The Wreck of the HMS Speedy

The true story of the 1804 wreck and its place in Canadian history. The sinking of the HMS Speedy in 1804 off Presqu’ile Point, Ontario, was a shocking event for the families and friends of the twenty souls onboard the ship – and had far-reaching repercussions for the young colony in 1804 that would become Canada. Ogetonicut, a Mississauga first nations man, was charged with murdering John Sharp, a white trader accused of killing Ogetonicut’s brother and never brought to trial for the crime. As Ogetonicut’s own trial in York for the murder of the white man drew near, First Nations from Canada and the U.S. began to gather on the shore in support of Ogetonicut. In fear of an uprising, the authorities moved the trial east to Newcastle and HMS Speedy was hired to transport the solicitor general and all the legal team as well as the accused. But on the night of October 8, the Speedy was lost in a violent storm; there were no survivors and the ship could not be found. The impact on Upper Canada was profound when the legal elite of the young colony were completely wiped out in the wreck. The Speedy lay untouched on the bottom of Lake Ontario until commercial diver Ed Burtt began a search for it in the 1970s. The modern-day mystery surrounding the Speedy is just one thread in a complex web of connected storylines woven by author Dan Buchanan. From Captain Paxton, the tragic figure at the helm of the Speedy that stormy day, to the Lieutenant Governor who wanted a swift trial away from York, to Ogetonicut, the figure at the centre of it all – the focus is firmly on the people involved, their circumstances and relationships, and how they were buffeted by the vagaries of authoritarian rule in a wilderness colony.