The Graveyard of the Atlantic on Hatteras Island, North Carolina

The "skeleton of a ship" covers

the entrance of the Graveyard

of the Atlantic Museum in

Hatteras.

The loss of the USS Monitor
is the subject of this historic
marker.

The first battle of ironclad battleships, the USS Monitor (North) and the CSS Virginia (South), occurred at Hampton Roads, Virginia on March 9, 1862.  After hours of dueling, neither ship was seriously damaged, and there were no fatalities among the crews.  The USS Monitor's crew claimed victory because it had broken up a southern attack on Union blockade ships. The CSS Virginia's crew claimed victory because it "held the Roads" against Union ships.  

Just six months later, the USS Monitor sank during a storm off Cape Hatters on December 30, 1862. It was one of the many ships claimed by the roiling waters of the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The 1854 Fresnel Lens from the

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

This lens, consisting of a series of prisms,  intensifies the lighthouse's navigational light. Ships at sea can see the light from farther out, increasing the shipping safety.

Nautical Knots

Eric & I watched a series of

short films on wrecks off

the Outer Banks.

The Labrador Current flows from the north and the Gulf Stream, flowing from the south, collide near Cape Hatteras. To take advantage of the currents, ships sail close to the barrier islands.  Storms batter ships and swamp them or drive them onto the shore.  The total number of ships lost off Cape Hatteras is estimated to be over 1,000.

U.S. ships have been sunk off
the coast of Cape Hatteras
by the U.S.Army Air Corps.

Lieutenant General Billy Mitchell

demonstrated the effectiveness of
 precision bombing by high level
bombers off the coast of Cape
 Hatteras in 1923.

German U-Boats prowled the waters off Cape Hatteras and sank over seventy ships during World War II.  

The Gift Shop








Eric and I toured wonderful displays on shipping, diving and fishing off Cape Hatteras. Unfortunately, photos are not permitted in that section of the museum.