AH-WR-1755

Alpha

Screw Steamer · United States · Lost 1865 · The Outer Banks

The 107-ton screw steamer Alpha exploded in Albemarle Sound in October 1865.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Alpha was a 107-ton American screw steamer built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1858. Gaines records her explosion in Albemarle Sound on October 7, 1865. The source does not establish the explosion mechanism, casualties or exact position. Construction material and dimensions are likewise not supplied.

Vessel

Built: 1858
Builder: Not established
Yard: Brooklyn, New York
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 107 tons
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 7, 1865
Cause: Not established
Location: Albemarle Sound, North Carolina
Water: Albemarle Sound
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Not established
Region: The Outer Banks

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)

Exact wreck position, present depth and surviving condition are not established in the reviewed sources.

W. Craig Gaines — Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks (LSU Press, 2008)
Individual Alpha entry: U.S. screw steamer, 107 tons, built 1858 at Brooklyn, exploded in Albemarle Sound October 7, 1865; cites MSV 8, 241.