Black Warrior
Sidewheel Steamship · United States · Lost 1859 · New York Harbor
A sidewheel steamer stranded at the mouth of New York Harbor in 1859, now one of the harbour's oldest known dive wrecks.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
The Black Warrior was a wooden sidewheel steamship built in 1852 for the New York to Gulf trade, and had earlier been at the centre of a diplomatic dispute with Spain over her seizure at Havana. She stranded off Rockaway in February 1859 while outbound from New York and could not be saved. Her broken remains lie in shallow water and have been dived for decades.
Vessel
- 1852
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, sidewheels
- Not established
Loss
- February 20, 1859
- Grounding
- Off Rockaway Point, Long Island, New York
- New York Harbor approaches, Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 30 to 40 feet
- Broken, low-lying structure and machinery on a sand bottom.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 40.53° N 73.90° W
- Approximate position
- Rockaway, Queens, New York
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (70/100)
Casualty figures and the exact extent of the remains are not established in the sources reviewed.
New York State Museum maritime collections
Vessel history and loss.
Contemporary New York newspaper accounts of the stranding
Date and circumstances of the loss.
