AH-WR-0538

Pocahontas

Transport Steamer · United States · Lost 1862 · The Outer Banks

A Union Army transport steamer carrying cavalry horses that wrecked in a storm off Hatteras Island in 1862, drowning nearly 100 horses.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Pocahontas was an old Baltimore-built side-wheel steamer chartered to transport horses for Union regiments during Ambrose Burnside's 1862 expedition against the North Carolina sounds. Battered by a storm, her worn-out boiler and steering gear failed repeatedly, and she was finally run ashore about twelve miles north of Hatteras on January 18, 1862. Nearly all 113 horses aboard drowned, though the crew survived.

Vessel

Built: 1829
Builder: Beacham and Gardiner
Yard: Baltimore, Maryland
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side paddlewheel
Owners: Chartered as a Union Army transport, Burnside Expedition

Loss

Date: January 18, 1862
Cause: Storm
Location: About 12 miles north of Hatteras, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina
Cargo: 113 horses, mostly belonging to the 4th Rhode Island Infantry
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 35.22° N 75.69° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Hatteras Island, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

General area only: coordinate of the village of Hatteras from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place referenced in this vessel's loss record ("about 12 miles north of Hatteras"), not a surveyed wreck position.