The opening shots of the bloodiest war in U.S. history were fired on 12 April 1861. Throughout that year and into the next, the Union was forced to reshape its naval strategy fundamentally. For almost a year, a Confederate blockade of the upper Potomac River proved for Southern troops a "moral victory rather than an actual one."2 It nonetheless had an effect on Union gunboat captains. Union commanders eventually put together a fleet capable of thwarting the Confederate war effort, and by 9 March 1862, the Confederate batteries along Bud's Creek and Cockpit Point were abandoned.
The Potomac River blockade by Union gunboats was instrumental in damaging Confederate supply channels, demoralizing Southern sympathizers, maintaining water routes for Union troop and cargo ships, and contributing to land-based operations.3 The Potomac Flotilla initially was based at the Navy Yard in Anacostia, but after eventually regaining control of the entire length of the Potomac the small flotilla moved to the coal station at Piney Point, Maryland.
Over the years, the Potomac Flotilla included a variety of ship types, 15 steamers and 4 schooners, in varied states of repair.4 The list of the steamers included the Ella, Yankee, Commodore Read, Currituck, Jacob Bell, Fuchsia, Cœur de Lion, Resolute, Freeborn, Anacostia, Wyandank, Tulip, Primrose, Teaser, and Dragon. The schooners consisted of the Sophronia, Mathew Vassar, Adolph Hugel, and William Bacon. Some of these vessels served concurrently with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. This modest fleet destroyed or captured dozens of vessels along both shores of the Potomac River.
The targets of the Union's steam-powered gunboats typically were schooners plying the rivers and streams of Virginia. Onetime fishing vessels, merchant ships, and lumber carriers, these shallow-draft schooners were used for smuggling supplies, fuel, troops, and spies—more often than not during the night. Constant harassment of riverine populations by gunboat crews kept the Confederate populace on guard, and at the same time stifled attempts at smuggling by Northerners sympathetic to the Southern cause. This latter trade included the Virginia port town of Kinsale, a bustling market on the Yeocomico River, and Leonardtown on the Maryland side.5
Losses such as the "accidental" sinking of the anthracite-laden schooner CSS Favorite occurred without fanfare and often without anything more than a captain's note in his report to headquarters. Three months after the start of the war, the USS Yankee, the same vessel that would, later in 1862, witness the retreat of the Confederate batteries near Aquia Creek, captured the Favorite on the Yeocomico River, Virginia, on 14 July 1861. The Yankee's captain, T. Craven, towed the Favorite to Piney Point, not far from the future Potomac Flotilla Base (established at Cross-Manor in March 1864), and anchored her just inside Swan Cove.6
The CSS Favorite was captured on 14 July 1861 near Kinsale, Virginia, on the Yeocomico River. She was taken across the Potomac to Swan Cove, where she sank several days later.
The Favorite's crew (a certificate of capture has yet to be located, so it is unknown how many crewmembers were detained) was taken off the ship on 18 July and later that night the vessel took on water and sank at anchor. Craven reported the vessel might have been accidentally hit by another vessel in the night. Even so, he admitted the possibility it was his fault for not leaving men on board that night.
Schooners such as the Favorite evolved over two centuries, from 1725 to 1935, with the Bermuda sloops and Virginia pilot boats of the 18th century developing into the Marblehead schooners and heel tappers (similar to Chesapeake Bay schooner designs) of the first quarter of the 19th century.7 By the beginning of the Civil War, these craft ranged from 70 to 100 or more feet in length, were built typically four times longer than their beam, and were capable of oceangoing voyages.
The Swan Cove Wreck site (18ST643), located just off the Potomac River channel, was discovered by Maryland Maritime Archaeology Program (MMAP) staff and volunteers on 23 April 1994, while conducting a remote sensing survey of the lower Potomac and St. Mary's rivers. The expedition originally was planned as part of MMAP's mandate to survey Maryland waters. Conversations with salver Uve Lowas (discoverer of Maryland's first dive preserve, the German U-1105 Black Panther) of Virginia, however, revealed five potential wreck sites outside the planned survey zones. These additional targets were investigated by means of an EG&G analog side-scan unit (Model No. 260-TH). Two amorphous anomalies were diver-tested and declared to be ancient oyster mounds, while the other three anomalies appeared to have the characteristics of shipwrecked structures. The first of these wrecks was found off Piney Point, Maryland, a schooner referred to as the "Swan Cove Wreck."
Located just off Ragged Point, Virginia, the second shipwreck recorded that day exposed the vestiges of the screw steamer USS Tulip (18ST644), which sank after a boiler explosion in November 1864.8 A third wreck site was confirmed in 68 feet of water, just off Cornfield Harbor, near the mouth of the Potomac. Side-scan images revealed an almost completely intact five-mast ram schooner (18ST645). The vessel's identity remains a mystery, since no further investigation has been conducted to date.
