AH-WR-0592

Josephine

Sidewheel Steamer · United States · Lost 1881 · The Gulf of Mexico

An iron-hulled Morgan Line steamer that foundered in a Gulf winter storm off the Mississippi coast, with everyone aboard surviving.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Josephine was an iron-hulled sidewheel steamer built in 1868 for Charles Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company, carrying mail, freight, and passengers between New Orleans and Gulf ports including Galveston and later Havana. Returning from Havana in a severe winter storm on the night of February 8-9, 1881, she took on water and foundered in the Gulf of Mexico south of Biloxi, Mississippi. All 65 people aboard survived. The wreck was identified in 1997 by federal marine archaeologists and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Vessel

Built: 1868
Registry: US registry no. 13806
Builder: Harlan and Hollingsworth
Yard: Wilmington, Delaware
Material: Iron
Length: 235 ft
Beam: 34 ft
Tonnage: 1283
Propulsion: Steam, walking-beam sidewheel
Owners: Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company (Charles Morgan)

Loss

Date: February 9, 1881
Cause: Storm
Location: Gulf of Mexico south of Biloxi, Mississippi, between Horn Island and Ship Island
Water: Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Sound approach
Voyage: Havana, Cuba → New Orleans, Louisiana
Cargo: Mail, freight, and passengers
Aboard: 65
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Identified in 1997 by Minerals Management Service marine archaeologists.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1997
Protection: Address-restricted National Register of Historic Places listing (public ownership, State of Mississippi)

Position

Coordinates: 30.20° N 88.99° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Biloxi, Mississippi
Region: The Gulf of Mexico

General area only: coordinate of Ship Island Pass, the named channel between Horn Island and Ship Island recorded as the loss location, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (92/100)

Specific rescue details are not established in the sources reviewed.

National Register of Historic Places nomination, Josephine (Shipwreck)
Build, ownership, loss narrative, and listing status.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement / Minerals Management Service
Discovery, identification, and voyage details.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Ship Island Pass
coordinate of the named place of loss