AH-WR-0572

Independence

Passenger And Mail Steamship · United States · Lost 1852 · Texas & the Western Gulf

A brand-new side-wheel steamship lost with six lives on her maiden voyage attempting to cross the bar into Matagorda Bay without a pilot in 1852.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Independence was a 1,376-ton side-wheel steamship built in Hoboken, New Jersey, for the New Orleans-to-Indianola trade. On her maiden voyage, Captain Charles Stoddard attempted to cross the bar at Cavallo Pass into Matagorda Bay without the services of a local pilot. The ship was lost on March 26, 1852, and six lives were lost; because of high seas, surviving passengers were not rescued for two days. A 1978 magnetometer survey by the Texas Antiquities Committee probably relocated the wreck, and the site is a designated Texas state archeological landmark.

Vessel

Built: 1852
Builder: Not established
Yard: Hoboken, New Jersey
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 1376
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: March 26, 1852
Cause: Grounding
Location: Cavallo Pass, entrance to Matagorda Bay, Texas
Water: Matagorda Bay
Voyage: New Orleans, Louisiana → Indianola, Texas
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 6
Master: Charles Stoddard

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1978 (probable relocation)
Protection: Texas state archeological landmark

Position

Coordinates: 28.38° N 96.38° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Matagorda Bay, Calhoun County, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of Cavallo Pass, entrance to Matagorda Bay, the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

The exact wreck coordinates are not published, and the vessel's builder and full particulars beyond tonnage are not established in the sources reviewed.