# List of shipwrecks in April 1861

The list of shipwrecks in April 1861 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during April 1861.

## 1 April

List of shipwrecks: 1 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | The steamship ran aground. She was on a voyage from Hamburg to Amsterdam, North Holland. |
| Eslington | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Newcombe Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk. She was on a voyage from Antwerp, Belgium to South Shields, County Durham. She was refloated. |
| Maid | United Kingdom | The ship was beached at Larne, County Antrim.. She was on a voyage from Nairn to Liverpool, Lancashire. |
| Ocean's Bride | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked at Dundee, Forfarshire with the loss of six of her seven crew. |
| Tamarac | United Kingdom | The brigantine caught fire and sank off Exmouth, Devon. Her crew were rescued. |

## 2 April

List of shipwrecks: 2 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Eslington | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Newcombe Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk. She was on a voyage from Antwerp, Belgium to South Shields, County Durham. |
| Union | United States | The 139-ton sidewheel paddle steamer struck a snag and sank in the Wabash River at Clinton, Indiana. |

## 3 April

List of shipwrecks: 3 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Auguste | Hamburg | The ship ran aground in Holm Sound. She was on a voyage from Hamburg to Newfoundland, British North America. She was refloated and taken in to Stromness, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom. |
| Holland | United States | The barque was driven ashore on "Granerort". She was on a voyage from Matanzas, Cuba to Hamburg. She was refloated with assistance from the steamships Concordia and Vorwaerts both Hamburg. Concordia towed her in to Hamburg. |

## 4 April

List of shipwrecks: 4 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Cornelia | United States | The ship was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by Mary Ann Jones ( United Kingdom). Cornelia was on a voyage from the Clyde to Santos, Brazil. |
| Gartcraig | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Kimmeridge Ledge, in the English Channel off the coast of Dorset. She was on a voyage from Poole, Dorset to Quebec City, Province of Canada, British North America. |
| Henry Bailey | United Kingdom | The ship sprang a leak and sank in the Bristol Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Lundy Island, Devon. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Tralee, County Kerry to Gloucester. |
| Toad | United Kingdom | The barque sprang a leak and foundered in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Alexandria, Egypt to Falmouth, Cornwall. |

## 5 April

List of shipwrecks: 5 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Falke | Bremen | The steamship was driven ashore in the Weser downstream of Bremen. She was on a voyage from Bremen to London, United Kingdom. |
| Magnet | United Kingdom | The brig ran aground on Scroby Sands, Norfolk. She was on a voyage from Aberdeen to London. She was refloated the next day and resumed her voyage. |
| Scotia | United Kingdom | The brig ran aground on the Scroby Sands, Norfolk. She was on a voyage from Blyth, Northumberland to Dover, Kent. She was refloated on 7 April and taken in to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk in a leaky condition. |

## 6 April

List of shipwrecks: 6 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Nieman | France | The ship was driven ashore in the Yangtze-kiang. She was on a voyage from Saint-Nazaire, Ille-et-Vilaine to Shanghai, China. |

## 7 April

List of shipwrecks: 7 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Oregon | United Kingdom | The schooner ran aground on the South Gaze Sand, at the mouth of the River Tees and sank. Her four crew were rescued by the Middlesbrough Lifeboat. She was on a voyage from Grangemouth, Stirlingshire to Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. |

## 8 April

List of shipwrecks: 8 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| America | United Kingdom | The barque was wrecked at Cape San Antonio, Cuba. She was on a voyage from Cienfuegos, Cuba to Boston, Massachusetts, United States. |
| Black Squall | Unknown | The brig was lost on the coast of North Carolina at Ocracoke Inlet. |
| Boundary | United States | Carrying a cargo of lumber, the schooner was wrecked on Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island. |
| Niagara | United Kingdom | The steamship ran aground at Queenstown, County Cork. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Halifax, Nova Scotia, British North America. She was refloated and resumed her voyage. |
| Witchcraft | United States | The clipper ran aground at Chicamanconico on the coast of North Carolina, within sight of the Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island lighthouses and was pounded to pieces by the surf. |

