List of shipwrecks in December 1862

The list of shipwrecks in December 1862 includes all ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during December 1862.

2 December

List of shipwrecks: 2 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Queen of the Bay	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: Chased by boats from the gunboat USS Sachem ( United States Navy) while taking depth soundings in Corpus Christi Pass off Corpus Christi, Texas, the steamer ran aground on Padre Island. Her crew then prevented her from being captured by driving off the boats with small arms fire.[1]

5 December

List of shipwrecks: 5 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Alicia	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner was captured and destroyed in Jupiter Inlet off Florida by the gunboat USS Sagamore.[2]
Unidentified vessels	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: Howitzer boats from the armed sidewheel paddle steamers USS General Putnam and USS Mahaska (both  United States Navy) destroyed a schooner, two sloops, and several boats in branches of the Severn River in Virginia.[1][3]

8 December

List of shipwrecks: 8 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Lake City	United States	American Civil War: The 171-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was burned by Confederate guerrillas on the Mississippi River at Carson's Landing, Arkansas.[4]

10 December

List of shipwrecks: 10 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Menemon Sanford (or Memnorium Sanford)	United States	American Civil War: Carrying 500 soldiers of the 156th New York Infantry Regiment ( Union Army), the 905-ton steamer was wrecked without loss of life on Carysfort Reef off the Florida Keys 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south by west of Carysfort Reef Light. Blackstone (flag unknown) and the bark USS Gemsbok ( United States Navy) rescued everyone on board.[5]

11 December

List of shipwrecks: 11 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Unidentified schooner	Unknown	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner was driven ashore on the coast of Florida at the St. Johns River by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Bienville ( United States Navy).[6]

12 December

List of shipwrecks: 12 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
USS Cairo	United States Navy	American Civil War: The river gunboat struck a Confederate naval mine in the Yazoo River in Mississippi, and sank. The wreck was raised in 1964 and put on display at Vicksburg National Military Park at Vicksburg, Mississippi, at 32°22′33″N 90°52′0″W / 32.37583°N 90.86667°W / 32.37583; -90.86667 (USS Cairo (1861)).

13 December

List of shipwrecks: 13 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Countess of Lisburn	United Kingdom	The smack was wrecked at Cardigan, Wales. Her three crew were rescued by the Cardigan Lifeboat ( Royal National Lifeboat Institution).[7]

14 December

List of shipwrecks: 14 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Badger State	United States	The 127-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was stranded on the Mississippi River at Chain of Rocks, Missouri.[8]

15 December

List of shipwrecks: 15 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Unidentified schooner	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner, carrying a cargo of cotton, was destroyed by her crew after she ran aground on Sand Island on the coast of Alabama while trying to exit Mobile Bay during a gale.[9]

19 December

List of shipwrecks: 19 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Unidentified vessels	Confederate States	American Civil War: A sloop and nine boats were burned at the head of Queen's Creek in Virginia by the gunboat USS General Putnam and the crew of a howitzer boat from the armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Mahaska (all  United States Navy).[10]

20 December

List of shipwrecks: 20 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Champion	United Kingdom	The brigantine was wrecked on the Scarweather Sands, in the Bristol Channel. All ten people on board were rescued. She was on a voyage from New Brunswick to Liverpool, Lancashire, England.[11]
Unidentified schooner	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner, in ballast, was burned on the Piankatank River in Virginia to prevent her capture by the approaching gunboat USS Currituck, armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Ella, and armed tug USS Anacostia (all  United States Navy).[12]
Unidentified vessels	Confederate States	American Civil War: A 30-ton sloop, a scow, and eight boats were destroyed on Fillbates Creek in Virginia by the armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Mahaska ( United States Navy).[10]

22 December

List of shipwrecks: 22 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Curacao	Unknown	The brig ran aground on the coast of California.[13]
Paul Pry	United States	The 229-, 330-, or 350-ton sidewheel paddle steamer struck a rock on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay and sank. She later was salvaged.[14]
Wildcat	Unknown	The schooner ran aground in the Atlantic Ocean on or about 22 December, possibly on the coast of South Carolina near the Ashepoo River.[15]

