On September 19, 1864, the American steamer "Philo Parsons" was seized off Kelley's Island, about 35 miles southeast of here, by some twenty Confederate sympathizers under John Y. Beall, a Southern naval officer. The group, whose members had embarked at Sandwich and Amherstburg, Canada West, intended to free the Confederate inmates of a prison camp in Sandusky Bay, Ohio. The plan included the capture of the U.S. gunboat "Michigan" for use in commerce raiding and attacks on Great Lakes ports. Arriving off Sandusky Bay, the raiders found the "Michigan" forewarned and called off the operation. They returned the following morning to Sandwich, abandoned the steamer and dispersed.

Location

In Holiday Beach Provincial Park, County Road 50, off County Road 18 south of Malden Centre

Themes

• War and conflict