A more serious accident occurred nearly a year later on 20 September 1856 when Plymouth collided with the Oswego (New York) bound 3 masted barge Colonel E. Camp near the Manitou Islands, North and South, in Lake Michigan.

[3] The first reported deadly incident occurred on 2 September 1859 when Plymouth was caught in a gale off Point Aux Barques in Lake Michigan, resulting in the death of one crewmate.

Following the Civil War, Plymouth managed to retain a better safety record, but the aging ship had to undergo numerous repairs including being refitted with a new engine in 1877.

Surprisingly despite her old age, the ship gained a small bit of fame when she was photographed while carrying the largest load of seven foot cedar posts (100,000 in total) on the Menominee River in 1912.

[4] On 8 November 1913, Plymouth, loaded with a cargo of cedar posts, was being towed by the tug James H. Martin from Menominee, Michigan, United States to Lake Huron.

Captain Alex Larson was in command of the Plymouth at the time, and was joined by six more crewmen and a federal marshall named Christopher Keenan who was on board because the ship was the subject of litigation.

When both ships reached the location, the tug's captain cut the towing line and headed into open water to seek shelter at Point Detour 12 miles (19 km) away.

[7] A note from Keenan was discovered in a bottle which had washed up 11 days after Plymouth had dropped anchor at Gull Island which confirmed that the ship had sunk with all hands after withstanding the full force of the storm for over 40 hours.

The storm of heavy snow, bitter cold winds and frightening high waves took the lives of an estimated 235 mariners, with Plymouth being the only ship lost on Lake Michigan.