Schooner-Barge, Built 1856? – Lost November 27, 1889

Identification & Site Information

• Name: Midnight
• Type: Unrigged wooden Schooner-Barge (listed as vessel “M”)
• Last Voyage: In tow by steam propeller S.S. Wilhelm, alongside Schooner-Barge Mears
• Date of Loss: November 27, 1889
• Location: Lake Huron

Circumstances of Loss

• While under tow from Cheboygan, Michigan toward Buffalo, Midnight encountered a severe southeast gale.
• Her crew Abandoned Midnight in favor of Mears, considered safer in the storm.
• Midnight was subsequently set adrift and ultimately driven ashore by the unusual southeast gale, where she was torn apart after drifting in a derelict state.
• Mears also sank, but both crews were rescued by the U.S. Life-Saving Service.
  (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, Law Resource)

Final Disposition

• The vessel was declared a Total Loss, with abandon as the Hull broke apart along the shoreline.
• No remains were salvaged or repurposed.

Crew & Rescue

• Crew Abandoned ship and transferred to Mears.
• Both crews were later rescued—no fatalities were recorded.
  (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, Law Resource)

Significance

• This loss highlights the perils of towing unrigged barges in open-lake gales—particularly the dangers posed by southeast squalls, rare in Lake Huron.
• It also illustrates the effectiveness of the late-19th-century U.S. Life-Saving Service in crew rescues under hazardous conditions.

Summary Table

Research Opportunities

• Shipyard or registry logs for vessel build date, final owner, or registration details
• U.S. Life-Saving Service station logs—their reports may include precise rescue timing and crew numbers
• Late-November 1889 newspapers (Cheboygan, Alpena, or Detroit) for coverage of storm conditions and the tow operation