Wikimedia Commons/Louis Pesha
Captain Eisenhardt’s Fatal Maiden Voyage on Lake Superior
In April 1914, Captain John Eisenhardt faced an awful choice.
At just 31, this Milwaukee native had become the youngest captain on the Great Lakes, but his ship was in trouble before it even left dock.
For six days, workers packed the SS Benjamin Noble with nearly 3,000 tons of steel rails, sinking it deeper with each load. The regular captain had refused to sail…