The Lady Elgin often has an outsized presence in Milwaukee's maritime history. The boat's fateful voyage in 1860 took place in the midst of several local and national conflicts, while the ship's wreckage remains a destination for divers to this day. On this episode of Water Works we parse fact from fiction in the sinking of the Lady Elgin, and ask what shipwrecks can tell us about Milwaukee history more broadly.

For more information about the show, including photographs and documents from the era, check out https://milwaukeehistory.net/podcast/.