View source for SS Daniel J. Morrell

{{Short description|Great Lakes freighter sunk in a storm in Lake Huron}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Daniel J. Morrell after launch.jpg
|Ship caption=Workers at the West Bay Shipbuilding Co. standing in front of the recently launched ''Daniel J. Morrell''.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=''Daniel J. Morrell''
|Ship namesake=[[Daniel Johnson Morrell]]
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|merchant}}
|Ship operator=
*Cambria Steamship Company (M.A. Hanna Company, Mgrs.) 1908–1926
*Cambria Steamship Company 1927–1929
*Cambria Steamship Company (Bethlehem Transportation Company, Mgrs.) 1930–1966
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship registry={{flag|United States|civil}}, [[Wilmington, Delaware]]
|Ship builder=[[West Bay City Shipbuilding Company]], [[West Bay City, Michigan]]
|Ship yard number=00619
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched= 22 August 1906
|Ship completed=
|Ship identification=U.S. Registry #203507
|Ship acquired=
|Ship in service= 24 September 1906
|Ship out of service= 
|Ship fate=Broke up and sunk during a storm, 29 November 1966
|Ship notes=On 13 August 1909, ''Daniel J. Morrell'' collided with the steamer [[SS Henry Phipps|''Henry Phipps'']].
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (As built)
|Ship class= Bulk Freighter
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|7239}}
* {{NRT|5419}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{cvt|603|ft}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|58|ft}}
|Ship depth={{cvt|32|ft}}
|Ship draught= 
|Ship draft=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=*2 × [[Scotch marine boiler]]s
*{{cvt|1878|hp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=1 × [[triple expansion steam engine]]
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=29
|Ship notes=
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (1945 Rebuild)
|Ship class= Bulk Freighter
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|7763}}
* {{NRT|6216}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{cvt|609|ft}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|58|ft}}
|Ship height={{cvt|27|ft}}
|Ship draught= 
|Ship draft=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=*2 × [[Water-tube boiler#Babcock & Wilcox boiler|Babcock & Wilcox boilers]]
*{{cvt|3200|hp}}
|Ship propulsion=1 × Three cylinder [[Uniflow steam engine#Skinner Uniflow|Skinner Uniflow engine]]
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=29
|Ship notes=
}}
}}
|}

'''SS ''Daniel J. Morrell''''' was a {{convert|603|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Great Lakes]] [[lake freighter|freighter]] that broke up in a strong storm on [[Lake Huron]] on 29 November 1966, taking with her 28 of her 29 crewmen. The freighter was used to carry [[bulk cargo]]es such as iron ore but was running with only [[ballast]] when the 60-year-old ship sank. When built in 1906, she was the "[[Queen of the Lakes]]", being the longest ship then in service on the Great Lakes.<ref name="Berry">{{cite web |url=https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/m/morrell-daniel-j |quote=With Edward Y. Townsend longest vessel on the Great Lakes (until Kerr class of 1907 – superseded Morgan class of earlier in 1906). |first1=Sterling |last1=Berry |publisher=greatlakesvesselhistory.com |title=SS Daniel J. Morrell |work=Great Lakes Vessel History: THE VESSEL HISTORIES OF STERLING BERRY|accessdate=April 13, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Thompson|2017}}

==Name==
The ship was named for [[Daniel Johnson Morrell]], the general superintendent and manager of the [[Cambria Iron Company]], and a [[U.S. Representative]] from [[Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Thompson|2017}}{{sfn|Kantar|2009}}{{sfn|Hale|2010}}<ref name="Daniel J. Morrell 1906 to 1966">{{cite web|url= http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/DanielJMorrell/default.htm|title=Daniel J. Morrell 1906 to 1966|publisher=Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online, boatnerds.com|accessdate= September 26, 2012 |first1=Harry J. |last1=Dean}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/|title= Morrell|publisher= Lakeland Boating|url-status= dead| archive-date=March 16, 2012 |access-date= September 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316215321/http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/x}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000964|title=MORRELL, Daniel Johnson, (1821 – 1885)|work= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|publisher=[[U.S. Congress]]|accessdate= September 26, 2012}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Daniel J. Morrell in Bay City, Michigan.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Launching of ''Daniel J. Morrell'']]
''Daniel J. Morrell'' was built at [[West Bay City, Michigan]], by the [[West Bay City Shipbuilding Company]], for the [[Cambria Steamship Company]], the Cambria Iron Company's marine subsidiary that they had formed earlier that year and launched on 22 August 1906.<ref name="Berry"/><ref name="Daniel J. Morrell 1906 to 1966"/><ref name="Saginaw">{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/SaginawRiverMarineHistoricalSociety/posts/the-ss-daniel-j-morrell-was-launched-on-this-date-111-years-ago-august-22-1906-s/1683507598328897/ |title=S.S. Daniel J. Morrell |publisher=Saginaw River Marine Historical Society |date=August 22, 2017 |via=[[Facebook]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Schumacher|2016}}{{sfn|DeBeck|2021}} Cambria chartered both ''Daniel J. Morrell'' and her [[sister ship]], {{ship|SS|Edward Y. Townsend||2}}, to sail for the [[M. A. Hanna Company]], one of the most experienced vessel management firms on the lakes.{{sfn|Thompson|2017}} In 1930, ''Daniel J. Morrell'' and ''Edward Y. Townsend'' came under management of the [[Bethlehem Transportation Corporation]].{{sfn|Kantar|2009}}

