Heritage Daily "Another pearl in the form of a large iron-hulled Civil War era steamer has been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of N.C., near Oak Island. Researchers and archaeologists from the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology and the Institute of International Maritime Research made the discovery Saturday, Feb. 27 during sonar operations.
Popular Science reports
The vessel is believed to possibly be the remains of one of three blockade runners used to penetrate the wall of Union naval vessels blocking the port of Wilmington during the Civil War.
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| Popular Science |
. . . "Three blockade runners are known to have been lost in that area: the Agnes E. Fry, Spunkie and Georgianna McCaw. The Union blockade was nicknamed the 'Anaconda Plan' and designed to choke off supply lines to the Confederacy during the height of the war. Ships, including steam ships and sailing vessels tried to bypass the blockade, usually at night and at high speeds.
"It's not yet known how this particular vessel sunk, but it is far from alone in its watery grave. At least 53 blockade-running ships were lost in the area near Cape Fear during the Civil War. Then there are the sunken pirate ships, World War II vessels, and all the hapless crafts that have given this area off North Carolina the nickname the Graveyard of the Atlantic." . . .
She was a side-wheeler as most blockade runners were; the side wheels visible amidships, port and starboard
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| North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources |
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