USS Huron
Gunboat · United States · Lost 1877 · The Outer Banks
An iron U.S. Navy warship that ran aground near Nags Head in a night fog in 1877, killing 98 and helping spur reform of coastal lifesaving services.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Huron was an iron-hulled Navy warship commissioned in 1875. On 24 November 1877, sailing close to the North Carolina coast en route to Havana, she ran aground near Nags Head in fog and heavy seas. Ninety-eight men died, many within sight of shore, in part because no lifesaving station in the area was staffed during the off-season. The disaster helped drive expansion and reform of the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The wreck site is now protected as a state historic shipwreck preserve.
Vessel
- 1875
- Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works
- Chester, Pennsylvania
- Iron
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, screw, with sail rig
- United States Navy
Loss
- November 24, 1877
- Grounding
- Off Nags Head, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- New York → Havana, Cuba
- Not established
- Not established
- 98
- Commander George P. Ryan
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broken up close to shore; site now a designated historic preserve
- Not established
- Not established
- USS Huron Historic Shipwreck Preserve, managed by the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch.
Position
- 35.98° N 75.63° W
- Approximate position
- Nags Head, North Carolina
Approximate position published for the state-protected wreck preserve off Nags Head.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology Branch
Site designation and protection status.
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Loss narrative, date, and cause.
Vessel background and casualty context.
North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology Branch
Wreck site location as a designated heritage dive site.
