AH-WR-1728

Marcia

Bark (or Barque) · United States · Lost 1862 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

The Stone Fleet bark Marcia struck bottom and sank while crossing Port Royal Bar on January 7, 1862.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Marcia was a 343-ton merchant bark out of Portland, Maine. She became part of the Union’s Charleston Stone Fleet. On January 7, 1862, she struck bottom and sank while crossing Port Royal Bar. Although acquired for the fleet, her documented loss was an accidental grounding rather than a deliberate scuttling.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 343 tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 7, 1862
Cause: Grounding
Location: Port Royal Bar, South Carolina
Water: Port Royal Sound approaches
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Port Royal, South Carolina
Region: The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

Exact wreck position, present depth and condition, and casualty totals are not established in the reviewed account.

W. Craig Gaines — Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks (LSU Press, 2008)
Page 151: Merchant bark identity and tonnage, Portland home port, Stone Fleet service, January 7, 1862 grounding and completed sinking.