USS Narcissus
Steam Tug · United States · Lost 1866 · The Gulf of Mexico
A Civil War Navy tug that survived a wartime mine strike in Mobile Bay only to be lost with all hands off Tampa Bay after the war ended.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched as the tug Mary Cook in 1863 and purchased by the Union Navy as USS Narcissus, she served in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, witnessing the Battle of Mobile Bay and being sunk once by a mine in late 1864, then raised and repaired. Heading north for decommissioning after the war, she was wrecked in heavy seas off Egmont Key, Florida, on January 4, 1866, with the loss of all hands. The scattered wreck is now Florida's twelfth Underwater Archaeological Preserve.
Vessel
- 1863
- Not established
- East Albany, New York
- Wood
- 81.5 ft
- 18.75 ft
- 101
- Steam, single screw
- United States Navy
Loss
- January 4, 1866
- Storm
- Off Egmont Key, Florida
- Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay entrance
- Pensacola, Florida → New York
- Not established
- Not established
- All hands were lost; an exact number is not established in the sources reviewed.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Scattered in pieces on the seafloor about two miles off Egmont Key.
- Not established
- Not established
- National Register of Historic Places; Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve; considered a U.S. Navy war grave.
Position
- 27.624° N 82.801° W
- Surveyed position
- Egmont Key, Florida
Coordinate published in the National Register of Historic Places listing.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
The exact number of crew lost in the final wrecking is not firmly established in the sources reviewed.
Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research
Loss narrative, preserve designation, and coordinates.
Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
Service history.
