AH-WR-0555

North America

Ship (Three-Masted, Square-Rigged) · United States · Lost 1842 · The Florida Keys

A tentatively identified 1842 sailing ship wrecked on Delta Shoals, its hull now capped by a ballast mound that recent looting has begun to expose.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Admiralty court records describe a three-masted, square-rigged ship lost on Delta Shoals on November 25, 1842, while sailing from New York to Mobile with a cargo of dry goods and furniture. Local wreckers spent three days assisting Captain Hall's crew and salvaging cargo before the vessel was abandoned. The wreckage, while not conclusively confirmed, is believed most likely to be the ship North America, built at Bath, Maine, in 1833. The site today is a ballast mound covering surviving lower hull timbers.

Vessel

Built: 1833
Builder: Not established
Yard: Bath, Maine
Material: Wood
Length: 130 ft
Beam: 29 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: James B. Hall (New York) and George S. Hall (Bath, Maine)

Loss

Date: November 25, 1842
Cause: Grounding
Location: Delta Shoals, near Sombrero Key, Florida Keys
Water: Straits of Florida
Voyage: New York → Mobile, Alabama
Cargo: Dry goods and furniture
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: No loss of life is recorded; Captain Hall and crew were assisted ashore by local wreckers.
Master: Captain Hall

The Wreck Today

Depth: 14 ft
Condition: Lower wooden hull capped by a large oval stone ballast pile, about 112 feet long and 35 feet wide; hull timbers protrude at the site's southwest end.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Trail; also protected under Florida state submerged lands law.

Position

Coordinates: 24.63° N 81.11° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Marathon / Sombrero Key, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

General area only: coordinate of Sombrero Key from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel (near Sombrero Key/Delta Shoals), not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)

The identification as North America is not certain; NOAA describes it as the most likely candidate among several vessels of that name registered in the period.