Shipwreck hunter finds Keystone State, a Civil War-era ship lost for 152 years
David Trotter, who has discovered more than 100 shipwrecks in his career, located the vessel in Lake Huron, which was headed from Detroit to Milwaukee in 1861 during particularly cold weather. The ship sank, seemingly killing the 33 crew members, and its true cargo remains unknown.
By Lee Moran / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 10:58 AM.
A Civil War-era ship lost in the Great Lakes for more than 150 years has been discovered by a daredevil wreck hunter.
David Trotter, 72, revealed Monday that his crew had finally found the Keystone State — lost to a powerful storm in Nov. 1861 — after 20 years of searching.
The wooden steamer's final resting place, and that of its 33 passengers, had remained unknown for more than a century and a half.
Trotter even confessed he may never find the vessel.
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But this week he announced the ship, one of the biggest at the time, was lying at the bottom of Lake Huron, near Alpena.
A team of shipwreck hunters located the Keystone State, a ship that disappeared in 1861 in the waters of Lake Huron.
Eric Seals/AP
A team of shipwreck hunters located the Keystone State, a ship that disappeared in 1861 in the waters of Lake Huron.
"When you virtually have thought that you would never find something you were looking for, and finally it comes up and you find it, you say, 'Wow,'" he told My Fox Detroit.
Trotter revealed that mystery still surrounds the exact circumstances in which the vessel, dubbed a palace steamer because of its ornate and comfortable design, went down.
Its final journey was seen as "strange" as it left Detroit for Milwaukee in freezing cold November to haul farm equipment, but some say it was actually carrying a secret Civil War shipment.
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Trotter and his team have found more than 100 wrecks, but the 300-foot-long Keystone State ranks as one of the best, he added.
"You realize sometimes that it's only just sheer 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration that will make success," he told My Fox Detroit.
A Civil War-era ship was found by a daredevil shipwreck hunter David Trotter, whose team spent 20 years hunting for the boat.
hngn.com
A Civil War-era ship was found by a daredevil shipwreck hunter David Trotter, whose team spent 20 years hunting for the boat.
Located in nearly 175 feet of water and 25 miles northeast of Harrisville, his crew has made 30 dives on the site since July.
"The stern is kind of broken up and crumbled. The boilers are in good condition, the engine is in good condition," said Warren diver Marty Lutz, 56, to USA Today.
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"The wheels are both standing. It was pretty amazing to see those sitting upright on the bottom like that," he added.
But divers have not found any cargo or the gold that was rumored to be on board.
"We still haven't unlocked the key to what her intent was at the time she left Detroit," Trotter added to USA Today.
He's now planning to return to the wreckage, and is putting together a program on the history and discovery of the boat
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/civil-war-era-ship-found-lake-huron-article-1.1543131#ixzz2nAFLPblW
