In July, 2013, the wreckage of a commercial schooner named Atlas was discovered in Lake Ontario in nearly 300 feet of water just outside the Port of Oswego, NY. The Atlas was carrying a load of limestone meant for the U.S. government harbor in Oswego on the day of its fateful journey in May, 1839.

Only two miles from port, a gale-force wind rocked the ship and its heavy load shifted, causing the vessel to sink and all of its crew members to perish. This piece was written to portray the majest...