Before rail lines were constructed west of the Mississippi River, steamboats like the War Eagle were an important link in connecting peoples and goods between the economically and culturally developed eastern markets with the virgin territory west of the Mississippi, defining it’s place in National maritime history. The War Eagle is a rare example of a vessel type that was vital to Wisconsin’s economy, the economy of the Midwest, and transportation infrastructure during the development of road and rail networks east of the Mississippi. This vessel also played an important role the movement of military troops and supplies during the American Civil War.

Nineteenth-century wooden vessels were not built to drawn plans. Today, little documentation exists that illustrates how river steamboats were constructed, how they adapted to river environments, and how they differed from the sidewheel steamships that plied the Great Lakes. There remains potential for significant artifacts to remain on the War Eagle Shipwreck site. Additional information from these artifacts paired with the collections already available may significantly add to our understanding of life on the upper Mississippi River, river navigation, and the workings of the Milwaukee Road Depot.

The War Eagle shipwreck is as a good example of a sidewheel steamboat vessel type. As the only known river sidewheel steamboat shipwreck in Wisconsin waters, War Eagle provides historians and archaeologists the rare chance to study the construction of vessels commonly used on the upper Mississippi River. Although the vessel is located in a high dynamic area with low visibility and hazardous diving conditions, there is potential for future discoveries as technological advancements in remote sensing and robotics continue to flourish.

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing, or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Shipwrecks website.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks