On this day March 18, 1906, the Goodrich steamer ATLANTA burned off Amsterdam, Wisconsin, about 10 miles south of Sheboygan. She was enroute to Milwaukee with 63 on board. Thanks to Captain Delos H. Smith, the founder of Smith Brothers of Port Washington, and his fishing tug the A. C. C. TESSLER, all on board were rescued.
The ATLANTA was launched on April 26, 1891, at Cleveland. She was built by the Cleveland Dry Dock Co. for the Goodrich Transportation Co. At the time, she was built for luxury of her passengers. The following description is from the Buffalo Enquirer of June 18th.
“The new steamer ATLANTA is at Milwaukee receiving her furniture and will take her place in the Chicago and Grand Haven line in a few days, running in connection with the CITY OF RACINE. The ATLANTA is 218 feet in length over all; keel, 200 feet; beam, 31 feet; breadth over guards, 36 feet: depth of hold, 16 feet. She will have a fore-and-aft engine, cylinders 24 and 44 inches, with 36 inches stroke.
“She will also have sleeping accommodations, with running water in every room. The furnishing will be done on an elaborate scale. The color of the woodwork is a delicate rosy pink, and that of the furniture, peach, the blending of which will produce a soft and beautiful effect. The ceilings of the main cabin and salon are finished in Lincrusta Walton {wall paper}. The glass used throughout is heavy beveled plate.
“The new steamer, will be lighted by electricity and supplied with speaking tubes, electric bells and all other modern appliances. Capt. Rossman is in command and G. P. Roth is Chief Engineer. The crew all told will number 50 persons. The cost of the new steamer complete is $175,000. “
“The ceilings of the main cabin and salon are finished in Lincrusta Walton”
On March 18, 1906, fire was discovered on board while enroute to Milwaukee. The crew fought the fire for two hours before being rescued and abandoning ship. One deckhand became confused and fell overboard during this time. The cook was saved through a hole chopped in the roof of the pantry. The following story was printed in the Sturgeon Bay Advocate on March 23rd:
“The Goodrich line steamer Atlanta, Capt. Con McCauley, was destroyed by fire Sunday afternoon, when out in the lake about five miles off Port Washington, and the burned hulk of the vessel now lies on the beach near that point.
“The Atlanta was bound from Sheboygan to Milwaukee, and had proceeded on her way until abreast of the above-named port when fire was discovered in the hold. Every effort possible was made to extinguish the blaze, the crew being well drilled, cool and obeying orders with commendable precision, according to those on board, but the fire was so located as to be very difficult to reach and before it could be subdued had gotten among the inflammable material compromising the freight on the lower deck. It was then impossible to combat the element, which soon burst out in the cabin amidships, the light material being good feed for the flames.
“Capt. McCauley handled his craft with rare good judgment. When he realized the seriousness of the situation he knew it would be impossible to beach the steamer, as to run her wide open for shore would cause the flames to spread even more rapidly. The boat was therefore brought to a standstill and the life-boats launched, the weather being favorable for this, as no wind or sea prevailed.
“Just before the crew had made up their minds to abandon the boat Capt. Smith of the fishing tug A. C. C. Tessler of Port Washington noticed that something was wrong with the steamer and put out to the scene, arriving in the nick of time, the crew and passengers, numbering 63 persons, being safely transferred to the tug with the exception of one, Michael Hickey, a deckhand, who fell overboard and was drowned.
“Soon after the passengers and crew had gotten aboard the tug, the steamer Georgia hove in sight and they were again transferred to her, the tug Tessler towing the burning steamer ashore and running her on the beach.
“The steamer was valued at $150,000 and cargo at about $50,000, the loss being covered by insurance in both instances. The Atlanta was 200 feet long, 32 feet beam and was built in Cleveland in 1891, being considered one of the best boats in the fleet.”
“The color of the woodwork is a delicate rosy pink”
The following is how the rescue played out in Capt. Smith’s words:
“The crew of the tug did not discover that the steamer was burning until they got close in. The flames were all on the other side of the ship. “When a boat is afire,” Captain Smith said, “it seems to drift broadside to the wind. And it drifts fast. The fire seems to act like a sail.”
“We had a hard time to get close enough to the ATLANTA to make the rescue. We couldn’t get alongside to the leeward. But finally we did get alongside. The people were huddled together on the hurricane deck of the burning ship. We got three lines from our tugboat to this deck. One by one they slid down these lines. Some of them jumped. In a number of cases bones were broken, but it was the best we could do. Among the people rescued were two women.
“We had a terrible time to get Captain Con McCauley to leave his ship. When everybody apparently was off and we were anxious to cut loose, he insisted on going back to see if there was not another living person on the boat. I thought sure that he would go into the cabin and stay with the ship until the end. But he finally agreed to come aboard the tug.
“At that time there were a number of steamers plying the west shore of the lake. One of them, the GEORGIA, came along and we transferred our shipwrecked passengers to it.”
A. C. C. TESSLER
Capt. McCauley was highly regarded as a Lake captain. He was presented with a gold watch by the Goodrich Company in recognition of his efforts to save his ship and for the good judgement he displayed during the fire.
Suzette Lopez
Photo credit: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.
