HMS Conqueror
Ship Of The Line · United Kingdom · Lost 1861 · The Bahamas
A 101-gun Royal Navy ship of the line, carrying 1,400 people to Bermuda, wrecked on a Rum Cay reef without a single loss of life.
The Vessel and Her Loss
HMS Conqueror was a 101-gun screw-propelled ship of the line built at Devonport in 1855. While carrying troops toward Bermuda during the Trent Affair crisis, she struck Sumner Point Reef off Rum Cay due to a navigational error and was wrecked. All roughly 1,400 people aboard reached shore safely. Her remains are now a protected dive site managed as part of the Bahamas' underwater museum program.
Vessel
- 1855
- Devonport Dockyard
- Devonport, England
- Wood
- 240 ft
- 55 ft
- 3224
- Steam, single screw, auxiliary sail
- Royal Navy
Loss
- December 13, 1861
- Navigational error
- Sumner Point Reef, Rum Cay
- Atlantic Ocean, off Rum Cay
- Bermuda
- Not established
- 1400
- 0
- Captain Edward Southwell Sotheby
The Wreck Today
- 30 ft
- Broken remains on the reef, designated an underwater museum site.
- Not established
- Not established
- Protected as part of the Underwater Museum of the Bahamas.
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Rum Cay
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (72/100)
The exact date of loss is reported inconsistently across sources (13 December versus 29 December 1861), and precise wreck coordinates are not established.
Loss date, cause, tonnage, survivor count, and present protected status.
The Tribune (Nassau) — Eric Wiberg maritime history column
Voyage purpose, captain, and correction of commonly repeated errors about the wreck.
