Posted by M. Saleh on September 20, 1999 at 20:21:58:
In Reply to: Lady Elgin Wreck posted by Ron Falconberry on July 28, 1999 at 22:18:27:
: I am working on a speech to give to my Toastmaster's club about a person involved in the 1860 wreck of the Lady Elgin. His name was Edward Spencer and he reportedly rescued 17 people from drowning.
: I am interested in getting historical information on the wreck, such as the name of the ship that ran into it, possibly the name of the captain and any well-known individuals that may have been on board. Additionally, where did the Lady Elgin come from and where was it going?
: Is there a web site or another way of getting a good historical breakdown of the wreck or of Edward Spencer?
: Any information you could give me would be appreciated!
: Thank you;
I hope that you read my two messages about Captain Jack Wilson of the Lady Elgin and you found him as appealing as the people of the Great Lakes areas in the 1840's and 1850's had done to make him the celebrity he was at the time. I know that I, myself, found him to be a very attractive, wholesome, decent, and all-around very noble type of human being, as I took an immediate liking to the steamship Captain when I first read about him. Had I been there for the September 8, 1860 Excursion as a citizen of Milwaukee, as I am at the present time, I certainly would have been charmed at meeting the captivatingly wonderful Captain Jack Wilson and his ship that he had often referred to as his floating haven of luxurious happiness and respectable socializing. In his book "the Lady Elgin is Down", Pete Caesar states that Captain Wilson had promoted the Lady Elgin (and naturally himself) as "his whole world of beauty and love" through which he had made many friends, and he could never have been happier in his life as he was at the time, only a few weeks before he took the voyage to Milwaukee. Captain wilson, however had his mind made up that he was going to maintain the image of the Lady Elgin that he made of the spectacular steamship, as he was also devoted to captivate the hearts and friendship of the people of Milwaukee, as he had done in his 23 year career with hearts, flowers, sunshine, and smiles to 300-400 Milwaukee Excursionists, regardless of their political motives to buy weapons and war equipment in their battle to save Wisconsin and the Union in the event of the actual outbreak of Civil War. Whatever was in the minds as to the Milwaukee Excursionists and their leader, Captain Garrett Barry, when they boarded the Lady
Elgin, Captain Jack Wilson was absolute king, prince and emperor of his domain of the lady Elgin, and he firmly committed himself and his crew to maintain his strict rules of happiness, pleasant, respectable behavior, peace, nonviolence, and the family-friendly environment among the persistant, loud, celebrating Excursionists who had seemingly made the Lady Elgin into a banqueting dance-hall and barroom environment, as they also brougbht on board the ship their own bartender named Lacy who was boasted to be the richest man on the ship for the day, though Captain Wilson would continue to hide the fact that he, himself was possibly the poorest. As the highly experienced Captain Wilson transported his already overcrowded Lady Elgin to Chicago to arrive there successfully around sunrise, September 7, 1860, the peace-loving and nonviolent Captain Wilson was confident that his supreme authority would be respected in his visits with and appearances to the Milwaukee Excursionists,as they came and went from the Lady Elgin as it laid in its Chicago harbor dock. Captain Wilson also hoped he would not have to raise his trademark loud voice too much if disorder had a chance to occur for any reason. Captain Jack Wilson, however, noticed though that he had little authortiy to project his wonderfully charming and kindheartedness and his authority on the changes of the the weather, which he was predicting to give some defiance toward him the steamship and his passengers. Other problems that the gentleman shipcaptain now had to had to contend with, were only three available lifeboats, two that were damaged and one that could never possible hold 400 people if it was needed, and a group of Chicago citizens who boarded the Lady Elgin without tickets, as the large-hearted, and generous Captain Jack Wilson was their best friend,and he would never deny them a chance to visit him, and their "friends" from Milwaukee, and join the fun, celebrating, music, and dancing theat had never ended since the time the Lady Elgin departed Milwaukee. Noone really minded, at first, that the cautious Captain Wilson decided to delay the Lady Elgin's departure until stormy weather conditions subsided later, the ship Captain had always taken a priority to the safety and wellbeing of all his passengers and the preservation of every body's favorite steamship. When the time came to be 11pm, however, a supposedly angry captain Garrett Barry with his Union Guard militia, and other passengers had begun pressuring,(and possible threatening) Captain Wilson to depart for Milwaukee immediately, his ticketless Chicago