''Adriatic'' was a three-masted, two deck,

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

built in 1861 by Curtis & Tilden,

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Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On August 12, 1864, ''Adriatic'' was embarked from

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

en route to

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carrying 163 German immigrants and 100 US citizens. She made it as far as the New Jersey coast before meeting the Confederate raider , which collided with her. Captain

John Taylor Wood John Taylor Wood (August 13, 1830 – July 19, 1904) was an officer in the United States Navy and the Confederate Navy. He resigned from the U.S. Navy at the beginning of the American Civil War, and became a "leading Confederate naval hero" ...

of ''Tallahassee'' ordered every passenger on ''Adriatic'' to be taken prisoner and put on ''Tallahassee''. Wood then ordered ''Adriatic'' burned.

Construction

The Curtis & Tilden

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

built ''Adriatic'' in 1861. The firm E. E. Morgan & Son, were owners of a line of packet ships that ran carried passengers and freight between London and New York, and ''Adriatic'' joined their line. Elisha E. Morgan was part-owner, along with Captain Richard H. Moore. The ''Adriatic'' was registered with the ‘’Record of American and Foreign Shipping’’, from 1862 to 1864. Her

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

was R. H. Moore; her owners were E. E. Morgan; built in 1861 at Curtis & Tilden

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; and her hailing port was the Port of New York.

American Civil War

On July 7, 1864, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, ''Adriatic'', Captain Richard H. Moore, sailed from London, England to New York City with 163 German immigrants, 100 US citizens, and 100-tons of coal. On August 12, 1864, she had made the New Jersey coast, 35 miles off

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, when she met ''Tallahassee'', which collided with ''Adriatic''. Captain Wood ordered everyone on ''Adriatic'' to be put on ''Tallahassee''. Wood then ordered ''Adriatic'' burned. In the book ''From Sandy Hook to 62'',

Charles Edward Russell Charles Edward Russell (September 25, 1860 – April 23, 1941) was an American journalist, opinion columnist, newspaper editor, and political activist. The author of a number of books of biography and social commentary, he won the 1928 Pulitzer P ...

describes ''Tallahassee''s chase of ''Adriatic''. When ''Tallahassee'' ran down ''Adriatic'', ''Tallahassee'' lost her mainmast and

stanchion A stanchion () is a sturdy upright fixture that provides support for some other object. It can be a permanent fixture. Types In architecture, stanchions are the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horiz ...

s. The next day, Captain Wood captured the bark ''Suliote'', of

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Maine), Belfast Bay and Penobsc ...

. He transferred the passengers from the

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

''William Bell,'' No. 24 and ''Adriatic'' to ''Suliote''. James Callahan was ordered to pilot ''Suliote'' into Sandy Hook, New York. In 2016, a team led by captain John Noonan, of the dive vessel ''Storm Petrel,'' first located and dived the wreck. The wreckage lies in of water off the eastern edge of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York. ''Adriatic'' was positively identified in 2019. The team of divers was able to establish conclusive proof after connecting artifacts recovered with visits to the National Archives.

''Alabama'' Claims

On February 23, 1883, William D. Morgan, executor for Elisha E. Morgan, part-owner of ''Adriatic'', successfully petitioned the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York Ci ...

via the ''Alabama'' Claims award, for compensation for the loss of ''Adriatic''. The case was called ''William D. Morgan v. The United States'' (No. 1058). The total claim was for $109,615.95. On February 10, 1883, James Callahan was deposed for the ''Alabama'' Claims award. In his deposition, Callahan said that he was captain of ''William Bell''. The court then asked him to recount the capture of ''Adriatic'' by the CSS ''Tallahassee''.

References

External links

General Information on the ''Adriatic''

Details of the SV ''Adriatic''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adriatic (1861 ship) Sailing ships of the United States 1861 ships Ships built in Boston Maritime incidents in August 1864