View source for SS United States (1864)

{{short description|US merchant steamship 1864-1881}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|USA|1881}}
|Ship name=SS ''United States''
|Ship identification=*[[Official number]]: 25082
*[[Call sign]]: HSCM
|Ship owner =
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Henry Gildersleeve (shipbuilder)|S. Gildersleeve & Son]], Portland, Connecticut
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=1864
|Ship acquired=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked off [[Cape Romain Lighthouses|Cape Romain]], South Carolina, 3 April 1881
|Ship notes=no lives lost
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship type=steamship
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|1289}} {{NRT|1180.10}}
|Ship length={{convert|197|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} LOA
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|17|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship hold depth={{convert|24|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=3
|Ship sail plan=brigantine
|Ship propulsion=screw
|Ship power={{convert|40|x|40|in|abbr=on}}, two cylinder, direct action steam engine
|Ship notes=
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|}

{{for multi|other ships of the same name|SS United States (disambiguation)||||}}'''SS ''United States''''' was a merchant steamship launched in 1864 and lost off [[Cape Romain Lighthouses|Cape Romain]], South Carolina, in 1881.<ref>''Savannah Morning News'', Savannah, Georgia, 8 April 1881, p. 3, c. 5</ref> She was the most expensive steamer built by the American shipbuilding firm of [[Henry Gildersleeve (shipbuilder)|S. Gildersleeve & Son]], which built 120 [[Marine vessel|vessels]].<ref name="PS_p515">{{cite web |url=http://library.mysticseaport.org/manuscripts/coll/coll113/gldrslv1.jpg |title=Portland Shipbuilding |at=p. 515, entry #89 |publisher=[[Mystic Seaport]] |website=Mystic Seaport Collections and Research Department: Online Resources}}</ref> The vessel was named for her country and sported the United States' national symbol, an American eagle, as her [[figurehead]].<ref name="NARS_PE">"Permanent Enrollment", #275, 4 May 1880, Boston, Mass., NARS RG-41</ref> 

She ran aground on Cape Romain on 3 April 1881.

In June 2013, E. Lee Spence announced that ''United States''{{'}}s wreck site had been located.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/civil-war-steamer-found-off-south-carolina-130630.htm |title=Civil War Steamer Found Off South Carolina |first=Rossella |last=Lorenzi |department=Oceans |website=[[Discovery Channel|Discovery News]] |date=30 June 2013}}</ref>

==Construction==
''United States'', [[official number]] 25082, [[Call sign|signal letters]] HSCM, home ported at Boston,<ref>''Thirteenth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, for the year ended June 30, 1881'', (Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA), p. 281</ref> was built in 1864 at the S. Gildersleeve & Son shipyard in [[Portland, Connecticut]].

==Description==
A [[screw steamer]], ''United States'' was [[brigantine]] rigged ([[square rig]]ged on the [[foremast]] and [[fore-and-aft rig]]ged on the [[mainmast]]). She had an iron-strapped wood [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] with three [[Deck (ship)|decks]], a [[round stern]], and deck saloons. The ship was built of white oak and cedar with fastenings were copper alloy and iron, and had a [[copper bottom]] (probably [[Muntz Metal]], 60% copper and 40% zinc, with a trace of iron).{{cn|date=December 2018}} She was built under inspection and classed A-1 for insurance purposes. The engine was a vertical direct action steam engine with two {{convert|40|in|adj=on}} cylinders with a 40-inch piston stroke.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/ShipPageImage.cfm?BibID=237571872&Series=Steamers&Chapter=u |title=  American Lloyd's Universal Standard Record of Shipping, from January 1, 1872, to January 1, 1873 | editor=  Thomas D. Taylor | publisher= Charles Vogt Printer |location= New York |year= 1872  |page= 29}}</ref>

==Ownership==
Shortly after her launch, her captain was shown as Gurdon Gates and her owners as Wakemann, Dimon & Company and S. Gildersleeve & Sons.<ref name="PS_p515" />

Her homeport in 1872 was New York City and at that time she was captained by G.H. Smith and owned by Merchant Steamship Company.<ref>American Lloyd's (1872) steamers p. 34, #142</ref>

By 1880, her home port was Boston, Massachusetts,<ref name="NARS_PE" /> where she was owned by Alfred A. Nickerson and Frederic W. Nickerson.

==Loss==
On 6 April 1881, the ''[[Boston Daily Globe]]'' carried the headline "Wreck of the Well-Known Steamer of the Boston and Savannah Line Off Cape Romain" and reported:

