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PHILO PARSONS (Official No. 19678 – Built 1861)

Identification & Site Information

  • Name: Philo Parsons
  • Official Number: 19678
  • Built: 1861, by C. Hinman at Algonac, Michigan
  • Type at Loss: Side‑wheel Steamer, wooden Hull, passenger & package freight
  • Tonnage: 221 tons
  • Final Location: Chicago River, North Branch near Ogden’s Canal
  • Date Lost: 8 October 1871
  • Cause of Loss: Destroyed by fire during the Great Chicago Fire
  • Live Loss: None

Vessel Type

A side‑wheel wooden Steamer designed for combined freight and passenger service on Lake Erie and connecting routes.

Description

  • Hull: Wooden, side‑wheel design powered by steam
  • Use: Carried both passengers and packaged freight—typical of regional steamers on the Great Lakes

History

  • 1861: Built at Algonac, MI, serving Detroit–western Lake Erie routes
  • Civil War (1864): Hijacked by Confederate raiders under John Yates Beall near Kelley’s Island as part of a plan to free prisoners and capture U.S.S. Michigan. Although Beall’s men seized the ship and burned the Steamer Island Queen, the plot was foiled when Michigan’s commander captured Confederate agent Charles H. Cole. Philo Parsons was stripped and scuttled, then refloated .
  • Post-seizure: The Steamer was returned to service after being refloated .
  • 8 October 1871: While moored in the North Branch of the Chicago River, Philo Parsons was consumed by the Great Chicago Fire. Debris remained undiscovered in the riverbed until 1876 near Ogden’s Canal; salvaged remains were later Abandoned in a boneyard north of Chicago’s north pier in 1880 .

Final Disposition

  • Status: Total Loss due to fire; remains submerged and eventually raised in 1876
  • Hull Remains: Tied up at Ogden’s Canal, later moved to boneyard and Abandoned

Located By & Date Found

  • Remnants located in 1876 during river clearing efforts
  • Hull raised and tied up; subsequently towed and Abandoned in 1880

NOTMARs & Advisories

  • None recorded—loss was land-based during urban fire

Resources & Links

  • Great Lakes Shipwreck Files – details on 1871 fire loss
  • Naval History and Heritage Command – history of Civil War raider incident
  • Emerging Civil War – detailed narrative of Confederate seizure
  • Ontario Heritage Trust – summary of the 1864 incident
  • Great Lakes archival references (GLMD images and record)

Conclusion

Philo Parsons played a uniquely notable role in Great Lakes history. Not only was she commandeered during the Civil War in one of the most audacious Confederate plots north of the Mason–Dixon Line, but she also perished in one of the most infamous urban fires in American history. Her wreck was buried in the hidden depths of the Chicago River before being rediscovered and removed years later. Her history links martial intrigue and metropolitan catastrophe in a rare intersection of U.S. and Canadian waterfront narratives.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

Tags: side‑wheel Steamer, Civil War, Confederate raid, Great Chicago Fire, Chicago River wreck, Lake Erie Steamboat
Glossary:

  • Side‑wheel Steamer: Paddle‑wheel powered vessel with wheels on each side
  • Package freight: Mixed cargo typical of early steamers
  • Scuttle: To deliberately sink a vessel
  • Live Loss: Number of fatalities in the incident (0 for Philo Parsons)