast
Build info: 1863, Stewart McDonald, Detroit
Specs: 137x26x12, ca. 400 t.
Date of loss: 1864, Nov 8
Place of loss: on line between Sheboygan, Wi, and Big Sable Pt. MI, about midlake
Lake: Michigan
Type of loss: storm
Loss of life: 10 (all)
Detail: While in company of the Canadian bark MONARCH, a gale got the best of
her and she began to wallow. She was trying to wear ship and run for the Michigan shore when she disappeared from view. Capt. D. N. Malott.”

Her crew was comprised mainly of veterans of the schooner Augusta (Capt. Malott of Augusta brought Mojave out), the vessel which collided with and sank Lady Elgin in 1860. The press and the public, which unjustly blamed the crew for the Elgin disaster (though the crew had been cleared), called it justice.

One source says she was raised from 250 feet of water in 1875.

She went ashore on Skillagalee in June of the same year and was thought to be a total loss.”

(Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files (website). “M.” (webpage).)

Thompson: “On September 8, 1864, Captain Malott was downbound on Lake Michigan in command of Bissel & Davidson’s flagship, a new bark named Mojave. It was the fourth anniversary of the sinking of the Lady Elgin, and Malott’s thirty-first birthday. During the day, the captain on the schooner J. S. Miner hailed Malott as their two ships passed in mid-lake under ideal weather conditions. That was the last that anyone saw of the Mojave, Captain Malott, or his crew of ten. What happened to the Mojave and its crew remains a mystery.” (Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. 2004, p. 154.)

Newspapers

Nov 11: “A rumor announcing the loss of the bark Mojave, with all hands, reached this city yesterday afternoon [Nov 10], and we fear that the facts as they have reached us may prove true. The Mojave, when last seen, was in company with the Canadian bark Monarch, on Friday last [the 10th was a Thursday, thus Friday last would appear to be Nov 4], in Lake Michigan, about midway between Sheboygan and Point au Sable. Capt. Filan, of the Monarch, states that when he last saw the ill fated craft she was rolling heavily and making bad weather of it, being less than four miles distant. It is presumed that while endeavoring to wear ship, and getting in the trough of the sea, swamped and went down, as she disappeared instantaneously, as it were, and was not seen afterward, although she was sighted for from the masthead. The Mojave was a new vessel, having come into commission the present season, and was owned by G. W. Bissel, of this city [Detroit], where she was built. She was Commanded by Captain D. N. Mallott, whose family reside at Gosfield, C. W. Detroit Free Press, Friday, November 11, 1864.” (Detroit Free Press, MI. “Another Marine Disaster – Loss of the Bark Mojave and All on Board.” 11-11-1864. Transcribed by William McNeil for Maritime History of the Great Lakes website.) [Same article found in the Daily Journal, Indianapolis, IN. “Disasters on the Lakes – Fifty Lives Lost…” 11-21-1864, p. 2.]

Nov 14: “The same paper [Detroit Advertiser] reports the foundering, on Lake Michigan, of the bark Mojave, on Tuesday of last week [Nov 8?], off Sheboygan, with all on board. She was a new and staunch vessel, commanded by Capt. SD. N. Malott.” (Chicago Tribune, IL. “From Detroit.” 11-16-1864, p. 1.)

Sources

Chicago Tribune, IL. “From Detroit.” 11-16-1864, p. 1. Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chicago-tribune-nov-16-1864-p-1/

Daily Journal, Indianapolis, IN. “Disasters on the Lakes – Fifty Lives Lost…” 11-21-1864, p. 2. Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indianapolis-daily-journal-nov-21-1864-p-2/

Mansfield, J.B. Great Lakes Maritime History – History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chapter 33, “After the War of 1812.” Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. Accessed 10=29-2021 at:
https://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca//documents/hgl/default.asp?ID=s111

McNeil, William R. “Mojave, (Bark), sunk, 1 Nov 1864.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. (Webpage). Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/61934/data?n=1

Shelak, Benjamin J. Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. Big Earth Publishing, 2003. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=4CBCcye0n6IC

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files (website). “M.” (webpage). Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://greatlakesrex.wordpress.com/m/

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.