List of shipwrecks in February 1863

The list of shipwrecks in February 1863 includes all ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during February 1863.

1 February

List of shipwrecks: 1 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Industry	United Kingdom	American Civil War, Union blockade: The 200-ton schooner, a blockade runner carrying a cargo of salt, was forced aground on the coast of North Carolina 5 miles (8 km) north of New Topsail Inlet by the armed screw steamer USS Mount Vernon ( United States Navy) and burned by her crew. Union forces then scuttled her.[1][2]

3 February

List of shipwrecks: 3 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
A. W. Baker	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The 112-ton sidewheel paddle steamer was run aground by her crew and then captured and burned in the Mississippi River 15 miles (24 km) below the mouth of the Red River of the South by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Queen of the West ( United States Navy).[1][3]
Berwick Bay	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The 64-ton sidewheel paddle steamer, carrying a cargo of cotton, flour, molasses, and sugar, was captured and burned in the Mississippi River about 15 miles (24 km) below the mouth of the Red River of the South by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Queen of the West ( United States Navy).[1][4]
Marie Banks	United States	Bound for the shipyard at Fort Monroe, Virginia, with a cargo of rigging, the schooner was wrecked on the coast of Virginia 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Cape Henry.[5]
Moro	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The 132-ton sidewheel paddle steamer, carrying a cargo of hogs, pork, and salt, was captured and burned in the Mississippi River 15 miles (24 km) below the mouth of the Red River of the South by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Queen of the West ( United States Navy).[1][6]
Palmetto	United States	American Civil War: The 172-ton schooner, bound from New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was captured and burned in the North Atlantic Ocean at 27°18′27″N 66°10′00″W / 27.30750°N 66.16667°W / 27.30750; -66.16667 (Palmetto) by the screw sloop-of-war CSS Alabama ( Confederate States Navy).[7][1][8]
William H. Starke	Confederate States of America	Carrying corn and other cargo, the steamer sank in 30 feet (9.1 meters) of water in the Savannah River in Georgia 20 miles (32 km) below Augusta.[9]

4 February

List of shipwrecks: 4 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Unidentified barge or boat	United States	American Civil War: The barge or boat was burned by Confederate States Army forces on the Cumberland River near Dover, Tennessee.[10]

5 February

List of shipwrecks: 5 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
CSS Selma	Confederate States Navy	American Civil War: The sidewheel gunboat struck an underwater obstruction while trying to cross the Dog River Bar in Mobile Bay, Alabama, and sank in 8 feet (2.4 meters) of water. The Confederates refloated her on 13 February, repaired her, and returned her to service.[11]

6 February

List of shipwrecks: 6 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Advance	United States	The 39-ton sternwheel towboat struck a snag and sank in the Wabash River at Hutsonville, Illinois.[12]

7 February

List of shipwrecks: 7 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
USS Glide	United States Navy	The tinclad sternwheel gunboat was caught fire while under repair on the Mississippi River one mile (1.6 km) below Cairo, Illinois. She was cast adrift and floated one to two miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) downstream before grounding on the Kentucky side of the river near Fort Holt and burning to the waterline, with some shells on board exploding. Two people were killed.[13]
HMS Orpheus	Royal Navy	Painting The Wreck of HMS Orpheus, by Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895). The Jason-class corvette ran onto a sandbar and was destroyed by waves at Whatipu, Manukau Harbour, New Zealand. There were 189 dead and 70 survivors. It remains New Zealand's most deadly shipwreck.[14]

9 February

List of shipwrecks: 9 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Isabel	United States	The 1,115-ton sidewheel paddle steamer, carrying 20 passengers – one of them transporting US$8,000 in gold – and a cargo of dry goods, provisions, leather, and hay, a large amount of express matter, and a safe containing US$5,000, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey near Barnegat with the loss of four lives almost immediately after colliding with North Star (flag unknown).[15][16]

12 February

List of shipwrecks: 12 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Mary E. Pindar	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: After being captured by the bark USS Gemsbok ( United States Navy) on 22 September 1862, the schooner was lost in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina near Federal Point.[17]

13 February

List of shipwrecks: 13 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Jacob Bell	United States	CSS Florida burns Jacob Bell in a Harper's Weekly illustration from 1863. American Civil War: The clipper, carrying 41 people and a cargo of camphor, chow chow, firecrackers, matting, and tea, was burned in the North Atlantic Ocean off the West Indies southwest of Bermuda at 25°03′N 67°00′W / 25.050°N 67.000°W / 25.050; -67.000 (Jacob Bell) by the screw sloop-of-war CSS Florida ( Confederate States Navy). Florida had captured Jacob Bell, bound from Foochow, China, to New York City with 43 passengers and a cargo of tea, firecrackers, matting, and camphor, on 12 February.[18][1][19]

14 February

List of shipwrecks: 14 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
CSS American Diver	Confederate States Navy	American Civil War: Also known as CSS Pioneer II, the prototype submarine sank in Mobile Bay, Alabama, while under tow in stormy weather. No lives were lost.[20]
Dan	United States	The 112-ton sidewheel paddle steamer sank in the Mississippi River.[21][22]
De Soto	United States	American Civil War: The 1,200-ton sidewheel paddle steamer ran aground on the Red River of the South below Fort Taylor, Louisiana, and lost her rudder. Unable to steer, she drifted 15 miles (24 km) downriver, then was burned to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. A coal barge she was towing also was burned.[23][24]
USS Queen of the West	United States Navy	American Civil War: The sidewheel paddle steamer ran aground on the Red River of the South at Fort Taylor, Louisiana, and was captured by Confederate forces.[1]
Unidentified vessel	Unknown	American Civil War: Aground with cargo aboard on a shoal in Bulls Bay off the coast of South Carolina, the vessel was burned by the bark USS Restless ( United States Navy).[25]