==Sinking==
Making the last run of the season with ''Edward Y. Townsend'', ''Daniel J. Morrell'' became caught in winds exceeding {{cvt|70|mph}} and swells that topped the height of the ship ({{cvt|20|to|25|ft}} waves).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schultz |first1=Roland |url=http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/ |title=The Morrell Survey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316215321/http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/ |archive-date=2012-03-16 |work=[[Lakeland Boating]]}}</ref> During the early morning hours of November 29, 1966, ''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 Light|Pointe Aux Barques, Michigan]], heading for the protection of [[Thunder Bay (Michigan)|Thunder Bay]]. At 02:00, the ship began her death throes, forcing the crew onto the deck, where many jumped to their deaths in the {{cvt|34|F}} [[Lake Huron]] waters. At 02:15, the ship broke in half, with the remaining crew on the [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] loading into a raft. While they waited for the bow to sink, 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 [[Stern|aft section]], barreling towards them under the power of the ship's engine. The bow then sank, throwing the raft into the lake. In the words of writer [[William Ratigan]], the vessel's stern disappeared into the darkness "like a great wounded beast with its head shot off".{{sfn|Ratigan|1989|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MsrCAItQ9FIC 156]}}{{sfn|Bree|2020}}

No distress call was transmitted, even as she abruptly sank in 20 foot waves and 60 mile per hour winds.<ref name="Repository">{{cite web |url=http://www.us-data.org/mi/glm/shipwrecks/daniel-j-morrell.html |quote="THE WEIRD thing" about the 12,000-ton Morrell, said a Coast Guard spokesman, was "there was no distress signal." Winds up to 60 miles an hour and wave 20 feet high lashed the Morrell and she apparently sank without radioing an S.O.S. |title=SS Daniel J. Morrell |work=U.S. Data Repository |publisher=USGenNet |accessdate=April 13, 2023}}</ref> According to Dennis Hale, Captain Crawley had stated that the electrical cable had broken, making a distress call impossible. The men were instructed to shoot flares from the raft as soon as they went in the water, alerting nearby vessels of their situation<ref>Hale, 34</ref>

In fact, there was a real question whether the ''Morrell'' should have been out on Lake Huron during this storm.  She was one of only two boats that had not taken shelter.  The other ship was stuck in the storm, since [[coming about]] was deemed likely to cause a [[capsize|capsizing]].{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pages=48, 55, 156 - 158, 167, 171}}  Two other lessons from the loss were that [[hypothermia]] is the leading killer of sailors and that lifeboats on [[davit]]s are "window dressing" {{mdash}} largely useless in such a turbulent sea.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pages=48, 55, 156 - 158, 167, 171}}

Norm Bragg, who survived the 1953 wreck of the [[SS Henry Steinbrenner|SS ''Henry Steinbrenner'']] in [[Lake Superior]], was a watchman on board.  He helped his crew understand their plight, gave quick advice, and said, "It's been good to know you."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.voicenews.com/2021/11/29/marking-the-55th-anniversary-of-sinking-of-freighter-daniel-j-morrell/ |quote=Norm Bragg, a watchman and survivor of the wreck of the Henry Steinbrenner in Lake Superior in 1953, tells Hale and a couple other sailors that the freighter has buckled in the 20-25 foot swells and may have lost its bottom. |title=LOCAL NEWS: Marking the 55th anniversary of sinking of freighter Daniel J. Morrell: Sailor from St. Clair among 28 victims |first1=Jim |last1=Bloch |date=November 29, 2021 |work=[[Voice News]] |accessdate=April 10, 2023}}</ref>

==Emergency response==
''Daniel J. Morrell'' was not reported missing until 12:15, the following afternoon, 30 November, after the vessel was overdue at her destination, [[Taconite Harbor, Minnesota]]. The [[U.S. Coast Guard]] issued a "be on the lookout" alert and dispatched several vessels and aircraft to search for the missing freighter.

