The St. Pete Times is reporting that an excavation by archaeologist Billy Ray Morris and Florida Aquarium divers have uncovered what may be the Civil War blockade runner Kate Dale in the Hillsborough River. The boat was burned by Union troops and sank on Oct. 17, 1863.

The boat belonged to Capt. James McKay who ran the boat from Cuba to the U. S. The Times story explains:

“They let him slip through,” said historian Canter Brown Jr. “He had been a prisoner of war, and he made an arrangement that Abraham Lincoln personally signed off on: If he were released, he would come back to Tampa and he would organize his cattlemen association to support the U.S. military takeover in Tampa.

Tampa has so much history waiting to be rediscovered and this boat is just a part of it. One resident says that the boat has been faintly visible, yet disappearing, for the ten years that she has lived here.

RSS 2.0 - trackback