After loading 2,000 tons of steel rails at Baltimore, Maryland the steamer El Dorado sailed from that port on Jan. 1, 1913 with Galveston, Texas as her destination. The 3,500 ton ship was built at William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia in 1894 and was owned by the Morgan Line (a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad). Unknown to her crew she was sailing into the teeth of a hurricane.

After being seen passing Cape Hatteras, North Carolina the ship and her thirty-nine man crew were never heard from again. It is thought she sank in the storm on or about January 3, 1913, but since the ship was not equipped with a wireless it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when and where she was lost. Her owners requested assistance from the navy, but no sign of the ship was found and she was officially posted as lost on Jan. 17.