At around 16:00, on 30 November, a Coast Guard helicopter located the lone survivor, 26-year-old Watchman Dennis Hale, nearly frozen and aboard a grounded life raft with the bodies of three of his crewmates who had managed to climb aboard, but succumbed one by one to the elements.{{sfn|Hale|2010}}<ref
name=Huron>{{cite news |last1=Birdsall |first1=Mark |title=Sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell a tale of death, survival |url=https://www.michigansthumb.com/insider/article/Sinking-of-the-Daniel-J-Morrell-a-tale-of-death-16647999.php#photo-21752039 |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=[[Huron Daily Tribune]] |publisher=[[Hearst Communications]] |date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029153643/https://www.michigansthumb.com/insider/article/Sinking-of-the-Daniel-J-Morrell-a-tale-of-death-16647999.php#photo-21752039 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hale had survived for nearly 14 hours in frigid temperatures wearing only a pair of [[boxer shorts]], a lifejacket, and a [[pea coat]].{{sfn|Hale|2010}} Afterward, he had more than a dozen surgeries as a result of his ordeal.<ref
name=Huron/>

The survey of the wreck found the shipwreck in {{cvt|220|ft}} of water with the two sections {{cvt|5|mi}} apart.<ref>{{cite web |title=Morrell Survey: Finale|url= http://www.lakelandboating.com/morrell/page4.cfm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110713181949/http://www.lakelandboating.com/morrell/page4.cfm|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 13, 2011|first= Ronald|last=Schultz |accessdate=2010-11-19|publisher= Lakeland Boating}} </ref> The clock on the stern was stopped at 3:28, indicating that the rear of the ship had travelled for almost 90 minutes on its own before sinking.{{Sfn|Schumacher|2016|p=86}}

==Aftermath==

Damaged irreparably in the same storm, ''Edward Y. Townsend'', after having escaped the same fate as her sister, was discovered to have a large crack in her deck that grew worse; she was declared a [[total loss]] and was docked for almost two years.{{sfn|Schumacher|2016|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=b0XajwEACAAJ 1–19]}} She was deemed unseaworthy, and laid up in [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/the-sinking-of-the-ss-daniel-j-morrell-on-lake-huron-november-29-1966/ |title=The sinking of the SS Daniel J. Morrell on Lake Huron, November 29, 1966 |publisher=miningawareness.wordpress.com
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/danmorrell.pdf |title=National Transportation Safety Board |website=Dco.Uscg |access-date=29 January 2018}}</ref> Plans were made to tow the vessel to Europe to be scrapped. On her way during tow, she was caught in a strong storm on 7 October 1968, off [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and snapped in two, foundering in the general vicinity that {{ship|RMS|Titanic||2}} had sunk.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/t/townsend-edward-y/|title=Townsend, Edward Y.| publisher= Great Lakes Vessel History|accessdate= December 16, 2012}}</ref> The West German [[Lake freighter#Types of lake freighters|saltie]] ''Nordmeer'', which had grounded at [[Thunder Bay Island]] Shoal on 19 November 1966, was declared a total loss after the additional damage to its bottom caused by the storm.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/|title= The Morrell Survey|publisher= Lakeland Boating|access-date= September 26, 2012|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120316215321/http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/|archive-date= March 16, 2012}}</ref>

The destructive force of the November seas and wind were an important factor in this loss, as it has been in many similar incidents on the [[Great Lakes]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bradley |first=Mary |date=November–December 1999 |title=The Witch of November Came Early: The Saga of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |journal=[[Michigan History Magazine]] |publisher=Michigan Department of State |location=Lansing, Michigan |oclc=20951644 }}</ref> The Coast Guard investigation of the sinking of ''Daniel J. Morrell'' concluded that she broke in half due to the brittle steel used in her hull which was a "common problem" in ships built before 1948.{{sfn|Thompson|2000|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Tog_ll_MYrkC&q=Graveyard+of+the+Lakes+by+Mark+L.+Thompson 311]}}

==Fate of the crew==

The remains of 26 of the 28 lost crewmen were recovered, most in the days following the sinking,<ref name="Repository"/> although bodies from ''Daniel J. Morrell'' continued to be found well into May of the following year. The two men whose bodies were never recovered were [[declared death in absentia|declared legally dead]] in May 1967. The sole survivor of the sinking, Dennis Hale, died of cancer on 2 September 2015, at the age of 75.<ref>{{cite web |last=Seals |first=Eric |title=Lone survivor of deadly 1966 Lake Huron shipwreck dies |work=[[Detroit Free Press]] |date=September 2, 2015 |url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/obituary/2015/09/02/daniel-j-morrell-shipwreck-great-lakes-dennis-hale-obituary/71604532/ |access-date=November 11, 2015}}</ref>

==Similar incidents==
In addition to {{ship|SS|Edmund Fitzgerald||2}}, other contemporary Great Lakes [[cargo ship|freighter]]s lost under similar circumstances were {{ship|SS|Carl D. Bradley||2}} and {{ship|SS|Henry Steinbrenner||2}}.

