La Fortuna
Privateer · Spain · Lost 1748 · The Outer Banks
A Spanish privateer from Cuba, La Fortuna exploded and sank attacking the colonial port of Brunswick Town in 1748, and her timbers were rediscovered by archaeologists in 2025.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
La Fortuna arrived off Brunswick Town, North Carolina, from Cuba in September 1748 alongside the privateer La Loretta near the end of the War of Jenkins' Ear. Local militia drove back the Spanish landing party, and an explosion in La Fortuna's powder magazine broke the ship apart beside the colonial wharves. Her timbers lay buried in the Cape Fear River mud until East Carolina University researchers identified them in 2025.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Spanish colonial territory (possibly Mexico), based on cypress timber analysis
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Spanish colonial privateering interests operating out of Cuba
Loss
- September 4, 1748
- Fire
- Brunswick Town waterfront, Cape Fear River, North Carolina
- Cape Fear River
- Cuba → Brunswick Town, North Carolina
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Large section of hull timbers and planking identified on the riverbed and beach
- Not established
- 2025
- Within Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site
Position
- 34.00° N 77.94° W
- Approximate position
- Brunswick Town, North Carolina
General position of the Brunswick Town colonial waterfront where the wreck timbers were found.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)
Identification as La Fortuna is tentative, based on timber analysis and historical records rather than a confirmed nameplate or unique artifact.
East Carolina University Program in Maritime Studies
Discovery, timber analysis, tentative identification.
Discovery announcement, historical background of the 1748 raid.
Additional discovery details and site context.
