Other Names
- G.M. CHAPMAN
History
The schooner George M. Chapman, also known as G.M. Chapman, was a two-masted wooden schooner built in 1854 by George Swick in Buffalo, New York. It had a length of 130 feet, a beam of 26 feet, and a depth of 11 feet, with a tonnage of 318 gross tons.
On November 4, 1856, the George M. Chapman was wrecked and became a total loss in Oswego Harbor on Lake Ontario. The schooner was carrying a cargo of wheat on a voyage from Chicago, Illinois to Oswego when it encountered a severe storm while entering the harbor. The vessel was driven ashore near the east pier and broke up, resulting in its total loss. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties among the crew.
The exact cause of the wreck was attributed to the stormy weather conditions. The gale that struck the area was described as a perfect hurricane and was considered the severest of the season. Numerous other vessels also suffered damage or were lost during the same storm, highlighting the destructive nature of the weather event.
The George M. Chapman was owned by James Peck, and it is likely that it operated out of Chicago. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the vessel’s subsequent history or any further details about its ownership or operations after the wreck.
