The list of shipwrecks in April 1861 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during April 1861 .
This is a
dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with
reliable sources .
1 April
2 April
3 April
4 April
List of shipwrecks: 4 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
Cornelia
United States
The ship was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of the Isles of Scilly , United Kingdom . Her crew were rescued by Mary Ann Jones ( United Kingdom ). Cornelia was on a voyage from the Clyde to Santos , Brazil .[ 12] [ 10]
Gartcraig
United Kingdom
The ship ran aground on the Kimmeridge Ledge, in the English Channel off the coast of Dorset . She was on a voyage from Poole, Dorset to Quebec City , Province of Canada , British North America .[ 13]
Henry Bailey
United Kingdom
The ship sprang a leak and sank in the Bristol Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Lundy Island , Devon . Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Tralee , County Kerry to Gloucester .[ 14]
Toad
United Kingdom
The barque sprang a leak and foundered in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Alexandria , Egypt to Falmouth, Cornwall .[ 13]
5 April
6 April
7 April
8 April
List of shipwrecks: 8 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
America
United Kingdom
The barque was wrecked at Cape San Antonio, Cuba . She was on a voyage from Cienfuegos , Cuba to Boston, Massachusetts , United States.[ 17]
Black Squall
Unknown
The brig was lost on the coast of North Carolina at Ocracoke Inlet .[ 18]
Boundary
United States
Carrying a cargo of lumber , the schooner was wrecked on Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island .[ 19]
Niagara
United Kingdom
The steamship ran aground at Queenstown, County Cork . She was on a voyage from Liverpool , Lancashire to Halifax, Nova Scotia , British North America . She was refloated and resumed her voyage.[ 10]
Witchcraft
United States
The clipper ran aground at Chicamanconico on the coast of North Carolina , within sight of the Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island lighthouses and was pounded to pieces by the surf.
9 April
10 April
11 April
12 April
List of shipwrecks: 12 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
Dinorwic
United Kingdom
The ship was driven ashore on Texel , North Holland , Netherlands. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Caernarfon to Hamburg .[ 25] [ 26]
Oneko and Johann
Russian Empire
The ship was wrecked at Thisted , Denmark. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland , United Kingdom to Riga .[ 24]
Paquete do Minho
Portugal
The ship ran aground on the Gunfleet Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex , United Kingdom. She was on a voyage from South Shields , County Durham , United Kingdom to Montevideo , Uruguay. She was refloated and taken in to Harwich , Essex.[ 25]
Queen of the Seas
United Kingdom
The ship was wrecked at Thisted. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Stettin .[ 24]
Tennant
United Kingdom
The brig was driven ashore at Palermo , Sicily , Italy .[ 25]
13 April
17 April
List of shipwrecks: 17 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
Adelaide
South Australia
The brigantine was wrecked at MacDonnel Bay .[ 28]
Clarinda
United Kingdom
The ship struck a sunken rock off the Plana Islands, Spain and was holed. She was taken in to Alicante Bay in a leaky condition.[ 29]
Einigkeit
Prussia
The koff sank 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of Skagen , Denmark. Her crew were rescued by the steamship Colonist ( United Kingdom ). Einigkeit was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland , United Kingdom to Pillau .[ 30] [ 31]
Elaine
United Kingdom
The full-rigged ship was wrecked in the Saint Lawrence River at Point-des-Monts, Province of Canada , British North America . She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Montreal , Province of Canada.[ 32] [ 33]
James Baillie
United Kingdom
The barque was wrecked on Skagen , Denmark. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland to Cronstadt , Russia .[ 31]
Two large unidentified boats
Confederate States of America
American Civil War : The boats were scuttled as blockships by Confederate forces in the Elizabeth River in Virginia near Craney Island on or about 17 April.[ 34]
18 April
19 April
20 April
List of shipwrecks: 20 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
USS Columbus
United States Navy
American Civil War : The decommissioned ship-of-the-line , laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , was scuttled to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 37]
USS Delaware
United States Navy
American Civil War: The decommissioned ship-of-the-line , laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , was burned to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 38]
Elizabeth
United Kingdom
The ship was driven ashore and wrecked on Saaremaa , Russia . Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from South Shields , County Durham to Cronstadt , Russia.[ 31]
USS Germantown
United States Navy
American Civil War: The sloop-of-war was scuttled at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. The Confederates later raised her and used her as a floating battery .[ 39]
H. H. Boody
United States
The ship ran aground at Drogheda , County Louth , United Kingdom . Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Liverpool , Lancashire , United Kingdom to Portland, Maine .[ 40]
USS Merrimack
United States Navy
American Civil War: The screw frigate , laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , was burned to the waterline and scuttled to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. The Confederates later raised her and converted her into the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia ( Confederate States Navy ).[ 41]
USS Pennsylvania
