Sir Robert Peel

The Sir Robert Peel lies in the St. Lawrence River within the Thousand Islands region of Jefferson County, New York. The original Sir Robert Peel was a Canadian passenger steamer burned and looted in 1838 by American sympathizers during the Patriot War, an incident that raised tensions along the border in the aftermath of the Upper Canada Rebellion. The remains associated with the site are what is left of that vessel after it was set ablaze and scuttled in the river. Diving here means exploring a piece of that cross-border history rather than an intact ship, since fire and over a century and a half underwater have left only scattered wreckage.