23rd Annual Lost Mariners Remembrance
November 10 2022 | 6:00pm to 8:00pm
The annual Lost Mariners Remembrance returns for its 23rd consecutive year of honoring professional sailors lost on the Great Lakes. On the anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, a lantern vigil at the Fitzgerald anchor starts the evening, followed by a performance by Lee Murdock, Great Lakes balladeer. The wreath ceremony includes a select Honor Guard escorting a memorial wreath to the Detroit River for receipt by an Honor Flotilla of both Canadian and United States government and commercial vessels.
Following this portion of the program, scholar and author Mike Nagle will recount the loss of the steamship Atlantic, a crowded passenger ship that collided with the propeller Ogdensburg in 1852. Owned by Detroiter Eber Ward and leased to the Michigan Central Rail Road for passage between Buffalo and Detroit, the fast sidewheeler was among the elite palace steamers that served the region. The three-year-old craft, crowded with 500-600 people, sank quickly. About 250 passengers died, making it one of the deadliest disasters on the open lakes. A significant number were Norwegian and German immigrants.
The evening closes with a benediction and playing of the famous Gordon Lightfoot ballad.
Unable to join us in-person? Watch a livestream of the event on the Dossin Great Lakes Museum facebook page.
Admission is free with registration, but space is limited!
