Tragedy and Triumph on the Great Lakes

Traces little-known voyages of Great Lakes ships that sailed the Atlantic beginning in the 1850s. Drawing on deep research in old newspapers and maritime archives, Richard Gebhart examines the construction of new ships and shipyards, and the comings and goings and travails of the lakes’ workhorses.

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Richard Gebhart traces little-known voyages of Great Lakes ships that sailed the Atlantic beginning in the 1850s. They bore cargoes to and from the lakes and as far as Constantinople. Gebhart recovers the voices of long-ago ship captains, along with their cargo manifests and itineraries. Drawing on deep research in old newspapers and maritime archives, he traces the construction of new ships and shipyards, and the comings and goings and travails of the lakes’ workhorses. Included is a mournful visit to a boneyard where many ships’ lives ended. Among many other lost tales, Gebhart brings to light the rise of oil tankers, marking the great twentieth-century energy transition in shipping. A must-read for Great Lakes shipping fans.