AH-WR-0605

USS George Washington

Armed Transport Steamer · United States · Lost 1863 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

A Union Army transport steamer, armed and manned partly by artillerymen, destroyed by a Confederate battery ambush near Port Royal Ferry.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

George Washington was a chartered side-wheel transport armed for reconnaissance duty around Port Royal Island. On 9 April 1863, while returning from a patrol near Port Royal Ferry, she was ambushed by Confederate artillery; a shell exploded her magazine and she burned to the waterline near Brickyard Point. Her crew and the artillery detachment aboard escaped ashore after two men were killed. Archaeologists have searched for her remains in the area since the late 1990s.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 243
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: United States Army (chartered transport)

Loss

Date: April 9, 1863
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Coosaw River near Port Royal Ferry, Chisolm's Island, South Carolina
Water: Coosaw River
Voyage: Beaufort, South Carolina → Reconnaissance around Port Royal Island
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 38
Lives lost: 2
Master: Capt. Thomas B. Briggs (in command of the vessel that day)

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Burned to the waterline and sank in shallow water at the marsh edge
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 32.48° N 80.47° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Port Royal Ferry, near Beaufort, South Carolina
Region: The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

General area only: coordinate of the Coosaw River from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named body of water of loss recorded for this vessel (Coosaw River near Port Royal Ferry, Chisolm's Island), not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (83/100)

The vessel's precise wreck location has not been confirmed despite repeated archaeological search efforts.

South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology
Search history and confirmation the wreck remains unlocated.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (via Carolana.com)
Loss date, casualties, and circumstances.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Coosaw River, South Carolina
coordinate of the named place of loss