- Lelia
PS "Lelia" was a
steamship built during theAmerican Civil War for use as ablockade runner for theConfederate States of America . She sank inLiverpool Bay in1865 in an incident which caused 46 fatalities."Lelia" was built by William C Miller & Company of
Toxteth as one of a trio of blockade running sister ships ordered for the Anglo-Confederate concern, William G. Crenshaw & Company. She was a 252' paddle steamship of 640 BRT. Her hull was built ofsteel , an unusual and expensive material for shipbuilding at the time. The engines and other machinery were built by Fawcett Preston & Company and rated at 300 nhp. (TheConfederate States Navy warship, CSS "Florida", had also been built at Miller's yard.)She left the
River Mersey , with a largelyLiverpool -based crew, and several prominent Confederate naval officers, on hermaiden voyage on14 January 1865 bound forWilmington, North Carolina viaBermuda , aiming to run theUnion blockade ."Lelia" was heavily laden, and when she hit bad weather off the coast of
North Wales , large waves knocked heranchor s loose and through the deck, swamping her. She sank near thelightship "Prince" off theGreat Orme .Two boats were able to leave the stricken ship, but one capsized and only 12 survivors (out of 51 on board) reached the safety of the lightship.
The next day an RNLI lifeboat went to the scene, but was itself swamped by waves, with the loss of 7 out of its 11 crew.
ee also
*
List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
*Naval battles of the American Civil War Further reading
* Chris Michael - "Lelia" (Countyvise Ltd, 2004) ISBN 1-901231-47-X
* Ivor Wynne Jones - "America's Secret War in Welsh Waters" (1976)External links
* [http://www.csa-dixie.com/liverpool_dixie/Lelia.htm "When Liverpool was Dixie" on "Lelia"]
* [http://www.geocities.com/rivermersey@btinternet.com/lelia.htm The story of the tragedy of the Lelia and the wreck of the lifeboat which was an adjunct of the disaster.]
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