AH-WR-0571

Acadia

Blockade Runner · Confederate States (Canadian-owned) · Lost 1865 · Texas & the Western Gulf

A Canadian-owned Confederate blockade runner that grounded in fog off Surfside on her maiden voyage in 1865 and became a fixture on the beach.

Captain of Record

Jason S West

AHR-1884

See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Acadia set out from Canada on her maiden voyage in December 1864, bound for Nassau, Havana, and Veracruz with food, hardware, and clothing meant to reach Confederate Texas. Early on February 6, 1865, in heavy fog, she grounded in sticky clay about 300 yards off the beach near present-day Surfside. Her crew and cargo made it ashore safely. When the fog lifted, Union forces sighted and shelled the stranded steamer, but Confederate cavalry defending the beach kept them from boarding or burning her, and the wreck became a long-standing coastal landmark.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel
Owners: Canadian owners

Loss

Date: February 6, 1865
Cause: Grounding
Location: About 300 yards off the beach near Surfside, Brazoria County, Texas
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Nassau/Havana/Veracruz circuit → Texas coast
Cargo: Food, hardware, and clothing
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Crew and cargo reportedly came ashore safely.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 28.95° N 95.28° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Surfside, Brazoria County, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of Surfside (Surfside Beach), the named place near which this vessel was lost, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (70/100)

The vessel's builder, dimensions, and ultimate physical fate after becoming a landmark are not established in the sources reviewed.

Texas Historical Commission, Atlas Marker: Sinking Site of the Blockade Runner Acadia
Voyage details, loss date, location, and outcome.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Surfside Beach
coordinate of the named place of loss