Wreck of Blockade Runner Fanny and Jenny at Wrightsville Beach-- Part 1

From Sept. 24, 2012, Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "My Reporter":  Is a Civil War blockade runner  sunk off Crystal Pier at Wrightsville Beach?"  Ben Steelman.

The Fanny and Jenny, sunk February 10, 1864, while on its first run through the blockade.  Its engines used to be visible at low tide.

Crystal Pier at the Oceanic Restaurant, was deliberately built over the Fanny and Jenny wreck, according to Mark Wilde-Ramsing of the N.C. Underwater Archaeology Branch at Fort Fisher.  Blockade runner wrecks are valued  as exceptionally good fishing spots.

Builders dynamited part of the wreck in 1938, while extending the length of the pier to 901 feet, according to Chris Fonvielle of the UNC_Wilmington.  (Hurricanes have sheered off much of the pier since then.)  Divers excavated a number of artifacts from the wreck in the 1960s, including the ship's anchor, which was displayed on shore.

--Old B-Runner