27 December

List of shipwrecks: 27 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Key West	Confederate States	American Civil War: The 169-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was burned on the Arkansas River at Van Buren, Arkansas, across from Strain's Landing after her capture by Union forces.[16]
Liberty	United States	American Civil War: The 261-ton sternwheel paddle steamer struck a snag and sank at Twelve Pole Creek below Huntington, Virginia (now West Virginia).[17]
Sovereign	Unknown	The schooner parted her moorings and sank at Navarro, California.[18]
Violet	Confederate States	American Civil War: The 89-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was burned on the Arkansas River at Van Buren, Arkansas.[19]

27-28 December

List of shipwrecks: 27-28 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Era No. 6	Confederate States	American Civil War: The 83-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was burned on the Arkansas River one mile (1.6 km) above Van Buren, Arkansas, to prevent her capture by Union forces.[20]

28 December

List of shipwrecks: 28 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Arkansas	Confederate States	American Civil War: The 115-ton sidewheel paddle steamer was burned in the Arkansas River above Lee's Creek Bluff in Arkansas to prevent her capture by Union forces.[9]
Blue Wing No. 2	United States	American Civil War: The 170-ton sidewheel paddle steamer was shelled by Confederate artillery and captured by Confederate forces on the Mississippi River eight miles (13 km) below Napoleon, Arkansas, then was towed away and burned.[8]

29 December

List of shipwrecks: 29 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Fanny Harris	United States	The 159-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was sunk by ice at Point Douglas, Minnesota.[21]
Frederick Notrebe	Confederate States	American Civil War: Aground on the Arkansas River one mile (1.6 km) below Van Buren, Arkansas, and captured by Union Army raiders on 28 December, the sidewheel paddle steamer was shelled by Confederate artillery and then burned by Union forces to prevent her recapture by the Confederates.[22]
Rose Douglas	Confederate States	American Civil War: Captured by Union Army raiders on 28 December while carrying a cargo of corn, molasses, and sugar, the 123-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was shelled by Confederate artillery and then burned by Union forces on the Arkansas River at Van Buren, Arkansas, to prevent her recapture by the Confederates.[23]

30 December

List of shipwrecks: 30 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Ann	Confederate States	American Civil War, Union blockade: Carrying a cargo of coffee, salt, and other goods, the 3½-ton sloop was destroyed at Jupiter Inlet on the coast of Florida by the bark USS Gem of the Sea ( United States Navy).[24]

31 December

List of shipwrecks: 31 December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
Frying Pan Shoals Lightship	Confederate States	The lightvessel was destroyed in the Cape Fear River in North Carolina near Fort Caswell by men aboard a cutter and a gig from the armed screw steamer USS Mount Vernon ( United States Navy).[25]
USS Monitor	United States Navy	An 1863 engraving of USS Monitor sinking, with USS Rhode Island standing by. American Civil War: The monitor foundered in a heavy storm in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with the loss of 16 crew while under tow by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Rhode Island ( United States Navy).

Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date December 1862

Ship	Country	Description
B. M. Runyon	United States Army	The 443-ton sidewheel transport sank in shallow water in the Mississippi River below Alton, Illinois. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.[26]
C. W. Gunnel (or G. W. Gunnel)	Unknown	The schooner was stranded on the coast of California at Point Arena.[13]
Doctor Buffington	United States	The 262-ton sidewheel paddle steamer foundered in the White River in Arkansas.[20]
H. T. Clay	Unknown	The schooner was stranded on the Noyo River in California.[27]
J. E. Murcock	Unknown	The schooner was stranded on the Noyo River in California.[27]
Kelpie	United Kingdom	American Civil War, Union blockade: The steamer, a blockade runner, sank while entering the harbor at Nassau in the Bahamas.[28]
Reliance	United States	The 156-ton sternwheel paddle steamer struck and snag and sank in the Ohio River near Steubenville, Ohio.[29]

References