The palace steamer Sebastopol was designed for upper lake freight trade with a 830 ton capacity. The vessel was built in 1855 by Luther Moses in Cleveland, Ohio and was valued at $65,000 at the time of loss.. She had a 800 horse power, single cylinder,steam engine and the side wheels were thirty feet in diameter. .
"The steamer Sebastopol, Capt. Thos. Watts, left Buffalo on the 12th inst., and after lying on the St. Clair flats for 24 hours, came on towards her destination- the upper lake ports-having on board a full crew and some sixty passengers, besides a full and valuable cargo of merchandise, a large portion of it belonging to parties in this city and state. The night was very dark, and there seems to have been no light upon the government piers, ...Either the lights upon the schooner Rockwell (which is ashore near the Sebastopol) or lights from the house on the shore, were mistaken for the pier lights, and the doomed steamer, after the captain had twice rounded to, followed the deceitful light, and soon struck ground, about three miles south of the government piers; and shortly after swung around broadside on. The storm increased in violence until long after daylight..." "The wind and waves, yesterday, made sad havoc with the wreck of the Sebastopol. The boom and upper cabin have disappeared: one smoke pipe has fallen, and though the stern held together yesterday afternoon, it cannot do so much longer. Large quantities of goods washed ashore during the day; the beach, for two or three miles, being strewed with them."
The wreck of the Sebastopol was found by divers in 1976 and is broken up, lies on a sandy bottom in 15' of water. Site consists of unidentified wreckage, general homestead cargo: the latter often found in "stacks". The site is covered with nails and broken china along with hand irons, axe heads, clay pipes, cloth, cow hides, horse harness parts, cast iron stove parts, and pewter spoons. Many cargo items have been salvaged. About 50% of the vessel is extant. Many zebra mussels.