AH-WR-1468

Raccoon

Blockade Runner · Confederate States · Lost 1863 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

A paddle-steamer blockade runner lost on the sands off Sullivan's Island in the summer Charleston was under siege.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Raccoon was a paddle steamer employed running the Union blockade into Charleston. In July 1863, while the Union army was pressing the siege of Morris Island, she grounded off Sullivan's Island on an inbound run. Her crew and Confederate forces destroyed her rather than let the blockaders take her. She joined the long list of runners lost at the harbor mouth.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: July 20, 1863
Cause: Grounding
Location: Off Sullivan's Island, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: 32.76° N 79.84° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Region: The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

Pin marks the named place of loss, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

Exact wreck position, depth and present condition are not established in the sources reviewed.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion
Loss date, circumstances and the vessels involved.
Stephen R. Wise, Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War (University of South Carolina Press)
Blockade-running career and loss.
South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Maritime Research Division
Charleston-area wreck context.