USS Grampus
Naval Schooner · United States · Lost 1843 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast
A veteran U.S. Navy pirate-hunting schooner that vanished with all hands off Charleston in 1843 after two decades chasing Caribbean pirates and slavers.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1821, USS Grampus was among the first schooners built for the West Indies Squadron's campaign against piracy and the slave trade. She fought and captured suspected pirate vessels including the brig Palmyra, and helped bring about the 1825 capture of the pirate Roberto Cofresí. After two decades of Caribbean and African-coast service, Grampus was reassigned to the Home Squadron in 1843 and disappeared off Charleston, South Carolina, in March that year, presumed lost with all hands in a gale.
Vessel
- 1821
- Washington Navy Yard
- Washington, D.C.
- Wood
- 97 ft
- 24 ft
- Not established
- Sail
- United States Navy
Loss
- March 15, 1843
- Storm
- At sea off Charleston, South Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Not established
- Not established
- Lost with all hands; exact crew count at time of loss not established.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Off Charleston, South Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)
The precise date, location, and cause of loss are not established beyond the Navy's presumption of a gale; no wreckage has ever been found.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Construction, service history, and disappearance.
Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1843
Official notice of the ship's disappearance off Charleston.
Naval History Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute)
Anti-piracy service narrative.
