AH-WR-1266

Montana

Blockade Runner · United Kingdom · Lost 1863 · Bermuda

A Civil War blockade runner known by several aliases, wrecked on Bermuda's Western Blue Cut reef in 1863 and now a popular shallow dive.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in Glasgow as a fast side-paddlewheel steamer, the ship operated as a Confederate blockade runner under a string of aliases including Nola, Gloria and Paramount. On December 30, 1863, en route from London toward Wilmington, North Carolina, via Bermuda, she struck the reef in the Western Blue Cut on Bermuda's north shore and was lost, though her crew and most cargo were saved. Her boilers and paddlewheel frames remain visible in 30 feet of water near the Constellation wreck.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Glasgow, Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: 236 ft
Beam: 25 ft
Tonnage: 750
Propulsion: Steam, side paddlewheels, oscillating cylinder engines
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 30, 1863
Cause: Grounding
Location: Western Blue Cut, Bermuda's north shore
Water: Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda reef platform
Voyage: London → Wilmington, North Carolina
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Captain Pittman

The Wreck Today

Depth: 30 ft
Condition: Partially intact; two steam boilers and two paddlewheel frames lying on their sides.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Buoyed under the Bermuda Dive Sites programme, 500m no-fishing limit