Phoenix (1815 steamer): Difference between revisions

{{ITALICTITLEItalic title}}

The '''''Phoenix''''' was a [[sidewheelerPaddle steamer|sidewheel]] [[paddle steamer]] operating on [[Lake Champlain]] between the United States states of [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[Vermont]], and the British province of [[Lower Canada]] (present-day [[Quebec]]). Built in 1815, she grounded, burned and sank in 1819 off the shore of [[Colchester, Vermont]]. Her surviving wreckage (approximately 40% complete) is the oldest known example of a sidewheel steamer anywhere in the world.<ref name=NRHP/> The wreck site is a [[Vermont State Historic Sites|Vermont State Historic Site]], which may be visited by registered and qualified divers. It was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1998.<ref name="nris"/>

The ''Phoenix'' was a wooden frame steamship, with a total length of {{convert|146|ft|m}}, a beam of {{convert|27|ft|m}}, and a hull depth of {{convert|9.25|ft|m}}. Her keel measured {{convert|125|ft|m}}, to which a {{convert|120|ft|m|adj=on}} [[keelson]] was bolted for added stability. There were 66 full frames along the hull length. The area amidships featured additional stringers and timbering to support the heavy steam engine that was located there. She was reported to have a gracefully curved hull that flared out in a manner similar to [[whaleboat]]s. She was powered by a [[steeple engine]], which was supplemented by windpower provided from sails attached to a single mast.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|98001268}}|title=NRHP nomination for Phoenix (shipwreck) |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |author=Roger L. Ciuffo|date=1998|accessdate=2016-11-17}} with {{NRHP url|id=98001268|photos=y|title=photos from 1998}}</ref>

The ''Phoenix'' was built in 1815 by the [[Lake Champlain Steam-boat Company]] at its shipyard in [[Vergennes, Vermont]], under the direction of Jahaziel Sherman. She was the second steamer to sail on Lake Champlain, after the ''Vermont'' (launched in 1808), which was the first regularly operated steamship anywhere. The ''Phoenix'' was fitted with a steam engine that had previously been used on another steamship that had sailed on the [[Hudson River]]. She was operated for four years on a route between [[Whitehall, New York]] and [[Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu]] in what is now the Canadian province of [[Quebec]]. In 1817, she carried President [[James Monroe]] from [[Burlington, Vermont]] to [[Plattsburgh, New York]], and in 1818 she carried the remains of [[American Revolutionary War]] general [[Richard Montgomery]], en route from [[Quebec City]] (where he died in the [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|1775 Battle of Quebec]]) to his final resting place in [[New York City]].<ref name=NRHP/>

On September 4, 1819, she caught fire after departing from Burlington. Most of the passengers and crew safely made their escape, but six perished due to the flames or drowning. The ship grounded on Colchester Reef and was burned to the waterline. The company salvaged equipment from the wreck, including the steam engine, and the remnant hulk was dragged off the reef the following spring and allowed to sink. There was a great deal of speculation at the time that the fire [[arson|was deliberately set]] by individuals unhappy with the advent of steam powered ships.<ref name=NRHP/>

The shipwreck was discovered inon September 4, 1978, exactly 159 years after her demise. She lies on the sloping bottom of the lake, between 60 and 110 feet depth. The wreck is about 40% complete, the consequence of post-fire salvage, subsequent salvage work, and the ravages of time.<ref name=NRHP/> The two charred paddlewheel structures were discovered north of the steamers hull by diver Gary Lefebvre on August 28, 2020, in about 180 and 190 feet of water.<ref name=rediscovery>{{cite web |url=https://www.samessenger.com/colchester/news/colchester-diver-gary-lefebvre-discovers-wreckage-in-lake-champlain/article_e3af815a-eee2-11ea-8f68-5fb1a7ef5ba7.html |title=Colchester diver Gary Lefebvre discovers wreckage in Lake Champlain |publisher=Saint Albans Messenger |date=2020-09-04 |accessdate=2020-10-09}}</ref>

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160707201919/http://historicsites.vermont.gov/directory/underwater_preserve/more Vermont's protected shipwreck list]