Posted by Brendon Baillod on June 10, 19102 at 13:12:32:
In Reply to: the lake erie wreck of "Swallow" posted by jerry on June 09, 19102 at 20:55:03:
I have seen the poem that you are referring to. I recall that the document in which I saw the poem had a note that the poem was a fictitious account based on the loss of the steamer G.P. Griffith that burned in 1850 on Lake Erie. Indeed, if you do a record search, you will find that no steamer named Swallow even existed on the Lakes in this era. However, if you review the contemporary accounts of the G.P. Griffith loss, you will see nearly exact parallels with the Swallow poem, the exception being that many lives were lost when the Griffith burned and was run ashore. In fact, another famous american poem was inspired by the Griffith fire and included the "heroic wheelsman" account as well, but did not use the name Swallow.
I hope the above helps.
: I'm looking for any & all information on the wreck of the "Swallow" on Lake Erie circa 1854. She was on her way from Detroit to Buffalo when 20 minutes from Buffalo, she caught fire. The captain, a 'John' somebody, stayed at the helm and steered the blazing ship to safe waters where nobody, except himself died. There is a poem written about this tragedy, by a German poet, "Theodor" someone, who was born in 1819 and died in 1898, I believe.