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PS ''Lelia'' was a
"When Liverpool was Dixie" on "Lelia"
Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Mersey Ships of the Confederate States of America Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Shipwrecks of Wales Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Maritime incidents in January 1865 Disasters in Merseyside {{US-mil-ship-stub
PS ''Lelia'' was a steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
built in 1864, during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
for use as a blockade runner
A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...
for the Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. She sank in Liverpool Bay
Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from red ...
in 1865 in an incident that caused 46 fatalities.
History
''Lelia'' was built by William C Miller & Company ofToxteth
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside.
Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill.
The area w ...
as one of a trio of blockade running sister ships ordered for the Anglo-Confederate concern, William G. Crenshaw & Company. She was a paddle steamship of 640 BRT. Her hull was built of steel, an unusual and expensive material for shipbuilding at the time. The engines and other machinery were built by Fawcett Preston & Company and rated at 300 nhp. (The Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
warship, CSS ''Florida'', had also been built at Miller's yard.)
She left the River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
, with a largely Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
-based crew, and several prominent Confederate naval officers, on her maiden voyage on 14 January 1865 bound for Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
, via Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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, aiming to run the Union blockade
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...
.
''Lelia'' was heavily laden, and when she hit bad weather off the coast of North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
, large waves knocked her anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
s loose and through the deck, swamping her. She sank near the lightship ''Prince'' off the Great Orme
The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old N ...
.
Two boats were able to leave the stricken ship, but one capsized and only twelve survivors (out of fifty-one on board) reached the safety of the lightship.
The next day the Liverpool No 1 Lifeboat went to the scene under tow by the steam tug ''Blazer'', but was itself swamped by waves, with the loss of seven out of its 11 crew.
Wreck
The wreck of ''Lelia'' was discovered in the early 1990s when a diver recovered a bell from the seabed inscribed 'Lelia 1864'. It lies 10 miles north west off Hilbre Point, Wirral. The remains include one of the paddle wheels, the engine and boiler rooms, as well as less well-preserved cargo areas and a steam winch. The wreck was given protected status when it was added to the National Heritage list for England by theDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
, type = Department
, logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg
, logo_width =
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, seal =
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in August 2019.
See also
*List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable ...
* Naval battles of the American Civil War
The naval battles of the American Civil War, fought between the Union and the Confederacy, changed the foundations of naval warfare with the first use of ironclads and submarines, and the introduction of newer and more powerful naval artillery.
...
Further reading
* Chris Michael - ''"Lelia"'' (Countyvise Ltd, 2004) * Ivor Wynne Jones - ''America's Secret War in Welsh Waters'' (1976) * "Cruisers, Cotton and Confederates" John Hussey - details the story of Liverpool built ships for the Confederate navy. A host of characters and places within the city in that era - James Dunwoody Bulloch, C.K.Prioleau, and many others. Countyvise 2009References
External links
"When Liverpool was Dixie" on "Lelia"
Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Mersey Ships of the Confederate States of America Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Shipwrecks of Wales Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Maritime incidents in January 1865 Disasters in Merseyside {{US-mil-ship-stub