AH-WR-0959

Vesta

Blockade Runner · United Kingdom · Lost 1864 · The Outer Banks

A blockade runner carrying shoes, cloth, and a uniform meant for General Lee ran aground far south of its intended landfall and was burned.

Captain of Record

Holt Family

AHR-1914

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Vesta left Bermuda on 3 January 1864 with military supplies, cloth, and passengers bound for Fort Fisher, evading pursuing Union cruisers for a week. Mistaking her position, she ran aground between Tubb's Inlet and Little River Inlet, far south of Fort Fisher, on 11 January 1864. Her crew and passengers escaped ashore, and the abandoned ship was found and burned by USS Aries.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: Not established
Yard: London, England
Material: Iron
Length: 165 ft
Beam: 23 ft
Tonnage: 500
Propulsion: Steam, double screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 11, 1864
Cause: Grounding
Location: Between Tubb's Inlet and Little River Inlet, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Bermuda → Fort Fisher / Wilmington, North Carolina
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: Sunset Beach, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (76/100)

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies (Carolana.com transcription)
Dimensions, cargo, and loss circumstances.
The Daily Dispatch, January 20, 1864 (Perseus Digital Library)
First-person account of the voyage and wreck.