17 February

List of shipwrecks: 17 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Hercules	United States	American Civil War: Towing seven coal barges in fog on the Mississippi River off Hopefield, Arkansas, opposite Memphis, Tennessee, the 151-ton sternwheel tug was captured by troops of the Arkansas Cavalry Company ( Confederate States Army) with the loss of one of her crewmen killed. Union gunboats then sank her and one of the barges with gunfire, after which the Confederates set her on fire and she burned to the water's edge.[1][26]

18 February

List of shipwrecks: 18 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Elma	United States	During a voyage from New York City to Baltimore, Maryland, with an assorted cargo, the schooner burned on Virginia′s East River.[27]

19 February

List of shipwrecks: 19 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Laconic	United Kingdom	The barque was wrecked on the Helwick Shoal in the Bristol Channel. Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Swansea, Wales, to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.[28]
Swan	United States	The 487-bulk-ton sidewheel paddle steamer foundered in the Gulf of Mexico during a voyage from Key West, Florida, to New Orleans, Louisiana.[29]

21 February

List of shipwrecks: 21 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Golden Eagle	United States	American Civil War: The 1,121-ton clipper, carrying a cargo of guano from Howland Island to Cork, Ireland, was captured and burned in the North Atlantic Ocean at 29°28′N 44°58′W / 29.467°N 44.967°W / 29.467; -44.967 (Golden Eagle) by the screw sloop-of-war CSS Alabama ( Confederate States Navy).[7][1][19]
Olive Jane	United States	American Civil War: The 360-ton bark, bound from Bordeaux, France, to New York City with a cargo of wine, brandy, and delicacies, was captured and burned by the screw sloop-of-war CSS Alabama ( Confederate States Navy).[7][1]

22 February

List of shipwrecks: 21 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Merrimac	United States	The 100-ton screw steam tug capsized with the loss of 13 lives while trying to cross the Humboldt Bar at Humboldt Bay on the coast of California; there were five survivors. She then grounded twice more while floating upside down. She later was salvaged.[30]

23 February

List of shipwrecks: 23 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
USS Kinsman	United States Navy	American Civil War: The ironclad river gunboat struck a snag and sank in Berwick Bay near Brashear City, Louisiana, while transporting a detachment of troops. Six men were reported missing.[1]

24 February

List of shipwrecks: 24 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Ben Bolt	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The barge was captured and destroyed in Back Creek on the York River in Virginia by two cutters from the armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Mahaska ( United States Navy).[31]
Era No. 7	United States	American Civil War: The sternwheel paddle steamer struck a snag and sank in the Mississippi River 20 miles (32 m) below Warrenton, Mississippi.[32]
USS Indianola	United States Navy	American Civil War: The sidewheel paddle steamer was run aground in a sinking condition on the Mississippi River above the Red River of the South after being rammed by the rams CSS Webb and CSS Queen of the West. She then was captured by Confederate forces.[1]
Mary Jane	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The 30-ton sloop was captured and destroyed in Back Creek on the York River in Virginia by two cutters from the armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Mahaska ( United States Navy).[5]
Queen of the Wave	United Kingdom	American Civil War, Union blockade: The 775-bulk-ton screw steamer, a blockade runner with a cargo of tin sheets, quinine, morphine, opium, calico, and printing paper, was forced to run aground near the mouth of the North Santee River on the coast of South Carolina by the armed sidewheel paddle steamer USS Conemaugh ( United States Navy). Her crew set her on fire and abandoned ship. Conemaugh blew her up, breaking her in half, on 7 March.[1][33]

25 February

List of shipwrecks: 25 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
USS Indianola	United States Navy	USS Indianola explodes in a sketch by Theodore R. Davis, published in Harper's Weekly in 1863. American Civil War: Confederate salvage crews working to refloat the sidewheel paddle steamer – aground in a sinking condition on the Mississippi River above the Red River of the South since 24 February – panicked when they received word that a large Union gunboat was approaching. They set fire to Indianola, which burned to the waterline and blew up when flames reached her magazines. The "gunboat" turned out to be an unarmed barge disguised to look like a warship and sent downstream to trick the Confederates into abandoning or destroying Indianola.[1]

28 February

List of shipwrecks: 28 February 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Era No. 5	United States	American Civil War: After Union forces had dismantled the 115-ton sidewheel paddle steamer, her parts were scattered and sunk in the Mississippi River below Vicksburg, Mississippi.[32]
Rattlesnake	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: After the Confederate privateer ran aground in the Ogeechee River in Georgia, the monitor USS Montauk ( United States Navy) destroyed her with gunfire.

Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1863

Ship	Country	Description
Beeswing	United States	The schooner was wrecked on the coast of California near the Golden Gate with the loss of eight lives.[34]
J. R. Whiting (or J. R. Whitney)	Unknown	The schooner was lost on the Noyo River in California on 13 or 16 February. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.[35]
Relief (or Pilot Boat No. 2)	United States	The pilot boat capsized in the breakers at the San Francisco Bar with the loss of four crewmen.[36]
CSS Slidell	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The gunboat was destroyed on the Tennessee River sometime prior to 6 February.[37]

References