AH-WR-1695

USS Columbia

Screw Gunboat · Lost 1863 · The Outer Banks

A captured blockade runner became a Union gunboat before stranding off Masonboro Inlet and burning in January 1863.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Columbia was built at Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1862 as an iron screw blockade runner. Santiago de Cuba captured it off Florida on 3 August 1862. The US Navy purchased it in November and commissioned it as a gunboat. It grounded off Masonboro Inlet on 14 January 1863 and was destroyed by fire on 17 January after refloating attempts failed.

Vessel

Built: 1862
Builder: Not established
Yard: Dumbarton, Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 503 tons burden
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 17, 1863
Cause: Fire
Location: Off Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina
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: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

No verified wreck position retrieved; regional grouping does not imply a location on the Outer Banks proper.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

The wreck position, present condition, depth and loss-of-life total are not established in the retrieved institutional account.

US Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images (UNC ibiblio mirror)
Naval Historical Center text and NH 85810 engraving: build, capture, Navy acquisition, grounding and final destruction dates.