From USS Stars and Stripes to Metropolis (1861-present): Modeling the Life, Loss, and Archaeological Site Formation of a Currituck Beach Shipwreck (Corolla, North Carolina)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Just a few hundred yards off Currituck Beach, North Carolina, in January of 1878, the steamship Metropolis—the former and rebuilt Union gunboat USS Stars and Stripes—ran aground while transporting 250 laborers and materials to Brazil for railroad construction. In the disaster, 85 of those on board lost their lives in full view of the Life-Saving Service, spurring demands for reform in the service from New York to the then-Dakota Territory. This paper outlines an in-progress thesis that reconstructs the life and loss of the vessel. Drawing on data from historical research, RhinoCAD modeling, photogrammetric modeling, and on-site work, the thesis will aim to clarify the nature of the site, contextualize the wrecking event, explore the possible onshore debris field, and potentially disentangle Metropolis from any additional shipwrecks buried along Currituck Beach.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2022 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology