The area from Currituck Beach near the Virginia border to the points at Cape Lookout and Cape Fear is referred to as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The coast also has shoals which are a cluster of underwater sandbars that are constantly shifting in shape and depth making navigation in their vicinity perilous. The most famous of these are Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras and Frying Pan Shoals at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC. Off Diamond Shoals cold currents from the Arctic moving south clash with the warm currents of the northbound Gulf Stream in a display of awesome fury. You can see a similar picture if you stand along the shore of Bald Head Island at the mouth of the Care Fear River at Frying Pan Shoals. Thousands of shipwrecks have occurred off the North Carolina coast. A few of these are relevant to the Civil War and can be seen from the shore. Two are located off the Outer Banks, the Oriental and the SS Richmond. All shipwreck sites are best viewed at low tide. The currents around them are very strong and no one should ever attempt to swim to one.

The Oriental

The shipwreck site is about 3 miles south of Oregon Inlet. The Oriental was a 210-foot Union transport ship that was traveling from New York to Port Royal, SC when it sank on May 16, 1862 at 11:55 PM in 15-20 feet of water about 100 yards offshore. The wreck is perpendicular to shore with the bow closest to the beach. What can be seen above the water is part of the steam engine. It is unclear exactly why the ship sank but over the years two explanations have been proposed. The first was that the ship’s pilot fell asleep. The second was that the ship had a faulty compass causing it to sail too far west and run ashore. When the US Navy took possession of the Oriental they converted it to a troop carrier. It left New York on May 15 headed to Port Royal, SC. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton was on board. Saxton was quartermaster of the South Carolina Expeditionary Corps in charge of supplying the fugitive slave colonies at Port Royal and Edisto Island. He was later appointed military governor of the Department of the South and was responsible for recruiting some of the first regiments of Black soldiers that fought for the Union. The ship was carrying supplies, ammunition and letters. All passengers were safely evacuated given the close proximity to shore. To see the shipwreck I parked at the Pea Island National Wildlife Visitor Center- 14500 North Carolina Highway 12 in Rodanthe and I walked across the street and took a path up and over the dune. The top of the steam engine can be seen from either the top of the dune or the shore as shown below.

The SS Richmond

The shipwreck site off Salvo formerly thought to be the USS Pocahontas has been identified as that of the SS Richmond. The SS Richmond was formerly the Confederate blockade runner Blenheim. The Blenheim was sailing regularly from Belfast to Liverpool when she was purchased in 1864 for use as a blockade runner by Richard Eustace. She made four successful runs between Nassau and Wilmington from November 5th to December 15th. On the fifth run, the Blenheim entered the New Inlet of the Cape Fear River on the evening of January 24, 1865, and anchored inside the bar off the Mound battery. Unfortunately for the Blenheim, Fort Fisher had fallen into Union hands a few days earlier. Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter had ordered that the Confederate range lights at the Mound battery be kept burning as if it were still in Confederate hands, in order to lure blockade runners into the river. When the sun came up the Blenheim was spotted by several US ships and a boarding party from the USS Tristram Shandy led by Acting Lieutenant Francis M. Green seized the ship. The capture is detailed in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies (see sources below). She was auctioned as a prize of war and renamed the SS Richmond. In 1866 on a trip from Savannah to Baltimore she ran aground at Salvo. That the ship was the SS Richmond and not the Pocohontas was determined by the presence of a steeple engine. This type of engine was a unique British design, and the SS Richmond was the only ship with a steeple engine to run aground in Northern North Carolina.

I parked at the lot for ramp 23 of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Salvo. I walked down the ramp to the shore and started walking north for a few blocks. The wreck is very close to shore. It is located in the water where Sand Street ends and can be seen on Google Maps at 35.5411499, -75.4643939. Part of the ship can be seen above water only about 75 yards offshore in 10-15 feet of water.

Sources

Graveyard of the Atlantic, Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast by David Stick.

Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks, An Illustrated Guide by Kevin P. Duffus.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Volume 11: North Atlantic Blockading Squadron (October 28, 1864- February 1, 1865 pages 700-702.