LADY ELGIN MARKER DEDICATION SATURDAY

Above: THE LADY ELGIN AT DOCK, MILWAUKEE

Saturday, September 8^th, 2007, marks the 147^th anniversary of the sinking of the Lady Elgin, with a loss of over 300 lives. It will be commemorated, as it has from the start, with a solemn mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, to begin at 7:45 a.m.

At 9 a.m., visitors are encouraged to attend the re-unveiling of a 1996 Wisconsin Historical Society marker commemorating the disaster, which ranks as the second greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes. (It is eclipsed only by the Eastland, which rolled over in its dock in Chicago in 1915, killing 835.) An account of the disaster can be read here.

The marker was removed from its site at the southeast corner of N. Water and E. Erie streets to accommodate the construction of the River Renaissance, a condominium structure proposed for the long-vacant lot about 7 years ago, and finally ready to open only now. The sign has been returned to its position at the corner, the site of the dock from which the fated ship sailed on September 7^th, 1860. A breakfast and tours of the condominium development will be offered at 9 a.m., with entertainment by the Shamrock Club Color Guard Pipes and Drums and the Trinity Dancers, along with Irish entertainer Barry Dodd.

The unveiling and blessing of the marker will take place at 10:30 a.m.

Across the street, the folks at the Irish Pub will also open their doors to those who choose to commemorate the event. The pub is located at 124 N. Water Street, just across from River Renaissance.

The anniversary of the sinking of the Lady Elgin should remind us that we are fast approaching the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

One hundred fifty years ago, this country was falling apart, and the sailing of the Lady Elgin happened at a critical juncture in history. The excursion was to raise funds for the Independent Union Guards which had been stripped of their arms by Wisconsin’s abolitionist governor, Alexander Randall. Talk of secession was in the air in those weeks before the election that would bring Abraham Lincoln into the presidency. The secessionists, alas, were not all southerners, since some believed Wisconsin should leave the union if slavery were not abolished.

Captain Garrett Berry, the commander of the guards, when surveyed by the governor, swore his allegiance to the Union, and not to the State of Wisconsin, which is why the governor attempted to disband his troops.

Berry and five hundred supporters, including local politicians, sailed to Illinois to hear a speech by Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln’s rival. Upon the return voyage they were struck by the steamer Augusta near Winnetka, leading an unknown number to their deaths, among them the city’s fire chief, an alderman, the City Treasurer – and even a member of parliament, Herbert Ingram, the publisher of the London Illustrated News.

-- Michael Horne