AH-WR-1484

Ella

Blockade Runner · Great Britain · Lost 1864 · The Outer Banks

One of the last runners lost at the Cape Fear, stranded off Bald Head Island weeks before Fort Fisher fell.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Ella was a paddle steamer running the blockade into Wilmington late in the war. On 3 December 1864, chased by Union warships, she ran aground off Bald Head Island. Union ships shelled the stranded ship and parties went aboard to finish her off. She was lost only weeks before the fall of Fort Fisher closed Wilmington to blockade runners.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 3, 1864
Cause: Grounding
Location: Off Bald Head Island, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River
Water: Atlantic Ocean
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: 33.85° N 77.97° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Bald Head Island, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

Pin marks the named place of loss, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)

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

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion
Loss date, circumstances and the vessels involved.
North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology Branch
Wreck site and Cape Fear blockade-runner context.