friends held their refusals to leave, the ship, the Captain decided to give everyone fair warning, rain or shine, clould or clear starlit night, that he was leaving Chicago at 11:33 sharp. The Lady Elgin was a well built and structured ship with its trademark "bishop's arches, and captain Jack Wilson was the allround "best of everything" who knew his job. Captain Wilson even assured himself and everyone else, in spite of a rain storm, he and the Lady Elgin would make a safe arrival to Milwaukee. he was not too worried and hoped that no one else would be too worried either. Many of the Excursionists were, by the way, women, some of whom brought their children and infants on board the ship. Captain Jack Wilson and the Lady Elgin were taken for granted as great "survivors" of storms and all other disasters in the past, and they would survive this environmental hazard, also. Captain Jack Wilson, with his apparently perfect record for passenger survival, assured his passenger that they were also survivors, though they would have to quiet down their music, dancin, and celebrating so other cabin passengers and crewmembers, if not captain Wilson, could get a good-night sleep. the tenacious "Great Lakes dynamo" Captain Jack Wilson, with his life long "get me there first" attitude, would remain in the ship's pilothouse with his secondmate and wheelsman to do their proper jobs until the unthinkable event would happen at 2:30 am when a schooner ship called Augusta, headed South with an overload of lumber and unlit, would unexpectedly collide into the beautifully and completely lit Lady Elgin. Good and Evil would also meet, as the saintly Captain Jack Wilson virtuously navigated his haven of love, beauty, happiness, and friendship Northward to join his own wife, children, and friends who waited for him on his return to Sault Ste. Marie. Darius Nelson Mallot, Captain of the schooner Augusta, however, had no interest whatsoever in beautiful and elegant steamships like the Lady Elgin, and he was rather sickened and hateful toward ship captains like Jack Wilson who would rather throw out the usual hearts, flowers, sunshine and smiles that Captain Wilson ould have naturally given him, as the two ship captains would have met. While everyone on board the Lady elgin had their reasons to celebrate Captain Garrett Barry's apparent triumph to purchase his weapons for his Milwaukee Union Guards, and he would support the Democrats in a Presidential Election victory, Captain Mallot had good reason to celebrate his 27th birthday, as he had gotten himself stone drunk, as was his usual habit to celebrate his birthday and other evil events in his life, such as the time the tyrannical schooner Captain murdered a crewmember in a most savage way when the ship's food supply ran out, some where on the Atlantic Ocean. While some obscure rumors alledged that Captain Jack Wilson had been a supporter of the Underground Railroad, and may have smuggled escaped slaves on the Lady Elgin and his numerous other ships, the Ontario-born Captain Mallot would rather make life either better or worse for himself, and naturally get away with his criminal behavior as he nmadie it his business to do his share of smuggling alcohol and other "drugs" to and from South America, England and other places. Captain Jack Wilson, in the Early morning hours of September 8, 1860 was sober, as he always had been,was headed back to his family, pay the debt he owed on his farm in Coldwater, Michigan for a happy retirement when h turned to the age of 40. Captain Mallot was also married with a wife in Essex Co., Ontario, but he was not about to return to her all too soon, until he displayed another act of violence on the Great Lakes to a lady called the Lady Elgin, leave the scene of the collision, and blame his murderous act of distruction on the innocent Captain Jack Wilson, a loving kind-hearted soul who could never hurt himself by drugs, alcohol, or to ever find reason to ever hurt anyone in the world. Captain Jack Wilson and the Lady Elgin were too good for this world, a civil War was going to be fought, and Captain
Darius Mallot was intentionally or unintentionally ready to eliminalte both of them at any cost as he kept his the Augusta unlit, as Captain Wilson and his 400 passengers would never know, at first, what the violet crash was to the Lady Elgin that would ultimately become the worst tragedy to occfur on the Great Lakes at the time. While the milwaukee Excursionists and our wonderful friend Captain Jack Wilson will have their voyage interrupted by Captain Mallot and the Augusta and were unable to get off the Lady Elgin, I will have to beg their gracious pardon to take leave of my visit with them and the Lady Elgin for now, as I need to fulfill an "Excursion" of my own to return to Milwaukee from this out-of-town computer. I hope I will not encounter any modern-day "Captain Mallots" on the road, and I promise to return soon to send you my next report of the final heroic hours of Captain Jack Wilson in his tragic but noble attempt to help arrive at the shore of Winnetka, Illinois and the unfailing assistance of edward Spenser.