On March 1, 1865 at 7:15AM, the USS Harvest Moon, Flagship of Admiral J. A. Dahlgren struck a torpedo and sank in Winyah Bay South Carolina. The location of the sinking and remains of the ship are shown as a navigation hazard on NOAA Coast and Geodetic Survey chart 11532 at latitude North 33º 17.52', longitude West 79º 15.45'. This location is approximately 4.6 nautical miles from the clock tower in Georgetown on a 164º bearing.

 

 

TOWN CLOCK / OLD MARKET

Divers survey the Harvest Moon in 1965

The smokestack is almost underwater at high tide in 1995

"HARVEST MOON" ICE CREAM PARLOR

KEG TORPEDO

The most common style of Confederate torpedo consisted of a keg filled with about 100# of black powder with a sensitive contact fuse in the bung. Wooden cones were attached at either end and it was anchored to the bottom, just below the surface, with the fuse side up.