List of shipwrecks in October 1861

The list of shipwrecks in October 1861 includes all ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during October 1861.

1 October

List of shipwrecks: 1 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Infernal	French Navy	The frigate was destroyed by fire at Valparaiso, Chile.
Two unidentified schooners	United States	Loaded with stone, the two schooners were sunk by a storm off the coast of North Carolina while en route to Hatteras Inlet, where they would have been scuttled as blockships.[1]

3 October

List of shipwrecks: 3 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Reindeer	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: The 4-ton schooner, bound for Galveston, Texas.with a cargo of salt, was captured and scuttled off San Luis Pass on the coast of Texas by the armed schooners USS Dart and USS Sam Houston (both  United States Navy).[2][3]

5 October

List of shipwrecks: 5 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
CSS Venus	Confederate States Navy	American Civil War, Battle of Cockle Creek: The Confederate privateer, a schooner, was boarded and set afire in Chincoteague Inlet off the coast of Virginia near Cockle Creek by men from the armed screw steamer USS Louisiana ( United States Navy). Venus burned to the waterline.

8 October

List of shipwrecks: 8 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
E. M. Ryland	United States	The 267-ton sidewheel paddle steamer burned on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri.[4]

11 October

List of shipwrecks: 11 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Martha Washington	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner was burned at Dumfries, Virginia, by launches from the armed screw steamers USS Rescue, USS Resolute, and USS Union and the armed tug USS Satellite (all  United States Navy).[5]
USS South Wind	United States	American Civil War, Union blockade: The schooner was scuttled as a blockship – part of the "Stone Fleet" – in Ocracoke Inlet off North Carolina.
Unidentified schooner	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: Boat crews from the armed screw steamers USS Rescue and USS Union and the armed tug USS Resolute (all  United States Navy) captured and burned the schooner in Quantico Creek in Virginia.[2][6]

12 October

List of shipwrecks: 12 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
USS Richmond	United States Navy	American Civil War, Battle of the Head of Passes: The screw sloop-of-war ran aground on a sandbar on the Mississippi River in Louisiana below the Head of Passes after being rammed by the ram CSS Manassas ( Confederate States Navy) at the Head of Passes. She was refloated and returned to service.[2]
USS Vincennes	United States Navy	American Civil War, Battle of the Head of Passes: The sloop-of-war was forced to run aground on a sandbar on the Mississippi River in Louisiana below Head of Passes by the ram CSS Manassas ( Confederate States Navy) at the Head of Passes. Her commanding officer ordered her magazine detonated to prevent her capture by Confederate forces, but her engineer, after lighting a fuse intended to detonate it, cut the burning fuse and threw it overboard. She was refloated later in the day and returned to service.[2]

15 October

List of shipwrecks: 15 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Thomas Watson	Unknown	American Civil War, Union blockade: Bound from London, England, to Wilmington, North Carolina, with a cargo of salt, blankets, flannels, and other dry goods, the sailing ship ran aground on the coast of South Carolina on the northeastern side of Stono Reef. Her crew abandoned her. The screw frigate USS Roanoke ( United States Navy) captured her wreck, and Eby burned her.[7]
Two unidentified schooners	Unknown	The two schooners were lost in a storm while tied up at a wharf in Galveston, Texas.[8]

18 October

List of shipwrecks: 18 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Frolic	United States	American Civil War: After being driven out to sea and losing all of her sails overnight, the tender ran aground at Southwest Pass at the mouth of the Mississippi River on the coast of Louisiana. She was stripped and burned by the gunboat USS South Carolina ( United States Navy) to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[9]

23 October

List of shipwrecks: 23 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
CSS Tuscarora	Confederate States Navy	The sidewheel gunboat caught fire and was run ashore on the bank of the Mississippi River near Herbert's Plantation, 15 miles (24 km) below Memphis, Tennessee. Her ammunition magazine exploded seven minutes later, destroying her and setting the plantation′s slave quarters on fire. Her crew were rescued.[10]

27-28 October

List of shipwrecks: 27-28 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Three unidentified vessels	Confederate States of America	American Civil War, Union blockade: Personnel in boats from the armed screw steamer USS Louisiana ( United States Navy) boarded and burned three Confederate vessels in Chincoteague Inlet off Virginia.[2]
Anglo-American	United States	The schooner was wrecked on the east side of Tomales Point at Tomales Bay on the coast of California. The crew got ashore safely but the vessel was a total loss.[11]

29 October

List of shipwrecks: 29 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
George W. Coffee	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: The 177-ton sidewheel ferry sank at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, perhaps due to sabotage by Union sympathizers. She later was refloated.[12]

30 October

List of shipwrecks: 30 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Daniel Towbridge	United States	American Civil War: The 200-ton packet schooner was burned in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Dominica at either 16°40′N 58°16′W / 16.667°N 58.267°W / 16.667; -58.267 (Daniel Trowbridge) or 17°54′N 56°03′W / 17.900°N 56.050°W / 17.900; -56.050 (Daniel Trowbridge) by the merchant raider CSS Sumter ( Confederate States Navy). Sumter had captured Daniel Trowbridge, carrying a cargo of fresh provisions from New Haven, Connecticut, to Demerara, British Guiana, on 27 October.[13][14]
Keystone State	United States	Carrying a cargo of crockery, farm implements, glassware, and hardware and US$3,000 to US$9,000 in gold in a safe, the 1,354-ton sidewheel paddle steamer sank in Lake Huron northeast of Port Austin in the Thumb region of Michigan near Saginaw Bay at 44°04′N 83°00′W / 44.067°N 83.000°W / 44.067; -83.000 (Keystone State).[15]
Unidentified barges	Confederate States of America	American Civil War: Confederate forces filled the barges with rocks and scuttled them as blockships in the Cumberland River in Tennessee near Fort Donelson.[16]

31 October

List of shipwrecks: 31 October 1861

Ship	Country	Description
Peerless	United States	American Civil War: Carrying a cargo of stores and cattle for use by Union forces in the upcoming Battle of Port Royal, the 690-ton steam transport sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras. Her crew were rescued by the sloop-of-war USS Mohican ( United States Navy).[17]
Salinas	United States	The screw steamer was swamped at the mouth of the Salinas River on the coast of California and run aground. She later was refloated.[18]

References