AH-WR-0054

Metropolis

Steamship · United States · Lost 1878 · The Outer Banks

A former Civil War transport turned commercial steamer, wrecked in the surf off Currituck Beach in 1878 with heavy loss of life that helped spur life-saving reforms.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Metropolis began as the steamer Stars and Stripes, built in 1861 and used for naval transport during the Civil War, including service at the Battle of Roanoke Island. Renamed Metropolis, she was later put into commercial passenger and freight service. On 31 January 1878, she struck shoals close to the beach at Currituck, North Carolina, and broke apart in the surf; 85 people died. The disaster was one of several that led Congress to formally reorganize the U.S. Life-Saving Service. A candidate wreck site on Currituck Beach has since been studied by East Carolina University archaeologists.

Vessel

Built: 1861
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel, with auxiliary sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 31, 1878
Cause: Grounding
Location: About 100 yards off the beach at Currituck, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Philadelphia
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 85
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broken apart in the surf zone; a candidate wreck site has been identified by archaeologists at Currituck Beach
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 36.44° N 76.02° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Corolla/Currituck Beach, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

General area only: coordinate of Currituck from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel ("off the beach at Currituck"), not a surveyed wreck position.