DATE OF LAUNCH: August 22, 1906
DATE AND LOCATION OF LOSS: November 29, 1966, Lake Huron, near Harbor Beach, Michigan
DATE LOCATED: May 18, 1979 (bow located, stern relocated)
SHIP DETAILS: The Daniel J. Morrell was built at West Bay City, Michigan by the West Bay City Ship Building Company for the Cambria Steamship Company, the Cambria Iron Company’s marine subsidiary that they had formed earlier that year and launched on August 22, 1906. Cambria chartered both the Morrell and her sister ship, SS Edward Y. Townsend to sail for the M. A. Hanna Company, one of the most experienced vessel management firms on the lakes. In 1930 the Morrell and came under management of the Bethlehem Transportation Company.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE LOSS: Making the last run of the season with her sister ship Edward Y. Townsend, Daniel J. Morrell became caught in winds exceeding 70 mph and swells that topped the height of the ship (20 to 25 ft waves). During the early morning hours, Edward Y. Townsend made the decision to take shelter in the St. Clair River, leaving Daniel J. Morrell alone on the waters north of Pointe Aux Barques, Michigan, heading for the protection of Thunder Bay. At 2:00am, the ship began her death throes, forcing the crew onto the deck, where many jumped to their deaths in the 34 degree Lake Huron waters. At 2:15am, the ship’s hull broke and allowed water to pour in, and the remaining crewmen loaded into a raft on the bow of the vessel. While they waited for the ship to break up and the raft to be thrown into the lake, there were shouts that a ship had been spotted off the port bow. Moments later, it was discovered that the looming object was not another ship, but Daniel J. Morrell’s aft section, barreling towards them under the power of the ship’s engine. The ship broke up, with the rafts continuing into the distance. In the words of writer William Ratigan, the remnants of the vessel disappeared into the darkness “like a great wounded beast with its head shot off.”
DISCOVERY AND FINDINGS: While the Daniel J. Morrell’s stern had been located by the Coast Guard after she sank, her location was then lost after a faulty buoy, used to mark the site, sank. The stern was relocated on May 18, 1979, by Michigan shipwreck hunters Larry Coplin and David Trotter; they also found the Daniel J. Morrell’s missing bow five miles away from her stern on the same date. Further investigation showed the clocks on the bow and the stern stopped exactly three hours apart, proving the same lapse of time occurred between the sinking of each of the Daniel J. Morrell’s two halves.
INTERESTING FACTS: The Daniel J. Morrell lies in 165 feet of water off the tip of Michigan’s Thumb, about 28 miles northeast of Harbor Beach; her broken halves are sitting upright, with her bow and stern facing each other. Of the 29 crew members, 28 lost their lives as a result of the sinking.
Principled Thoughts 