Structural components of the Swan Cove Wreck lie in 40-48 feet of water partially exposed above the sandy clay sediment; the ship's cargo of anthracite is exposed over the majority of the site. MMAP staff and volunteer divers conducted preliminary dives in 1995. The results of that work suggested a mid-19th century schooner wreck, with in situ wooden structural remains from stem to stern (overall length is 106 feet) and from keel to turn of the bilge on both port and starboard. A portion of a mast and a complete centerboard box with centerboard protrude up through the ship's cargo area. Though uninvestigated, two linear objects off the bow of the wreck appear to be masts or booms.
In August 1999, an ad hoc agreement between the Maryland Historical Trust, the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society, and the Naval Historical Center involved volunteer divers from the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society's southern chapter to record the wreck's remains. These divers measured the length and beam of the vessel and stem to mast distance, identified and recorded two anchors, and measured from mast to centerboard. A cache of ceramic artifacts was discovered in the port stern area of the wreck; after triangulating their location, divers recovered a saucer, pitcher, and jar. On 1 October 2001, the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society team returned to the wreck site and performed an underwater video course, from stern to stem (port side) and stem to centerboard.
MMAP staff and volunteers returned to the site on 22-30 October 2002 to conduct remote sensing and diver testing. The site was relocated by means of an Edgetech digital side-scan unit and Hypack Max navigation software. Once the survey area was plotted, the team ran ten magnetometer lanes with a Geometrics 881 cesium magnetometer. A monopolar target in the lower left quadrant denotes the stern anchor that had been recorded by the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society in 1999. The bow anchor and an iron concretion are located in the bow area, and several unknown objects lie off the starboard bow. These latter objects have yet to be found by divers.
Once the magnetometer survey was complete, the team performed full side-scan coverage of the study area. It was hoped the port bow anchor might be found in this manner, since in 1995 a hawser line coursed from the port bow section. It is possible that bottom conditions have removed some of that hawser line, because in 2002 divers found only a small section of hawser remaining in the port bow area.
A second course of underwater video by MMAP volunteer Mike Hulett afforded an overall view of the wreck site and close-up shots of the bow, centerboard, and box. On the final field day, divers recovered from the cache area a jug, a preserve jar, and two saucers. Although team members had very little dive time on this site, a considerable amount of information was gathered about the ship's structure, her cargo, and life on board.
Overall hull remains exhibit a length between uprights (stem post to stern post) of 104 feet and a maximum beam of approximately 30 feet, with a resultant length-to-beam ratio of 2.8:1. The vessel is oriented at a 6° angle from shore to channel, lying slightly to the starboard, with the bow aligned toward the channel along a 210° magnetic north heading. A conjectural site plan (below) illustrates some of the features found across the wreck site.
Constructed with an iron stock, the bow anchor (18ST643-021) measures 4-3/4 feet long (ring to crown), 4-4/5 feet wide (stock tip to stock tip), and 3-3/5 feet wide (from palm bill to palm bill). The palm design and convex shape of the crown indicate this may be a John Trotman designed anchor, which dates between 1840 to 1841.9 Found within the interior of the port stern section, the second anchor (18ST643-020) is stockless. It measures 4-3/10 feet long (ring to crown), nearly 3 feet wide (from palm bill to palm bill) and weighs approximately 136 pounds.10 The palm shapes are similar to the William Rodger's "Patent Small Palmed Anchor" design (1832-33).11 The crown, however, is concave shaped, comparable to a grapnel anchor.
Anthracite has been encountered within and in some areas outside the boundaries of the hull remains. Samples were taken from three locations across the wreck: the port side of the bow, the starboard side of the centerboard box, and the starboard side of the stern. Since no excavation was planned for this site, deeper samples were not collected. No other cargo-like material (such as lumber, provisions, or goods) has been noted by either divers or video.
By the mid-19th century, anthracite was the preferred fuel of steam-powered vessels because it was considered the most efficient and clean-burning grade of coal. During the war, both blockade-runners and blockaders favored anthracite because, when burned, it produced no tell-tale smoke. The fact that so much of this valuable commodity remains on site may indicate a sudden-loss event, such as described for the Favorite. Why Union sailors did not offload the coal after capturing the ship is somewhat puzzling since it had been in the hands of the Union for several days. It may be that the coal supplies at Piney Point were sufficient. It may also be that the troops had intended to unload the vessel the very next day—but if so, why did they leave the ship unmanned?