## 9 April

List of shipwrecks: 9 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Hortense | United Kingdom | The ship was damaged by fire at London. |
| Jane | United Kingdom | The schooner ran aground on the Blacktail Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex. She was on a voyage from Perth to London. She was refloated with assistance from the luggers Southern Bell and Zephyr and the yawls Devotion and Friends (all United Kingdom) and resumed her voyage. |
| Perseverance | United Kingdom | The ship was sunk by ice 130 to 150 nautical miles (240 to 280 km) east north east of Saint John's, Newfoundland, British North America. Her ten crew survived, but nine of them died before her captain was rescued by the barque Lord Petre ( United Kingdom) on 27 April. |
| Star of the East | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked on a reef 20 nautical miles (37 km) west of Cape Infanta, Cape Colony. She was on a voyage from Bombay, India to Liverpool, Lancashire. She broke up on 12 April. |

## 10 April

List of shipwrecks: 10 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Olympia | Italy | The ship was wrecked at Messina, Sicily. She was on a voyage from Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire to an English port. |

## 11 April

List of shipwrecks: 11 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Swift | United Kingdom | The steam barge ran aground in the River Avon at Pill, Somerset. She was on a voyage from Cardiff, Glamorgan to Bristol, Gloucestershire. She was refloated but consequently sank. |

## 12 April

List of shipwrecks: 12 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Dinorwic | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore on Texel, North Holland, Netherlands. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Caernarfon to Hamburg. |
| Oneko and Johann | Russian Empire | The ship was wrecked at Thisted, Denmark. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom to Riga. |
| Paquete do Minho | Portugal | The ship ran aground on the Gunfleet Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex, United Kingdom. She was on a voyage from South Shields, County Durham, United Kingdom to Montevideo, Uruguay. She was refloated and taken in to Harwich, Essex. |
| Queen of the Seas | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked at Thisted. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Stettin. |
| Tennant | United Kingdom | The brig was driven ashore at Palermo, Sicily, Italy. |

## 13 April

List of shipwrecks: 13 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Charles | United Kingdom | The sloop sank off Dundee, Forfarshire. |

## 17 April

List of shipwrecks: 17 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Adelaide | South Australia | The brigantine was wrecked at MacDonnel Bay. |
| Clarinda | United Kingdom | The ship struck a sunken rock off the Plana Islands, Spain and was holed. She was taken in to Alicante Bay in a leaky condition. |
| Einigkeit | Prussia | The koff sank 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of Skagen, Denmark. Her crew were rescued by the steamship Colonist ( United Kingdom). Einigkeit was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom to Pillau. |
| Elaine | United Kingdom | The full-rigged ship was wrecked in the Saint Lawrence River at Point-des-Monts, Province of Canada, British North America. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Montreal, Province of Canada. |
| James Baillie | United Kingdom | The barque was wrecked on Skagen, Denmark. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland to Cronstadt, Russia. |
| Two large unidentified boats | Confederate States of America | American Civil War: The boats were scuttled as blockships by Confederate forces in the Elizabeth River in Virginia near Craney Island on or about 17 April. |

## 18 April

List of shipwrecks: 18 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Julinder | United Kingdom | The barque was driven ashore 35 nautical miles (65 km) north of Jeddah, Hejaz Vilayet. Her eighteen crew survived. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland to Suez, Egypt. |

## 19 April

List of shipwrecks: 19 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Arabian | United Kingdom | The barque was wrecked in the Nun River. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to the Brass River. |

