Gordon
Ship stats
Vessel Type: Wooden dredge barge
Length: Not yet determined
Breadth: Not yet determined
Gross Tonnage: Unknown
Cargo: None
Built: Unknown
Port of Registry at Loss: Buffalo, New York
Owner at Loss: Hickler & Arnold, Buffalo, New York
Date Lost: November 18, 1879
Cause of Loss: Foundered after collision with Philip Becker
Loss of Life: 6 of 9 including the crew of Philip Becker
Historical Background
Presently, little is known of the wooden dredge barge Gordon’s operational history before its loss. Further research is on-going to better understand the dredge’s history.
On the afternoon of November 17, 1879 Gordon was part of a tow returning from dredging work on the St. Lawrence River led by the tug Seymour of Ogdensburg, consisting of three dredges and ten scows in line one behind the other. Seymour was assisted in managing the tow by four smaller tugboats Charles M. Riter, Algie O. Thayer, Jonathan Hickler working alongside Philip Becker.
Around 1:00 p.m. the tow departed Cape Vincent, with Captain Fleming of Seymour intending to make for Sackets Harbor. Around 4:30 p.m., Richard Arnold, partner in Hickler & Arnold, who was in charge of the fleet, directed the tow to make for Oswego.
At 8:00 p.m. while nearly mid-lake, the winds shifted to the northeast, increasing to a gale. By 8:45 p.m., many of the scows had broken their towing lines, with the two dredges later breaking loose. Philip Becker ran alongside Gordon to inform them that the scows had broken loose from the tow. In coming alongside Gordon, Becker struck Gordon’s stern, inflicting damage which would cause the barge to founder later that night. By 11:00 p.m. the tow was in sight of the Oswego Light, but with the towing lines threatening to break loose, Seymour was forced to turn the tow downwind to alleviate the strain on the towing cables. Between midnight and 1:30 a.m., Philip Becker, which had been taking on water, came alongside Gordon, and its crew jumped aboard Gordon just as the tug foundered, bringing those aboard to nine
Since the collision around 9:00 p.m., fireman Thomas Smith had worked aboard Gordon in frigid waist deep water to maintain steam in the boiler and was using both siphons to control attempt to the flooding. Smith had attempted to slow the leaks throughout the night, but had been unsuccessful. Around 4:40 a.m., Gordon listed onto its port side and capsized, the starboard side of the stern remaining above the waves for some time. Of those aboard six were drowned. The survivors, Thomas Smith and two brothers, Charles and Neal Hanthan, were rescued from the exposed stern by Seymour.
Gordon was discovered in July 2012 by Mr. Dan Scoville and Mr. Chris Koberstein. In May 2025 NOAA and its partners at the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute documented the wreck using a remotely-operated vehicle.
Wreck Site
A site photo model of the steambarge Adiramled. Credit: OECI/NOAA
Gordon lies in depths beyond the limits of technical diving (330 feet/100 meters) approximately 10 miles off of Oswego, New York. Gordon rests on its starboard side, its hull and deckhouse remaining entirely intact. At the bow and portside of the stern, spuds, used in fixing the dredge in position during dredge operations are in place. Gordon’s dredge machinery remains intact at the stern.