In addition to the fasteners and anchors, which are considered ship's fittings and ground gear, only nine artifacts have been recorded for this wreck site. All nine objects were originally situated within a three- to four-foot cache, eight feet from the sternpost on the port side. The salt-glazed stoneware jug (18ST643-003), porcelain pitcher (18ST643-002), and porcelain saucer with scalloped edge (18ST643-004) were removed from the site in 1999 by the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society and handed over to MMAP staff. Later in 2002, MMAP staff and volunteers recovered the remaining items. All the artifacts have been conserved and are stored at the Artifact Processing and Treatment Laboratory in Crownsville, Maryland.
Several factors point to a low-impact sinking event for this vessel. The artifacts are relatively intact (only one item is damaged; 18ST643-009 is missing a handle) and there are no signs of burning. In addition, the hull structure is comparatively complete (there are no signs of catastrophic destruction along the frame lines, such as those found on the Tulip).12 The fact the vessel's cargo remains, for the most part, within the hull structure further supports a slow settling of structural members. The hawser line also was paid out from the port side of the bow and the starboard anchor is in situ on the starboard side of the stem post, indicating the vessel may have been at port anchor during the sinking event. If this supposition is true, this wreck site appears to be that of the Favorite, described in the documents as sinking at anchor in Swan Cove on the night of 18 July 1861.
The date range for this wreck site has been determined through the following factors: the vessel's construction features; a gammoning iron (a fastener type used to anchor the bowsprit to the stempost); and the artifacts. Double-masted schooners, referred to as heel tappers, of the first quarter of the 19th century began to appear with centerboards between 1840 and 1865.13 The earliest extant example of a centerboard schooner, the Sunny South, was built in 1855. Other than her size (the Sunny South is 70 feet in length, the one at Swan Cove 104 feet), this vessel displays several similarities to the Swan Cove Wreck: the position of the forward mast; the bow arrangement; the centerboard and its location; and the rake of the bow and stern.
The gammoning iron became standard after the 1840s. Before that time, simple hemp gammoning was used to fix the bowsprit to the stempost.14 The earlier version of the iron gammon, a type referred to as the "Old Style Square" (common between 1845 and 1865), is similar to that found on the Swan Cove Wreck.15 Ceramic types and forms found on the site produced a median date of 1850. This combined with a median date of 1852 for construction features and 1855 for the use of the gammon iron gives one an overall median date of 1852, nine years before the sinking of the Favorite.
The Swan Cove vessel suggests a working boat common to Virginia waters in the mid-19th century, and the paucity and relative poor quality of the artifacts portray a crew of little means, living in spartan conditions. Similar conditions were a fact of life to those who worked and lived in Virginia's Northern Neck. Consultation with Naval Historical Center staff will determine which agency will be the future steward of the site. As a war prize, the Favorite would be considered federal government property, and if stewardship falls to the Navy, the site, its artifacts, and the data will become property of the U.S. Navy.
*1. The article's title comes from a list of names given to the peninsula called the Northern Neck, formed by the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, from local historian Miriam Haynie.
2. Mary Alice Wills, The Confederate Blockade of Washington, D.C., 1861-1862 (Parsons, WV: McClain, 1998).
3. Daniel Ammen, The Navy in the Civil War: The Atlantic Coast (New York: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1883); James S. Schmidt, "Naval Operations of the Potomac Flotilla, 1861-1865," master's thesis, Department of History, East Carolina University, 1991.
4. David D. Porter, The Naval History of the Civil War (New York: Sherman Publishing, 1886), pp. 681-82.
5. Myriam Haynie, The Stronghold, A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People (Richmond, VA: Dietz Press, 1959), p. 180.
6. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, 30 vols. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1894-1922), ser. 1, vol. 4, p. 557.
7. Howard I. Chapelle, The American Fishing Schooners 1825-1935 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1935), p. 24.
8. Bruce F. Thompson, "The Legacy of a Fourth-Rate Screw Steamer," Naval History, May/June 1996, pp. 36-39.
9. Betty Nelson Curryer, Anchors: An Illustrated History (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999), pp. 77-79.
10. James R. Moriarity and Neil F. Marshall, "The History and Evolution of Anchors," San Diego Science Foundation, Occasional Paper #3, University of California at San Diego, 1965.
11. Curryer, Anchors: An Illustrated History, pp. 85-90.
12. Thompson, "The Legacy of a Fourth-Rate Screw Steamer"; "A Historical and Archaeological Assessment of the Shipwreck U.S.S. Tulip (18ST644), Potomac River, St. Mary's County, Maryland," MMAP file report #003, Legacy Grant report to the Naval Historical Center, 1998.
13. Chapelle, The American Fishing Schooners, pp. 24-25.
14. Chapelle, The American Fishing Schooners, p. 45.
15. Chapelle, The American Fishing Schooners, p. 479.