Meteor
Ship · United States · Lost Early 1862 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast
The stone-laden sailing ship Meteor broke up inside the Savannah River bar after parting her anchor chain in early 1862.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Meteor was built at Newburyport in 1819 and purchased at Mystic in November 1861 for wartime obstruction service. She carried several hundred tons of stone. In early 1862, while at the south edge of the Savannah River Main Channel inside the bar, she parted her anchor chain, bilged, drifted ashore and broke up. This vessel is distinct from the later Lake Tahoe steamer of the same name.
Vessel
- 1819
- Not established
- Newburyport, Massachusetts
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 324–325 tons, as reported
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- Early 1862
- Grounding
- South edge of Savannah River Main Channel, inside the bar, Georgia
- Savannah River
- Not established
- Several hundred tons of stone
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Tybee Island, Georgia
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 48: Ship identity, construction, tonnage range, draft, purchase and completed breakup inside Savannah River bar in early 1862.
