Modern Greece
Blockade Runner · United Kingdom · Lost 1862 · The Outer Banks
A blockade runner sunk under fire near Fort Fisher, later a 1962 storm exposed her hull, sparking North Carolina's first underwater archaeology program.
Charlie Noble
The Vessel and Her Loss
The British-owned steamer Modern Greece was pursued for three days by Union blockaders while trying to enter the Cape Fear River in June 1862. Driven ashore under fire near Fort Fisher, she was deliberately sunk by Confederate gunners to keep her cargo of arms from Union hands. A century later, a 1962 storm uncovered the wreck, leading to the recovery of over 11,500 artifacts and the founding of North Carolina's underwater archaeology program.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Iron
- 224 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, screw
- Zachariah Pearson & Company, London
Loss
- June 27, 1862
- Enemy action
- Near Fort Fisher, New Inlet, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Nassau, Bahamas → Wilmington, North Carolina
- Enfield rifled muskets, munitions, and civilian goods
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Largely buried in sand; portions exposed periodically by storms.
- Not established
- 1962
- Part of the Cape Fear Civil War Shipwreck District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places; North Carolina state-owned submerged cultural resource.
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Kure Beach, North Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Loss circumstances, cargo, discovery, and archaeological recovery.
NC Highway Historical Marker Program, Marker D-113
Vessel length, ownership, and detailed loss narrative.
