Stone Fleet facts for kids

The Stone Fleet was a group of old ships, mostly whaling ships, bought during the American Civil War. The Union Navy filled these ships with heavy stones and sailed them south. Their main goal was to sink them on purpose at the entrance of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The Union hoped this would stop blockade runners, which were ships trying to bring supplies to the Confederate side.

Some of these ships sank on their way, and others were sunk near Tybee Island, Georgia to act as breakwaters or docks for Union soldiers. Most of the fleet was split into two smaller groups. One group was sunk to block the south channel near Morris Island, and the other to block the north channel near Rattlesnake Shoals, close to today's Isle of Palms, South Carolina. However, these efforts did not fully block the main shipping paths into Charleston Harbor.

Why Was the Stone Fleet Used?

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union Navy tried to stop the Confederate states from getting supplies from other countries. They did this by setting up a "blockade" along the Confederate coastline. This meant Union warships patrolled the waters to prevent ships from entering or leaving Confederate ports.

Charleston, South Carolina, was a very important port for the Confederacy. Ships called "blockade runners" would try to sneak past the Union Navy to deliver goods like weapons and medicine, and take out Southern products like cotton. To make it harder for these runners, the Union came up with the idea of sinking old ships filled with stone in the harbor's main channels. This would create underwater obstacles, hopefully blocking the way completely.

How the Stone Fleet Was Created

The Union Navy bought many old ships, especially whaling ships, from places like New Bedford, Massachusetts. These ships were no longer needed for whaling. They were then loaded with tons of stone, sand, or dirt. Once filled, they were towed to specific spots in the harbor and sunk.

The first group of 24 whaling ships was sunk in Charleston Harbor starting on December 19, 1861. This operation was led by Captain Charles Henry Davis. A second group of 12 to 20 ships was sunk in a nearby area called Mafitt's Channel in 1862. The overall plan was managed by Samuel Francis DuPont, who was in charge of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Not everyone thought this was a good idea. Confederate general Robert E. Lee called it "an abortive expression of the malice and revenge" of the North. This means he thought it was a mean and pointless act by the Union.

The famous writer Herman Melville was inspired by this event and wrote a poem called "The Stone Fleet."

Some Ships of the Stone Fleet

Many different ships were part of the Stone Fleet. Here are a few examples:

• Amazon: A 318-ton ship from Fairhaven, Massachusetts. It was filled with 325 tons of stone and sunk in Charleston on December 19 or 20, 1861.
• American: A 329-ton ship from Edgartown, Massachusetts. It carried 300 tons of stone and was sunk in Charleston's main channel on December 20, 1861.
• Garland: A 243-ton ship from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Its captain, Rodney French, was chosen as the "Commodore of the stone fleet" by the other captains. The Garland was one of the last ships to arrive.
• Frances Henrietta: A whaling ship from New Bedford. It was bought for $4,000. Some records suggest it might have been used by the US Army and stayed afloat for a while.
• Maria Theresa: A 330-ton ship bought for $4,000. It was sunk with 15 other ships about four miles south-southeast of Fort Sumter.
• Margaret Scott: A 330-ton ship that had been taken by the US Marshall because it was a slave ship. It was sunk on January 20, 1862, in Maffitt's Channel.

Some ships were not sunk as blockades but were used for other purposes:

• Cossack: A 254-ton ship that was beached (pulled onto the shore) at Tybee Island, Georgia. It was used as a dock for Union troops to land.
• Harvest: A whaling ship that was kept and used as a coal scow (a flat-bottomed boat for carrying coal).
• Phoenix: A 404-ton whaling ship sunk as a breakwater for Union troops invading Tybee Island.