At the base of the Great Lakes, near the center of Lake Erie, the sinking of the steamer Atlantic attracted international attention. She tragically sank in the center of Lake Erie not far from a small town, Port Dover, in Ontario, Canada. In 1853, an obscure inventor, Lodner Philips, brought a submarine to the site. Evidence suggests that the early sub was lost diving and never recovered. This submarine, in addition to the treasures of Atlantic creates one of the richest maritime heritage sites in North America. Join the Sea Hunters as they search for what could be one of the world's oldest existing submarines lost on the wrecksite of an early immigrant ship the grand paddle wheel steamer Atlantic. Today, she remains one of the best-preserved side wheeled steamers, giving us a glimpse back in time to the age of the western frontier when she served as a vital link in the great migration west. Named for an ocean she would never see, she embodied the power, romance and majesty of her name. Inspired by the spirit of the West she emerged at a time in North American history when the road into the frontier was on the water. The steamship Atlantic story centers on the link of migration at the base of the Great Lakes in Buffalo, New York. Born from the smoke and steam of the burgeoning industrial economy she was struck down early in life,. She sank - carrying down with her the story of that era. Lost were all the worldly possessions of her immigrant passengers along with a gold shipment belonging to the Express Company. Her tragic sinking became an international news story. As a result, her gold laden wreck would attract some of the world's leading marine salvagers with their state of the art equipment. More than a decade before the confederate Civil War submarine Hunley would make its mark in history, a little known inventor, Lodner Phillips, would bring his patented submarine to the wreck site of Atlantic. The patented submarine of the eccentric Lodner was incred