{{quote|The steamship ''United States'', from Boston for Savannah, with a [[General cargo ship|general cargo]], went [[Aground|ashore]] on Cape Romain Sunday night (April 3, 1881). The ship has sprung a leak and the lower [[Hold (ship)|hold]] is full of water. The steam-tug ''H. Buck'' has arrived here from Georgetown, and brought the first officer of the steamship ''United States''. The steamship left Boston on Thursday last, and proceeded on her voyage without mishap until Sunday night, when she met with a hazy atmosphere and with strong southwest winds. While the ship was running on her course she suddenly went ashore in about twelve feet of water in the vicinity of Cape Romain, a little to the northward and about half-way between Georgetown and this port. On Monday the steamer ''Planter'', from Charleston for Georgetown, passed her and soon after returned with the steamer ''Louisa'' and endeavored to haul the stranded vessel off the shoal. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the two vessels returned to Georgetown. The ''United States'' remained easy in her position until Monday night, when the sea increased and the vessel sprang a leak. When the [[Chief Mate|first officer]] left her this morning at 8 o'clock, there was from twelve to fourteen feet of water in her hold and she was hard aground. The first officer, immediately upon his arrival, engaged the [[Tugboat|tugs]] ''Wade Hampton'' and ''Republic'', which left the city tonight for the scene of the mishap. They will endeavor to put out and tow off the stranded ship. If the tugs succeed in relieving her, she will probably be towed into this report for repairs."<ref>The Boston Daily Globe, (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), Wednesday Evening, Vol. XIX, No. 96, April 6, 1881, p. 1, c. 3</ref>}}<!-- end of quote template -->

Despite the hopes expressed above, ''United States'' was not able to be pulled off and the next day the Charleston ''[[News and Courier]]'' carried the following article titled "The Stranded Steamship.": 

{{quote|The steamers ''Planter'' and ''Louisa'', which arrived here from [[Georgetown, South Carolina|Georgetown]] at a late hour on Tuesday night, brought a portion of the cargo of the steamship ''United States'', which has been previously reported ashore off Cape Romain. This freight, consisting of articles of general merchandise, constituted the "between decks" cargo, and was saved in good condition and landed at Accommodation wharf. The vessels also brought the boats, furniture and a portion of the tackle of the ''United States''. Capt. S.H. Matthewes, the master of the vessel, came to the city with a portion of the crew, and leaving the first officer, Mr. A.B. Crooker, here, returned with the tugs ''Wade Hampton'' and ''Republic'' to the scene of the wreck. The two passengers who were on the ''United States'' also came to the city on the ''Planter'', and went to Savannah yesterday morning by rail. The Charleston tugs reached the city last night with Capt. Matthewes on board, having failed to pump out the water from the stranded vessel, which had [[Bilge#Bilge maintenance|bilged]]. The sea was too heavy for the tugs to work alongside, and at 2 P.M. the captain determined to abandon her. A portion of the cargo and tackle was secured and placed on board a [[pilot boat]] from Georgetown, and the crew, numbering twenty-seven persons, was transferred to the tug ''Forrest City'', which had arrived at the scene of the wreck with the agent of the vessel from Savannah, and sent to that city. When the vessel was abandoned there was fourteen feet of water in her hold, and the wreck was fast going to pieces. The steam wrecking flat ''Uncle Sam'', under the command of Capt. Smith, was left alongside, with a view to save whatever could be secured from the wreck. Capt. Matthewes and his first officer will remain here for several days to look after the cargo that has been saved. He could give no information as to the value of the vessel and cargo, or the amount for which they were insured."<ref name="N&C">''The News and Courier'', (Charleston, South Carolina), Thursday, 7 April 1881, p. 4, c. 2</ref>}}<!-- end of quote template -->

Her permanent enrollment, which was issued at Boston on 4 May 1880, and surrendered at Boston on 5 May 1881, carries the note: "Vessel wrecked April 3, 1881, near Charleston, S.C.",<ref name="NARS_PE" /> while other official government records show her as "Lost June 30, 1881," which may have been the day of her legal abandonment by her owners.<ref>"Off. # Book", (bound manuscript), Volume 37, #25082, NARS RG-41</ref>

At the time of her loss, ''United States'' was described as valued at about $60,000 and her cargo as worth about $25,000.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}}

==Distribution of cargo==
''United States'' had three decks. Cargo could have been stored on any of them. The ship's [[hold (ship)|hold]], where the majority of a ship's cargo was stored, was not normally considered a deck. Contemporary newspaper accounts specifically mention her "between decks cargo." A "between deck" or "[[Tweendecker|tweendeck]]" is any deck between the main deck and the ship's hold. "Tweendeck space" is the space between any two continuous decks. The mention of a between decks cargo suggests that her hold was filled to capacity, as, for weight and balance considerations, it would have been loaded first.

Cargo such as bales, [[bag]]s, or [[drum]]s can be stacked in the tweendeck space, atop the tweendeck.

Beneath the lowest deck is the hold space, used for general cargo. General cargo was packaged and crated items like jewelry, bottled medicines, wine, liquor, china, guns, mantle clocks, furniture, machinery, footwear, garments, and other merchandise.

==Contemporary salvage==
Although aground, it was initially thought{{by whom |date=July 2013}} ''United States'' could be saved. By the time it was realized that she couldn't be saved, she had {{convert|14|ft}} of water in her and was "fast going to pieces." The easily accessible "between deck" cargo, was saved in good condition.<ref name="N&C" />

There is no record that any of the merchandise in her cargo hold, which was below water, was salvaged.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1881 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|South Carolina}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States}}
[[Category:1864 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portland, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1881]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast]]