United States Navy
American Civil War: The ship-of-the-line , serving as a receiving ship at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , was burned to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 42]
USS Plymouth
United States Navy
American Civil War: The sloop-of-war was scuttled and partially burned while under repair at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 42]
USS Raritan
United States Navy
American Civil War: The frigate , laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , was destroyed to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 43]
21 April
List of shipwrecks: 21 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
USS Columbia
United States Navy
American Civil War : The frigate was scuttled and burned to the waterline at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 44]
USS Dolphin
United States Navy
American Civil War: The brig was burned at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 38]
Express No. 10
France
The steamship foundered in the English Channel off Havre de Grâce , Seine-Inférieure . She was on a voyage from Havre de Grâce to Rouen . She was refloated on 24 April and found to be severely damaged. Express No. 10 was taken in to Havre de Grâce for repairs.[ 45]
Maryland
United Kingdom
American Civil War: The steamship ran aground at Annapolis, Maryland . She was refloated.[ 46]
New York
United States
American Civil War: The incomplete ship-of-the-line , laid down in March 1820 but never launched , was burned at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , to prevent her capture by Confederate forces.[ 41]
Utopia
United Kingdom
The ship was driven ashore at Mogador , Morocco. She was refloated the next day.[ 47]
22 April
List of shipwrecks: 22 April 1861
Ship
State
Description
Orion
United Kingdom
The barque ran aground on the Droogden, in the North Sea off the Dutch coast.[ 31] She was refloated on 25 April and resumed her voyage.[ 48]
Spero
United Kingdom
The ship was lost in Riga Bay . Her crew survived.[ 49]
23 April
24 April
25 April
26 April
27 April
28 April
29 April
30 April
Unknown date
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date in April 1861
Ship
State
Description
Anna Maria
Netherlands
The brig ran aground in the Dardanelles before 28 April. She was on a voyage from Brăila , Ottoman Empire to Falmouth, Cornwall , United Kingdom .[ 47]
Arcturus
United Kingdom
The brig foundered in the North Sea . She was in a voyage from Inverkeithing , Fife to Cronstadt , Russia .[ 63]
Arthur
United Kingdom
The steamship ran aground on Læsø , Denmark. She was on a voyage from Hull , Yorkshire to Stettin . She subsequently broke up.[ 64]
Ferdinand
Hamburg
The ship collided with Humboldt ( United States ) and foundered before 3 April with loss of life. Three crew were rescued by Humboldt . Ferdinand was on a voyage from Antwerp , Belgium to Hamburg.[ 13]
Marquette
United States
The ship ran aground on the Burbo Bank, in Liverpool Bay . She was on a voyage from New Orleans, Louisiana to Liverpool , Lancashire , United Kingdom. She was refloated on 15 April and towed in to Liverpool.[ 26]
Olaf
Norway
The koff ran aground off Hirsholmene . She was on a voyage from Hartlepool , County Durham , United Kingdom to Fredrikshavn . She was refloated and assisted in to Fredrikshavn, where she arrived on 18 April in a severely leaky condition.[ 31]
Palestine
United Kingdom
The ship was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean before 16 April. She was on a voyage from New York City , United States to London .[ 65]
Rectitude
United Kingdom
The barque was sunk by ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence before 21 April. Her crew were rescued by Colombia ( United Kingdom ). Rectitude was on a voyage from Dundee , Forfarshire to Quebec City , Province of Canada , British North America .[ 66] [ 67] [ 68]
Saint Savinien
France
The brigantine was lost near "Carabournou", Ottoman Empire before 5 April. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Odessa to Constantinople , Ottoman Empire.[ 14]
Sophie
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
The brig was destroyed by fire at Falmouth before 24 April.[ 69]
Spartan
United Kingdom
The ship was driven ashore before 4 April. She was on a voyage from Hong Kong to London . She was refloated and taken in to Foo Chow Foo , China where it was found she had broken her back. She was condemned.[ 15]
Tasmania
Victoria
The steamship was wrecked at Waitara, New South Wales before 11 April. Some of her crew were rescued by Aborigines .[ 70]
Troas
United Kingdom
The ship was driven ashore in the Hooghly River . She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Calcutta , India . She was later refloated and taken in to Calcutta, where she arrived on 24 April.[ 71]
References
Notes
^ a b "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11434. London. 4 April 1861. p. 7.
^ "Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant . No. 9719. Newcastle upon Tyne. 5 April 1861.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Glasgow Herald . No. 6623. Glasgow. 3 April 1861.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Liverpool Mercury . No. 4100. Liverpool. 3 April 1861.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23897. London. 3 April 1861. col F, p. 11.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Aberdeen Journal . No. 5908. Aberdeen. 3 April 1861.
^ "A Ship Destroyed by Fire". Dundee Courier . No. 3884. Dundee. 8 April 1861.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11433. London. 3 April 1861. p. 7.
^ Gaines, p. 54.
^ a b c d e f "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11438. London. 9 April 1861. p. 7.
^ a b "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11437. London. 8 April 1861. p. 7.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Morning Chronicle . No. 4652. London. 9 April 1861.
