NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Posted to Facebook – Complete Article Link February 12 at 11:36 AM  · 

Hello and welcome back to another #WreckWednesday! This week we are featuring the barkentine MAJOR ANDERSON!

MAJOR ANDERSON was built in 1861 in Cleveland, OH for operation in the grain and other bulk cargo industries. Unlike many other vessels built in the Great Lakes, MAJOR ANDERSON was not outfit with a schooner rig, but rather a barkentine rig. Barkentines were three-masted vessels that were equipped with square sails on the foremast, with its other two masts being rigged with fore-and-aft sails. Square rigged vessels were known for being difficult to sail on the Great Lakes and usually required a much larger crew to operate. MAJOR ANDERSON was no exception to this, with numerous instances of the vessel being delayed due to weather and poor sailing.

MAJOR ANDERSON was known as being a majestic looking vessel, measuring in at over 150 feet in length. The vessel was named for Major Robert Anderson, a Union army commander who led the forces who held Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War. It is noted that when the vessel was launched, it had a detailed rendering of Fort Sumter painted on its transom.