## 20 April

List of shipwrecks: 20 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Columbus | United States Navy | American Civil War: The decommissioned ship-of-the-line, laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was scuttled to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| USS Delaware | United States Navy | American Civil War: The decommissioned ship-of-the-line, laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was burned to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| Elizabeth | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore and wrecked on Saaremaa, Russia. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from South Shields, County Durham to Cronstadt, Russia. |
| USS Germantown | United States Navy | American Civil War: The sloop-of-war was scuttled at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. The Confederates later raised her and used her as a floating battery. |
| H. H. Boody | United States | The ship ran aground at Drogheda, County Louth, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom to Portland, Maine. |
| USS Merrimack | United States Navy | American Civil War: The screw frigate, laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was burned to the waterline and scuttled to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. The Confederates later raised her and converted her into the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia ( Confederate States Navy). |
| USS Pennsylvania | United States Navy | American Civil War: The ship-of-the-line, serving as a receiving ship at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was burned to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| USS Plymouth | United States Navy | American Civil War: The sloop-of-war was scuttled and partially burned while under repair at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| USS Raritan | United States Navy | American Civil War: The frigate, laid up in ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was destroyed to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |

## 21 April

List of shipwrecks: 21 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Columbia | United States Navy | American Civil War: The frigate was scuttled and burned to the waterline at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| USS Dolphin | United States Navy | American Civil War: The brig was burned at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| Express No. 10 | France | The steamship foundered in the English Channel off Havre de Grâce, Seine-Inférieure. She was on a voyage from Havre de Grâce to Rouen. She was refloated on 24 April and found to be severely damaged. Express No. 10 was taken in to Havre de Grâce for repairs. |
| Maryland | United Kingdom | American Civil War: The steamship ran aground at Annapolis, Maryland. She was refloated. |
| New York | United States | American Civil War: The incomplete ship-of-the-line, laid down in March 1820 but never launched, was burned at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent her capture by Confederate forces. |
| Utopia | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore at Mogador, Morocco. She was refloated the next day. |

## 22 April

List of shipwrecks: 22 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Orion | United Kingdom | The barque ran aground on the Droogden, in the North Sea off the Dutch coast. She was refloated on 25 April and resumed her voyage. |
| Spero | United Kingdom | The ship was lost in Riga Bay. Her crew survived. |

## 23 April

List of shipwrecks: 23 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Corsair | New Zealand | The brig was heavily damaged in a collision with the steamer Omeo in Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand. She was driven on shore and abandoned as a wreck. |
| James Clinton | United States | The 105-ton sternwheel paddle steamer was destroyed on the Willamette River at Oregon City, Oregon, by a fire that spread to her from a warehouse and flour mills. |
| Japan | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked near Foo Chow Foo, China. She was on a voyage from Foo Chow Foo to London. |

## 24 April

List of shipwrecks: 24 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Defence | United Kingdom | The Defence-class ironclad ran aground on being launched at Jarrow-on-Tyne, County Durham. She was refloated the next day. |
| Robert Stephenson | United Kingdom | The brig ran aground on the Newcombe Sand. She was on a voyage from London to Blyth, Northumberland. She was refloated and resumed her voyage. |
| Argus, and Ross D. Mangles | United Kingdom | The steam yacht Argus collided with the steamship Ross D. Mangles in the Thames Estuary and was severely damaged. Ross D. Mangles was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to London. She was taken into the River Thames flooded at the bows. |

## 25 April

List of shipwrecks: 25 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Fanny | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore and wrecked at Thisted, Denmark with the loss of all hands. |
| Syren | United States | The 1,064-ton clipper struck the Mile Rocks off Lands End at San Francisco, California, then returned to San Francisco Harbor and was beached. She was refloated and repaired. |
| United States | United Kingdom | The steamship was wrecked on the Bird Rocks, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the loss of one life. Survivors were rescued by the barque Maranham ( United Kingdom). United States was on a voyage from Glasgow, Renfrewshire to Quebec City, Province of Canada, British North America. |

## 26 April

List of shipwrecks: 26 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Agatha Hendrika | Denmark | The koff was driven ashore and wrecked on Læsø. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom to Aalborg. |
| Bucephalus | United Kingdom | The ship capsized at Liverpool, Lancashire. |
| Kettle Bottom Lightship | United States Lighthouse Service | The lightship burned on the Potomac River at Kettle Bottom Shoals. |
| Mary | United Kingdom | The schooner was wrecked on Scharhörn. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Portmadoc, Caernarfonshire to Hamburg. |

