This 1860 newspaper-style illustration shows the mail steamer Lady Elgin colliding with the schooner Augusta on Lake Michigan during a stormy night. The crash happened in the early hours of Sept. 8, 1860, and the Lady Elgin later broke apart and sank — a Great Lakes tragedy that reportedly killed about 300 people.
Many passengers were returning from Chicago to Milwaukee, including members of Milwaukee’s Union Guard and other excursion travelers. The disaster became a grim turning point in Great Lakes safety talk, with questions raised about visibility and navigation in bad weather.
What have you heard about the Lady Elgin — or do you have family stories tied to this shipwreck?
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