Details from the song "32 Down on the ''Robert MacKenzie''" from Canadian TV series ''[[Due South]]'' echo both the sinkings of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' (total loss of life, and grounding on Six-Fathom Shoal) and ''Daniel J. Morrell'' (the stern breaking off and continuing on under its own power, though in the song the stern section of the titular boat immediately rams the severed bow).

== See also ==
*[[Great Lakes Storm of 1913]]
*[[Great Storms of the North American Great Lakes]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m9zhDwAAQBAJ&dq=SS+DANIEL+MORRELL&pg=PT43 |title=Bold Sea Stories: 21 Inspiring Adventures |first1=Marlin |last1=Bree |location=Saint Paul, Minnesota |isbn=9781892147363 |date=March 13, 2020 |type=ebook |publisher=Marlor Press |language=English}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=flrjzQEACAAJ |title=The Daniel J. Morrell {{mdash}} Lost, But No Longer Forgotten|first1=John |last1=DeBeck |date=August 2021 |isbn=9781732917026 |type=Paperback |publisher=Motorcycle & Model Railroad Museum/[[Halfcourt Press]], Incorporated |language=en |location=United States}}
*{{cite book |title=Shipwrecked: Reflections of the Sole Survivor: an autobiography |date=January 1, 2010 |first1=Dennis |last1=Hale |location=Rock Creek, Ohio |publisher=D.N. Hale |isbn=978-0692009307}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kantar |first1=Andrew |date=July 28, 2009 |title=Deadly voyage: the S.S. Daniel J. Morrell tragedy |location=East Lansing, Michigan |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]]|language=en|isbn=9780870138638}}
*{{cite book|last=Ratigan|first=William|authorlink=William Ratigan|title=Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing]]|edition=Revised|date=January 18, 1989|language=en|orig-date=1977|isbn=0-8028-7010-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MsrCAItQ9FIC|page=156}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jil0DwAAQBAJ&q=Daniel+J.+Morrell |title=Torn in Two: The Sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell and One Man's Survival on the Open Sea |first1=Michael |last1=Schumacher |date=August 29, 2016 |isbn=9781452952161 |type=ebook |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |language=en |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota. United States}}
*{{cite book |title=Steamboats & sailors of the Great Lakes |first1=Mark L. |last1=Thompson |location=Detroit, Michigan |isbn=9780814323595 |year=1991 |series=Great Lakes Books Series|type=Hardcover|publisher=Wayne State University Press|language=English|pages=48, 55, 156–158, 167, 171}}
*{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Mark |title=Graveyard of the Lakes |series=Great Lakes Books Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tog_ll_MYrkC&q=Graveyard+of+the+Lakes+by+Mark+L.+Thompson|page=311|publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |language=en|location=Detroit, Michigan|year=2000 |isbn=0-8143-3226-9}}
*{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Mark L. |title=Queen of the Lakes |date=1 December 2017 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |location=Detroit. Michigan|series=Great Lakes Books Series|isbn=978-0-8143-4337-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DU8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |access-date=September 3, 2021 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |author=NPR Staff |date=December 6, 2013 |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/12/06/249070729/adrift-in-frigid-water-not-caring-if-you-live-or-die |title=Adrift In Frigid Water, Not Caring 'If You Live Or Die' |work=NPR |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |accessdate=December 6, 2013}}
* {{cite book |last=Parker |first=Jack D. |year=1986 |title=Shipwrecks of Lake Huron – The Great Sweetwater Sea Including the Michigan-Huron-Mackinac Straits Area |publisher=[[Avery Color Studios]]|location=Au Train, Michigan |isbn=9780932212450}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}} <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
*[https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/danmorrell.pdf National Transportation Safety Board Marine Accident: Sinking of SS Daniel J. Morrell]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927205738/http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=q-000-00---0shipping--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4---Document-dky--0-1l--1-en-50---20-about-morrell--001-011-1-0utfZz-8-0&a=d&c=shipping&cl=search&d=HASH0142e4caf852722464327e33 Daniel J. Morrell] [[University of Detroit Mercy]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020615034001/http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/m.htm Great Lakes Shipwreck Files] 
* [http://ul.bgsu.edu/cgi-bin/xvsl2.cgi Great Lakes Vessels Online Index: ''Daniel J. Morrell''] [[Bowling Green State University]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120316215321/http://lakelandboating.com/morrell/ The Morrell Survey]

{{1966 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|43.850|-82.590|type:event_globe:earth_region:US-MI|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel J. Morrell}}
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Huron]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1966]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:1906 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bay City, Michigan]]
[[Category:Queen of the Lakes]]
[[Category:Ships powered by a triple expansion steam engine]]
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]
[[Category:Sole survivors]]