AH-WR-0956

Elizabeth

Blockade Runner · United Kingdom · Lost 1863 · The Outer Banks

Formerly the steamer Atlantic seized at New Orleans, Elizabeth made eight blockade runs before grounding and burning at Lockwood's Folly Inlet.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Elizabeth began life as the steamer Atlantic, seized at New Orleans early in the war, and was refitted as a blockade runner working between Nassau and Wilmington. On her eighth run, on 26 September 1863, she ran aground at Lockwood's Folly Inlet while trying to hug the shore past Union blockaders and was burned by her crew to keep her from capture. Her wreck later confused the runner Bendigo into grounding nearby, and remnants are still visible at low tide.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: 216 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 623
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: September 26, 1863
Cause: Grounding
Location: Lockwood's Folly Inlet, near Holden Beach, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Nassau, Bahamas → Wilmington, North Carolina
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Remains visible at low tide; the paddle wheel could be seen from shore until Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed it, leaving smokestack remnants.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Part of the Cape Fear Civil War Shipwreck District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places; owned by the State of North Carolina.