Builder's Plate from Civil War Blockade Ship

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During the Civil War, Union blockade ships were used to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederacy through the Gulf of Mexico.

This plate, credited to Harland & Hollingsworth & Company, was recovered from the USS Hatteras. The Hatteras enjoyed a brief but successful career, capturing seven blockade runners  with assorted cargoes of cotton (534 bales), sugar, and other goods that the South was desperately trying to export. The Hatteras was sunk 20 miles off the coast of Galveston on January 11, 1863. In 2012, a storm shifted the sands over the Hatteras and scientists were able to use 3-D scanners to map the site.