| Summary |
The purpose of this study is to document the career of a navy warship which sailed for two years during the nineteenth century when the United States Navy was experiencing large cutbacks, and reducing the number and size of its ships. The USS Huron sailed -in the navy from 1875 to 1877. She wrecked on the coast of North Carolina while steaming south to the Caribbean during a storm. Ninety-eight of her crewmembers drowned as a result of the wreck. This research discusses the condition of the United States Navy and how that affected the construction of the Huron and her two sister ships, the only iron warships built for the United States Navy after the Civil War. The thesis explores the Huron's role in the navy and her role in history as a factor in the development of the United States Lifesaving Service, It also documents the physical remains of the wreck through established underwater archaeological methods, and interprets the findings of the investigation in such a way as to enhance public awareness of the wreck's significance, and provide a basis for nominating the wreck to the National Register of Historic Places. This thesis brings together an assortment of historical and archaeological information, and provides a reference point for other scholars interested researching the history of the North Carolina Outer Banks and the hundreds of other shipwrecks that occurred in that area. |
| General note | Submitted to the faculty of the Dept. of History. |
| General note | Advisor: William N. Still, Jr. |
| Dissertation note | M.A. East Carolina University 1988 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-131). |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Thèses et écrits académiques. |
