AH-WR-1472

Fanny and Jenny

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

A runner lost off Wrightsville Beach, remembered for the legend of a gold sword meant for Robert E. Lee.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Fanny and Jenny was a paddle steamer running the blockade into Wilmington. In February 1864, pursued by Union warships, she ran aground off Masonboro Inlet near present-day Wrightsville Beach. Her captain, Louis Coxetter, drowned in the loss. A long-told legend holds she carried a jeweled gold sword intended for General Robert E. Lee, which has never been found.

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: February 9, 1864
Cause: Grounding
Location: Off Masonboro Inlet, near Wrightsville Beach
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Her captain, Louis M. Coxetter, is reported to have drowned; other losses are not established.
Master: Louis M. Coxetter

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 34.17° N 77.81° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

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

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

The story of a gold sword for General Lee aboard her is a legend, not an established fact; depth and condition are not established.

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.
Stephen R. Wise, Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War (University of South Carolina Press)
Blockade-running career and loss.