## 27 April

List of shipwrecks: 27 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Eiferous | United Kingdom | The brig ran aground on the Gibb Sand, in the North Sea and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Hartlepool, County Durham to Hamburg. |
| Prince Albert | United Kingdom | The paddle tug was driven ashore and sank at Sunderland, County Durham with the loss of one of her four crew. |
| Tibislæ | Hamburg | The tjalk sank at Hamburg. She was on a voyage from Makkum, Friesland, Netherlands to Altona. |

## 28 April

List of shipwrecks: 28 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Ironside | United Kingdom | The ship, which had caught fire at Belize City, British Honduras, was beached in the Pass A L'Outre. She had been on a voyage from New Orleans, Louisiana, Confederate States of America to Liverpool, Lancashire. |
| Victoria | United Kingdom | The cutter collided with Lucknow ( United Kingdom) and sank in the North Sea off Whitby, Yorkshire. Her crew were rescued by Lucknow. |

## 29 April

List of shipwrecks: 29 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Circassian | United Kingdom | The brig sprang a leak was abandoned off Sønderho, Denmark. Her eleven crew survived. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland to Cronstadt, Russia. |
| Forth | United Kingdom | The schooner caught fire at sea. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Aberdeen. She put back to Sunderland where the fire was extinguished. |
| Pearl | United Kingdom | The schooner ran aground on the Cross Sand, in the North Sea. She was on a voyage from Havre de Grâce, Seine-Inférieure, France to Dantzic. She was refloated on 3 May and taken in to Grimsby, Lincolnshire for repairs. |

## 30 April

List of shipwrecks: 30 April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Coral Isle | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to New York, United States. She was refloated and resumed her voyage, but consequently put in to Gravesend, Kent in a leaky condition. |

## Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date in April 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Anna Maria | Netherlands | The brig ran aground in the Dardanelles before 28 April. She was on a voyage from Brăila, Ottoman Empire to Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. |
| Arcturus | United Kingdom | The brig foundered in the North Sea. She was in a voyage from Inverkeithing, Fife to Cronstadt, Russia. |
| Arthur | United Kingdom | The steamship ran aground on Læsø, Denmark. She was on a voyage from Hull, Yorkshire to Stettin. She subsequently broke up. |
| Ferdinand | Hamburg | The ship collided with Humboldt ( United States) and foundered before 3 April with loss of life. Three crew were rescued by Humboldt. Ferdinand was on a voyage from Antwerp, Belgium to Hamburg. |
| Marquette | United States | The ship ran aground on the Burbo Bank, in Liverpool Bay. She was on a voyage from New Orleans, Louisiana to Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. She was refloated on 15 April and towed in to Liverpool. |
| Olaf | Norway | The koff ran aground off Hirsholmene. She was on a voyage from Hartlepool, County Durham, United Kingdom to Fredrikshavn. She was refloated and assisted in to Fredrikshavn, where she arrived on 18 April in a severely leaky condition. |
| Palestine | United Kingdom | The ship was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean before 16 April. She was on a voyage from New York City, United States to London. |
| Rectitude | United Kingdom | The barque was sunk by ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence before 21 April. Her crew were rescued by Colombia ( United Kingdom). Rectitude was on a voyage from Dundee, Forfarshire to Quebec City, Province of Canada, British North America. |
| Saint Savinien | France | The brigantine was lost near "Carabournou", Ottoman Empire before 5 April. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Odessa to Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. |
| Sophie | Grand Duchy of Oldenburg | The brig was destroyed by fire at Falmouth before 24 April. |
| Spartan | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore before 4 April. She was on a voyage from Hong Kong to London. She was refloated and taken in to Foo Chow Foo, China where it was found she had broken her back. She was condemned. |
| Tasmania | Victoria | The steamship was wrecked at Waitara, New South Wales before 11 April. Some of her crew were rescued by Aborigines. |
| Troas | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore in the Hooghly River. She was on a voyage from Sunderland, County Durham to Calcutta, India. She was later refloated and taken in to Calcutta, where she arrived on 24 April. |