CHARLEVOIX, MI – Two massive Civil War-era ships were discovered in Lake Michigan this month about 50 miles from where they were thought to have collided and sank.

The schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan, were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix, according to a news release from Shipwreck World.

The discovery was first viewed by underwater camera during June 2019, the release states. Long-time diver and explorer Bernie Hellstrom, of Boyne City, located an obstruction at the site in 2010 while using a bottom sounder.

When he lowered his custom camera system in June, Hellstrom found a ship graveyard, according to the release. The remains of the two tall ships lay only 10 feet apart at the bottom. Their masts were laid over each other and coal was strewn across the sand. A huge hole in one of the hulls indicates that the vessels crashed and sank quickly.

The find was a “real mystery,” because there was no record schooner collision within 50 miles, according to the release. The Peshtigo and St. Andrews were thought to have gone down in Lake Huron in the eastern Straits of Mackinac.

The location was presumed after an 1857 flying eagle penny was found in the mast step of a wreck that was thought to be the St. Andrews. But the Peshtigo was never found in that area despite searches.

Marine historian Brendon Baillod went on a fact-finding mission and discovered that many news accounts of the St. Andrews-Peshtigo disaster placed the collision in Lake Michigan between Charlevoix and Beaver Island – the approximate location of Hellstrom’s ship graveyard, according ot the release.

Technical divers John Janzen and John Scoles were recruited to descend to the eerie site, which lies beyond normal sport diving depths. Paul Ehorn was brought in to handle surface support with his specialized dive boat.

Janzen and Scoles’ dive resulted in a high-definition video that reveals evidence of a dramatic and violent disaster.

Dives and investigation confirm that the ships at the bottom of Lake Michigan between Beaver Island and North Fox Island are the St. Andrews and Peshtigo - “two iconic Great Lakes sailing ships from the Civil War era,” the release states.

Conditions were dark and hazy when the vessels collided around 1 a.m. on June 25, 1878.

The Peshtigo was on her way to Chicago from Erie, Pennsylvania, with a cargo of coal. The St. Andrews was headed to Buffalo, New York, from Chicago, with a corn cargo.

Torch signals were confused as the ships came upon each other in the night. The Peshtigo turned hard to port and struck the St. Andrews on her port side. Both ships were at the bottom of Lake Michigan within 10 minutes.

When it was hit, the St. Andrews fell over onto the Peshtigo, taking out two of her masts. The Peshtigo’s stern reportedly rose 40 feet in the air before the ship dove for the bottom.

The Peshtigo lost two men – second mate John Aldrich and wheelsman John Boyle – in the confusion after the collision. The surviving crew members of both ships were picked up by the passing schooner SVR Watson.

Built in 1863 at 161 feet long with three masts and weighing 384 tons, the Peshtigo was a giant schooner for her time. She was the largest vessel built in Peshtigo, Wisconsin by shipwright Thomas Spears.

Almost as large, the St. Andrews was built in 1857. It had two masts and was 143 feet long, weighing 426 tons. She was built at the Merry and Gay shipyard in Milan, Ohio.

Continue scrolling to view more photos of the shipwreck.

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by John Janzen and John Scoles, via Shipwreck World

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by John Janzen and John Scoles, via Shipwreck World

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by John Janzen and John Scoles, via Shipwreck World

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by Bernie Hellstrom, via Shipwreck World

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by John Janzen and John Scoles, via Shipwreck World

A view of the final resting of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Photo by John Janzen and John Scoles, via Shipwreck World

A news report of the crash of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. They were discovered in an “amazing state of preservation” about 200 feet below the surface between Beaver Island and North Fox Island off the shore of Charlevoix.Courtesy of Shipwreck World