Was this ship the Denbigh?

[Bruce Allardice]

The April 12, 1864 letter of George P. Hunt, of the USS Metacomet, mention several incidents of the previous days regarding blockade runners off Mobile Bay. Specifically, he says the day before a blockade runner ran in, a clyde-built steamer. The runner ran aground near Fort Morgan, but was gotten off. Can anyone confirm if this is the famous Denbigh?

 

[DaveBrt]

The April 12, 1864 letter of George P. Hunt, of the USS Metacomet, mention several incidents of the previous days regarding blockade runners off Mobile Bay. Specifically, he says the day before a blockade runner ran in, a clyde-built steamer. The runner ran aground near Fort Morgan, but was gotten off. Can anyone confirm if this is the famous Denbigh?

Wise, Lifeline of the Confederacy, says that the Donegal and Alice arrived in Mobile in April, 1864 -- no exact date given. He also lists Denbigh as arriving on April 14. Assuming the arrival in the city is the day after the entrance to the bay, the Denbig is a likely candidate, but it cannot be proven from Wise.

 

[Bruce Allardice]

Wise, Lifeline of the Confederacy, says that the Donegal and Alice arrived in Mobile in April, 1864 -- no exact date given. He also lists Denbigh as arriving on April 14. Assuming the arrival in the city is the day after the entrance to the bay, the Denbig is a likely candidate, but it cannot be proven from Wise.

I agree with you.

 

[Lubliner]

Your mention of the Denbigh has me curious, because near the Warwick and James River, where they meet, that area of the Peninsula is named Denbigh, within the corporate limits of what is now Newport News, Virginia. Is there any association to this name? Thanks,
Lubliner.

 

[JohnDLittlefield]

An Institute of Nautical Archaeology colleague, Barto Arnold, has done great research on Denbigh. Perhaps one of his books can provide the answer...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=J.+Barto+Arnold&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&ref=nb_sb_noss

Arnold also confirms the info provided by @DaveBrt above on his website...
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/PROJECTS/denbigh/Daybyday.htm

 

[Lubliner]

An Institute of Nautical Archaeology colleague, Barto Arnold, has done great research on Denbigh. Perhaps one of his books can provide the answer...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=J.+Barto+Arnold&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&ref=nb_sb_noss

Arnold also confirms the info provided by @DaveBrt above on his website...
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/PROJECTS/denbigh/Daybyday.htm

I see by her list of successes on the bottom link why she was considered famous. She must have been returning to Galveston from Havana when she ran aground.
Denbigh being a place in Wales, originally, and I can find no reference for naming the plantation in Virginia as 'Denbigh Plantation'. But the word means 'little fortress' so it may stand alone, the ship being built in Liverpool. Thanks for the links @JohnDLittlefield. It helped quench the inexorable thirst for minutiae.
Lubliner.