^ a b c d "Shipping Intelligence". Morning Chronicle . No. 29404. London. 6 April 1861.
^ a b c "Shipping Intelligence". Morning Chronicle . No. 29405. London. 8 April 1861.
^ a b "Ship News". The Times . No. 23944. London. 28 May 1861. col F, p. 11.
^ "Lifeboat Services". Preston Chronicle . No. 2530. London. 13 April 1861.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11476. London. 23 May 1861. p. 7.
^ Gaines, p. 115.
^ Gaines, p. 141.
^ "Salvage Adjudication". Essex Standard . Vol. 31, no. 1583. Colchester. 19 April 1861.
^ "The Mails &c". The Times . No. 23954. London. 7 June 1861. col E, p. 12.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23950. London. 4 June 1861. col E, p. 12.
^ "The Loss of the Star of the East". The Times . No. 23985. London. 15 July 1861. col E, p. 6.
^ a b c "Ship News". The Times . No. 23907. London. 15 April 1861. col D, p. 12.
^ a b c d e "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11443. London. 15 April 1861. p. 7.
^ a b "Shipping Intelligence". Morning Chronicle . No. 29412. London. 15 April 1861.
^ "Local News". Dundee Courier . No. 3888. Dundee. 18 April 1861.
^ "Major Vessels Built at the Tasmanian Government Dockyards" (PDF) . Keyportarthur. Retrieved 3 December 2017 .
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Aberdeen Journal . No. 5911. Aberdeen. 24 April 1861.
^ "The Loss of the Colonist, of Hull". The Times . No. 24047. London. 25 September 1861. col E, p. 7.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant . No. 9723. Newcastle upon Tyne. 3 May 1861.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23931. London. 13 May 1861. col D, p. 12.
^ "SHIPS BUILT AT SUNDERLAND IN THE 1860s" . Searle. Retrieved 26 January 2020 .
^ Gaines, p. 191.
^ "SHIPS BUILT AT SUNDERLAND IN THE 1840s" . Searle. Retrieved 25 January 2020 .
^ "West Coast of Africa". Liverpool Mercury . No. 4160. Liverpool. 12 June 1861.
^ Gaines, p. 177.
^ a b Gaines, p. 179.
^ Gaines, p. 181.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23914. London. 23 April 1861. col F, p. 12.
^ a b Gaines, p. 185.
^ a b Gaines, p. 186.
^ Gaines, p. 187.
^ Gaines, pp. 176-177.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11454. London. 27 April 1861. p. 7.
^ "The Civil War in America". Belfast News-Letter . No. 14058. Belfast. 7 May 1861.
^ a b "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11467. London. 13 May 1861. p. 7.
^ a b c d e "Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant . No. 9724. Newcastle upon Tyne. 10 May 1861.
^ "Montrose Vessels Lost in 1861". Dundee Courier . No. 2628. Dundee. 13 January 1862.
^ Ingram & Wheatley, p. 71.
^ Gaines, p. 138.
^ "China". Belfast News Letter . No. 14089. Belfast. 12 June 1861.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11524. London. 18 July 1861. p. 7.
^ a b "Ship News". The Times . No. 23924. London. 4 May 1861. col E, p. 12.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11455. London. 29 April 1861. p. 7.
^ Gaines, p. 31.
^ "Loss of the Glasgow Steamship United States". The Times . No. 23934. London. 16 May 1861. col A, p. 9.
^ a b "Ship News". The Times . No. 23919. London. 27 April 1861. col F, p. 12.
^ Gaines, p. 78.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11503. London. 24 June 1861. p. 7.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23940. London. 23 May 1861. col D, p. 12.
^ "SHIPS BUILT AT SUNDERLAND IN THE 1830s" . Searle. Retrieved 25 January 2020 .
^ "Maritime Extracts". Dundee Courier . No. 2413. Dundee. 7 May 1861.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Hull Packet . No. 3983. Hull. 17 May 1861.
^ "Ship News". The Times . No. 23939. London. 22 May 1861. col F, p. 11.
^ "Loss of the "Rectitude" of Dundee". Dundee Courier . No. 2411. Dundee. 6 May 1861.
^ "Shipping Intelligence". Liverpool Mercury . No. 4128. Liverpool. 6 May 1861.
^ "America". Glasgow Herald . No. 6657. Glasgow. 14 May 1861.
^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard . No. 11475. London. 22 May 1861. p. 7.
^ "Wreck of a Mail Steamer. Massacre of Part of the Crew". Liverpool Mercury etc . No. 4170. Liverpool. 24 June 1861.
^ "Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant . No. 9728. Newcastle upon Tyne. 7 June 1861.
Bibliography
Gaines, W. Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks , Louisiana State University Press, 2008 Archived 29 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine , ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6.
Ingram, C. W. N., and Wheatley, P. O., (1936) Shipwrecks: New Zealand disasters 1795–1936. Dunedin, NZ: Dunedin Book Publishing Association.
Shipwrecks 1860–69, by month
1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869