History
The schooner BALTIC, a scow-schooner and wood-built vessel, met its tragic fate on November 24, 1894, in the harbor of Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario. The BALTIC, which was built in 1867 by W. Waterbury in Wellington Square, Ontario, had a length of 106 feet, a width of 22 feet, a depth of 10 feet, and weighed 184 gross tons.
On that fateful day, the BALTIC was caught in a severe storm with strong northeast gales. As the storm intensified, the vessel collided with a wharf in Oswego Harbor, causing significant damage. The impact forced the BALTIC ashore, and it subsequently broke apart due to the relentless battering of the waves.
Fortunately, there were no reported casualties among the crew of six who were on board the BALTIC. The United States Life-Saving Service (USLS) crew, anticipating the disaster, had already set up a beach apparatus near the location where the schooner struck. Using a breeches buoy, they managed to fire a line over the vessel and successfully rescued the entire crew.
In addition to the crew, a pet dog and a horse were also saved from the vessel before it completely disintegrated. The BALTIC had been carrying a cargo of 12,000 bushels of barley and was bound for Oswego from Deseronto, Ontario.
It’s worth noting that the information provided earlier, which discussed another incident involving the BALTIC sinking in Lake Erie in 1872, seems to be unrelated to the Oswego sinking in 1894.
External Links
- Great Lakes Ships
- C. Patrick Labadie Collection
- C. E. Feltner Enrollments Database
- David Swayze Shipwreck File
- Maritime History of the Great Lakes Website
- Oswego Advertiser & Times Sat., December 7, 1867
- Detroit Post December 11, 1867
- Buffalo Commercial Advertiser April 19, 1868 3-4
