These ships are resting just off the Outer Banks in the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’

Bee

Captain
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Gettysburg 2017
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
I wonder how many Civil War era ships are amongst the wrecks?

These ships are resting just off the Outer Banks in the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’

It’s Labor Day weekend. You’re vacationing with your family and friends at the Outer Banks. The water is warm thanks to the Gulf Stream, and the waves are gentle. Cumulus clouds dot the sky to periodically relieve the heat. The OBX is a beach-goer’s paradise, but hidden just below those gentle waves is the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” — the final resting place for more than 5,000 sunken ships.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...outer-banks-in-the-graveyard-of-the-atlantic/
 
I wonder how many Civil War era ships are amongst the wrecks?

These ships are resting just off the Outer Banks in the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’

It’s Labor Day weekend. You’re vacationing with your family and friends at the Outer Banks. The water is warm thanks to the Gulf Stream, and the waves are gentle. Cumulus clouds dot the sky to periodically relieve the heat. The OBX is a beach-goer’s paradise, but hidden just below those gentle waves is the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” — the final resting place for more than 5,000 sunken ships.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...outer-banks-in-the-graveyard-of-the-atlantic/
It seems that the Haitian Triumph ex USS /CSS Atlanta may also be somewhere off Cape Hatteras.
 
There are a number of books that I have (back in Texas)- a series by an author whose name I cannot recall (Gary Gentile, maybe?) - who does a lot of shipwreck salvage. Not my cup of tea, but he does publish the locations and descriptions in a series a book based on regional location (e.g. North Atlantic U.S., South Atlantic U.S., Gulf Coast, etc. As I recall he has a pretty good list of wrecks for the Outer Banks region. I also recall a similar book by ??? Stick. Might be worth checking out.
 
The collapsed wreck of USS Monitor is there, minus the engine and turret. The US submersible Alligator is somewhere out there, as well, but has never been located.

I thought the Monitor was salvaged and restored for display at the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Va.?
 
I thought the Monitor was salvaged and restored for display at the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Va.?

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The engine, turret, and screw are at Mariners Museum. The rest of the hull is collapsed and/or too fragile to recover.
 
The engine, turret, and screw are at Mariners Museum. The rest of the hull is collapsed and/or too fragile to recover.
Along with artifacts from the turret. Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall that some items on the seabed next to the wreck were recovered too.
 
Along with artifacts from the turret. Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall that some items on the seabed next to the wreck were recovered too.
Absolutely correct. They have lots of odds and ends, but the main structure of the hull remains on the bottom.
 
The rest of the hull is collapsed and/or too fragile to recover.
I recall being told that by a volunteer at the Museum when I visited there in June 2014. He was a retired merchant seaman from Galveston.
 
Four ships of the 1861 Port Royal Expedition, the transport Governor with 300 Marines and the ships Osceola, Peerless and Union carrying food and ammunition, sank in a hurricane on November 1, 1861. Sources vary as to whether it was off Cape Hatteras or a bit further south.
 
Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast by David Stick

Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks by W. Craig Gaines

Beneath the Waters: Guide to Civil War Shipwrecks by James E. Hemphill

Shipwrecks of the Civil War: the Encyclopedia of Union and Confederate Naval Losses by Donald G. Shomette

Shipwrecks of North Carolina from Hatteras Inlet south by Gary Gentile

Shipwrecks of North Carolina from the Diamond Shoals North by Gary Gentile

Shipwreck Diving North Carolina: Calabash to Southport by Fred R. David and Vern J. Bender

Shipwrecks, Disasters and Rescues of the Graveyard of the Atlantic and Cape Fear by Norma Elizabeth and Bruce Roberts

Shipwrecks: Diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic by Roderick M. Farb

Guide to Shipwreck Diving: North Carolina by Roderick M. Farb

Wreck diving in North Carolina: A directory of shipwrecks along the North Carolina coast by Dennis C Regan

The North Carolina diver's handbook: A guide to diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic by Jess Harker

Shipwrecks: Disasters & rescues of the Graveyard of the Atlantic and Cape Fear by Norma Elizabeth Butterworth-McKittrick

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
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