AH-WR-0051

USS Tulip

Gunboat · United States · Lost 1864 · Chesapeake Bay

A small Union gunboat destroyed by a boiler explosion on the Potomac in 1864, killing nearly all aboard.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

USS Tulip was a small iron-hulled screw gunboat built for Union service in 1863. On 11 November 1864, while underway on the Potomac River near Ragged Point, Maryland, her boiler exploded, reportedly after being run with dangerously low water. Most of her crew of 57 were killed instantly or died soon after. The wreck has since been documented as an archaeological site by the Navy's underwater archaeology program.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: James C. Jewett & Co.
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: 97.25 ft
Beam: 21.75 ft
Tonnage: 183
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: November 11, 1864
Cause: Mechanical failure
Location: Potomac River near Ragged Point, Maryland
Water: Potomac River
Voyage: Washington Navy Yard
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 57
Lives lost: Most of the crew were killed in the explosion; accounts describe near-total loss of life aboard.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Documented archaeological site on the river bottom
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Documented federal wreck site managed by the U.S. Navy.

Position

Coordinates: 38.16° N 76.59° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Ragged Point, Maryland
Region: Chesapeake Bay

Maryland's state archaeological site inventory (site 18ST644, 'Ragged Point Shipwreck / USS Tulip') records this position, noted in the state file as accurate to within about one square mile.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Exact number of dead and full technical cause of the explosion are not conclusively established in the sources reviewed.

Naval History and Heritage Command
Loss cause, date, and site documentation status.
Naval History Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute)
Narrative account of the explosion.
Historical Marker Database
Location context near Ragged Point.
Maryland Archeological site file 18ST644 (Ragged Point Shipwreck / USS Tulip)
wreck position