Siren Call of the GENERAL GRANT: Shipwreck and Gold Fever with a Maine-Built Ship
Authors
Charles H. Lagerbom
University of Maine
Abstract
The Maine-built ship GENERAL GRANT sank in the Auckland Islands in the southern ocean in 1866 carrying passengers and cargo, including a shipment of gold. After the terrible shipwreck, a handful of survivors lived to tell the story. The story continues today with treasure hunters still searching for the elusive ship and its storied gold payload after 150 years.
Author Biography
Charles H. Lagerbom, University of Maine
Charles H. Lagerbom spent two field seasons working in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica in the early 1990s with a glacial geology research team from the University of Maine Quaternary Institute, now the Climate Change Institute. He is the author of The Fifth Man: The Life of H.R. Bowers, published by Caedmon of Whitby (1999). He has frequently lectured and made presentations on the history, life, politics and science of the Antarctic, most recently with participation in the Scott centenary celebrations in Plymouth, England. He is President of the Antarctican Society as well as Membership Chair for the American Polar Society. He is currently a History PhD candidate at the University of Maine where his research interest is on the historic, scientific and economic connections between Maine and the polar world.
