USS Harvest Moon
Side-Wheel Steamer / Gunboat · United States · Lost 1865 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast
Rear Admiral Dahlgren's Union flagship, sunk by a Confederate mine in Winyah Bay a month before the war's end.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Harvest Moon was a side-wheel steamer purchased by the Union Navy in 1863 and fitted out for blockade duty. From February 1864 she served as the flagship of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, operating off Charleston and the Georgia coast. On 1 March 1865 she struck a Confederate torpedo in Winyah Bay near Georgetown, South Carolina, and sank quickly; Dahlgren was aboard but unhurt. The wreck remains in the bay and a portion is reported visible at low tide.
Vessel
- 1863
- Not established
- Portland, Maine
- Wood
- 193 ft
- 29 ft
- 546
- Steam, side-wheel
- United States Navy
Loss
- March 1, 1865
- Enemy action
- Winyah Bay, near Georgetown, South Carolina
- Winyah Bay, Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 1
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Partially visible above the surface at low tide
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 33.34° N 79.24° W
- Approximate position
- Georgetown, South Carolina
Approximate position in Winyah Bay near the historic Battery White site.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
Build, service history, and loss details.
U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
Narrative of the sinking and wreck condition.
