AH-WR-0964

Agnes E. Fry

Blockade Runner · Confederate States of America · Lost 1865 · The Outer Banks

Renamed by her captain for his wife, this Clyde-built blockade runner was scuttled near Oak Island and rediscovered by sonar in 2016.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Launched in Scotland in 1864 as the Fox, the iron paddle steamer was renamed Agnes E. Fry after her commander, Joseph Fry, took charge and named her for his wife. Running the blockade to Wilmington, she was scuttled near the mouth of the Cape Fear River around January 1865 as Union forces closed in. Lost for over a century, her well-preserved hull was located by North Carolina state archaeologists using sonar in February 2016.

Vessel

Built: 1864
Builder: Caird & Company
Yard: Greenock, Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: 225 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel (two oscillating cylinder engines)
Owners: Commanded by Joseph Fry, Confederate States Navy

Loss

Date: January 1, 1865
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, off Oak Island, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Bermuda or Nassau → Wilmington, North Carolina
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Well preserved iron hull located by sonar in 2016; a boiler remains embedded, though the engines and paddlewheel set were salvaged in 1888.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2016
Protection: North Carolina state-owned submerged cultural resource; part of ongoing Underwater Archaeology Branch research.