Archer
Whaling Ship · United States · Lost December 19–20, 1861 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast
The former whaling ship Archer was scuttled with stone southeast of Morris Island as part of the First Stone Fleet.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Archer was built at Philadelphia in 1836 and sailed as a whaling ship out of New Bedford. Acquired for the Union’s First Stone Fleet, she carried 300 tons of stone. She was scuttled three miles southeast of Morris Island in Charleston Harbor on December 19–20, 1861. This record concerns the blockship, not the separately named Confederate tender.
Vessel
- 1836
- Not established
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 321 tons
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- December 19–20, 1861
- Intentional sinking
- Three miles southeast of Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
- Charleston Harbor
- Not established
- 300 tons of stone
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Charleston, South Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Exact wreck position, present depth and condition, and casualty totals are not established in the reviewed account.
W. Craig Gaines — Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks (LSU Press, 2008)
Page 143: Whaling ship identity, build year/place, tonnage, draft, home port, First Stone Fleet service and completed scuttling.
