Lady Elgin
Lady Elgin appears to have become a vessel vulnerable to mishaps. After an altercation with a rock in 1854, she sank but was fixed and put back in line. In 1857, a fire broke out onboard and the preceding year, and she sank off the coast of Copper Harbor, Michigan. Eventually, that year, she became stranded on a reef in Lake Superior.
Lady Elgin
Minor Mishaps
But, in comparison to what happened to Lady Elgin in the early morning hours of September 8, 1860, every one of these mishaps was minor. She had set sail from Milwaukee on September 6th, bound for Chicago. Members of the Irish Union Guard, an anti-slavery militia group, made up about 300 of those on board. They went to political speeches in Chicago during the day, then returned to the ship in the evening to be entertained by a German brass band.
Minor Mishaps
