Mysterious ‘old piece of wood’ from beach could be Civil War artifact, NC experts say
A mysterious timber that washed ashore decades ago in North Carolina was more closely examined by experts Friday and could be Civil War maritime debris with a somewhat dramatic history, according to the N.C. Office of State Archaeology.
The curved piece of timber -- with holes and an iron fastener still attached -- was clearly more than just drift wood: It was from a type of 19th Century vessel used by wartime profiteers off the Carolinas, state officials say.
“While it may seem like just an old piece of wood, these frames can be a wealth of information by assessing a few key features,” state archaeologists posted on Facebook.
“Its width, length, and curvature suggest that we have nearly the whole profile of the vessel, and the transverse holes near its base indicate where it had been fastened to a floor timber. ...The sporadic and numerous trunnel holes show that the vessel may have been planked and replanked numerous times, suggesting a long working life.”
That extended life at sea, plus the iron fastener and type of wood (live oak), suggest the vessel could have been part of a fleet that represents an unusual chapter of the Civil War, experts say.
“All of this fits the bill of a coastal trading schooner, used in North Carolina for a lengthy span of time for activities from fishing to running blockades in the Civil War,” the state concluded.
Blockade runners were privately owned vessels repurposed during the Civil War by daring war profiteers to help the Confederacy penetrate a Union blockade of southern ports, NCPedia.com says.
“Few southerners were engaged in the business of blockade-running,” the site reports.
“It was monopolized by English and Scottish merchants who had ships and capital to invest in this hazardous but lucrative trade. British firms dispatched both luxury items and war matériel to the West Indies in regular merchant ships for transfer to blockade-runners, which would arrive in port loaded with cotton.”
Many were sunk by Union ships in the process.
Fifteen blockade runners are part of the Cape Fear Shipwreck District that runs the coast of Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties in southeastern N.C., according to the Office of State Archaeology.
“The majority of the blockade runners were lost when they were stranded along the beach or on inlet shoals and sank in shallow waters,” the office reports.
Archaeologist can’t say which ship once hosted the newly exampled timber as part of its deck.
It was found in the New Hanover County community of Kure Beach more than 40 years ago and was donated to the Office of State Archaeology on March 13, the office posted.
State officials did not say what would become of the timber.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Mysterious ‘old piece of wood’ from beach could be Civil War artifact, NC experts say."