Sonar provides a new view of Civil War shipwreck

GALVESTON, Texas — The remains of the only U.S. Navy ship sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during Civil War combat now can be seen in 3-D sonar images from the Gulf’s murky depths, revealing details such as a shell hole that may have been among the ship’s fatal wounds.

The high-resolution images of the 210-foot, iron-hulled USS Hatteras are being released this month to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the battle where the ship was lost. Besides the shell hole, they also show previously unknown details like a paddle wheel and the ship’s stern and rudder emerging from the shifting undersea sands about 20 miles off the coast of Galveston.

“This vessel is a practically intact time capsule sealed by mud and sand, and what is there will be the things that help bring the crew and ship to life in a way,” said Jim Delgado, the project’s leader and director of maritime heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

“You can fly through the wreck, you’re getting a view no diver can get,” Delgado said.

The Hatteras had sat mostly undisturbed and unnoticed from January 1863 — when a Confederate raider sunk the ship and took most of the crew prisoner — until its discovery in the early 1970s.

Recent storms shifted the sand and mud where the Hatteras rests 57 feet below the surface, exposing more of the ship. So archaeologists and technicians, racing to beat any potential seabed movement that could conceal the Hatteras again, spent two days last September scanning the wreckage using sonar imaging technology.

Divers used the 3-D gear to map the site in the silt-filled water where visibility is from near zero to only a few feet. The water’s murkiness doesn’t affect sonar technology like it would regular photography equipment. Sonar technology produces computer-colored images by analyzing sound waves bouncing off objects.

“We have very crisp, measureable images that show the bulk of the steam machinery in the engine room is there,” Delgado said. “Some of it is knocked over, been toppled, which suggests we probably have 60 percent of the vessel buried.”

Also revealed were platforms for the ship’s 32-pounder guns, named for the size of the cast-iron shell the cannon delivered, and the bow.

“Very exciting,” said Jami Durham, manager of historic properties, research and special programs for the Galveston Historical Foundation. “We knew the ship was out there, and to finally see the images. It seemed to make it more real.”

The imaging plots the paddle wheel shaft, which appears to have been bent when the ship capsized, and damage to engine room machinery, including the shell hole that likely helped doom the ship, Delgado said.

The Hatteras site is in waters administered by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The ship itself, even 150 years later, remains U.S. Navy property.

The 1,126-ton Hatteras was built in 1861 in Wilmington, Del., as a civilian steamship, according to the Navy Historical Center. It was purchased by the Navy later that year, commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and assigned to join the blockade of the Florida coast to keep vessels from delivering supplies and war weapons and ammunition to the Confederacy.

The ship had an active tour in Florida, raiding Cedar Keys. It destroyed at least seven schooners and facilities before being transferred to the Gulf.

On Jan. 6, 1863, the Hatteras joined the fleet commanded by David Farragut, of “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” U.S. Navy fame, for similar assignments off Galveston. At the time, Galveston was the most prominent city and port in Texas, which had joined the Confederacy.

Days earlier, Union forces had been expelled by Confederate troops in the Battle of Galveston, considered the most significant military event in Galveston history.

On Jan. 11, the Hatteras spotted and tracked down a three-masted ship that identified itself as British, then opened fire from 25 to 200 yards away and revealed it actually was the CSS Alabama, a notorious Confederate raider credited with some 60 kills.

Forty-three minutes later, the Hatteras was burning and taking on water. Cmdr. Homer Blake surrendered and he and his crew were taken aboard the Alabama as prisoners, eventually winding up in Jamaica. Of the 126-man crew, two were lost and are believed entombed in the wreck.

The two crewmen, William Healy, 32, a coal heaver, and John Cleary, 24, a stoker, were from Ireland.

“Two of those guys paid the ultimate price,” Delgado said. “This is a place where history happened and people died … giving their all, making a choice to follow their captain and likely die, to try to do their duty and to serve.”

Online:

USS Hatteras video flyover: http://www.exploreocean.org/hatteras-2012-video.html

NOAA Hatteras photo gallery: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr011113.html photo

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.