1861 Atlantic hurricane season
Encyclopedia
The 1861 Atlantic hurricane season
occurred during the first year of the American Civil War
and had some minor impacts on associated events. Eight tropical cyclones are believed to have formed during the 1861 season; the first storm developed on July 6 and the final system dissipated on November 3. Six of the eight hurricanes attained Category 1 hurricane status or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
, of which three produced hurricane-force winds in the United States. No conclusive damage totals are available for any storms. Twenty-two people died in a shipwreck off the New England
coast, and an undetermined number of crew members went down with their ship in the July hurricane. Based on maximum sustained winds, the first and third hurricanes are tied for the strongest of the year, although the typical method for determining that record—central barometric air pressure—is not a reliable indicator due to a general lack of data and observations.
Four tropical storms from 1861 had been previously identified by scholars and hurricane experts, but three more were uncovered in modern-day reanalysis. Known tracks for most of the systems are presumed to be incomplete, despite efforts to reconstruct the paths of older tropical cyclones. Three systems completely avoided land. They all had an effect on shipping, in some cases inflicting severe damage on vessels. A storm in September, referred to as the "Equinoctial Storm", hugged the East Coast of the United States
and produced rainy and windy conditions both along the coast and further inland. The last storm of the season followed a similar track, and had an impact on a large Union
fleet of ships sailing to South Carolina
for what would become the Battle of Port Royal
. Two vessels were sunk and several others had to return home for repairs. Ultimately the expedition ended in a Union success.
's Atlantic hurricane reanalysis
in their updates to the Atlantic hurricane database
(HURDAT), with some slight adjustments. HURDAT is the official source for such hurricane data as track and intensity, although due to a sparsity of available records at the time the storms existed, listings on some storms are incomplete.
Although extrapolated peak winds based on whatever reports are available exist for every storm in 1861, estimated minimum barometric air pressure listings are only present for the three storms that directly impacted the United States. Two hurricanes during the year made landfall on the mainland United States, and as they progressed inland, information on their meteorological demise was limited. As a result, the intensity of these storms after landfall and until dissipation is based on an inland decay model developed in 1995 to predict the deterioration of inland hurricanes.
. A 1938 publication documented the storm's effects on Guadeloupe
and St. Kitts, and given a lack of prior reports on the cyclone, modern-day reassessments concluded that it was relatively weak when it affected those islands. After crossing the northern Leeward Islands, the tropical storm broadly curved toward the northwest, likely intensifying into the equivalence of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on July 9. The majority of the storm's track in the western Atlantic was unknown until it was reconstructed based on reports from, and the effects on, three ships in its vicinity.
On July 10—when the storm was approaching or at its peak intensity with winds of 100 mph (160.9 km/h)—the Bowditch encountered severe hurricane conditions which destroyed both of her masts and washed her entire crew overboard. Her captain was able to climb back aboard, where he survived for over a week with no food or water until he was rescued by a schooner. The Echo and Creole both sustained significant damage, and the crew and captain of the latter ship had to be rescued after she began taking on water. The extent of the damage to the three ships served as the basis for evaluating the storm's intensity in Partagás's paper. The hurricane ultimately passed between Bermuda
and the United States before dissipating after July 12.
on August 13. Ludlum (1963) described the "Key West
Hurricane" between August 14 and 16, and it was determined that the system had, in fact, surpassed the threshold for hurricane status based on wind observations from two ships. The storm skirted the north coast of Cuba
as it moved west-northwest and passed through the Florida Straits. On or around August 15, Havana
, Cuba experienced heavy rainfall. Although the cyclone did not directly make landfall, it delivered hurricane-force winds to southern Florida. It turned more toward the northwest as it entered the Gulf of Mexico
, where it began to gradually weaken. It is listed as having dissipated on August 17 in the northern Gulf.
The hurricane damaged or wrecked numerous vessels. Six ships were wrecked or grounded in the Bahamas, and the crews of at least two, the John Stanley and the Linea, had to be rescued. The steamship Santiago de Cuba left port on August 4, and began to encounter squally conditions later that afternoon. Heavy seas and a strong gale inflicted some damage on the vessel. Several ships along the eastern coast of Cuba were wrecked during the storm, leading to great uncertainty and concern regarding the fate of the Santiago. At least three vessels were lost or grounded along the Florida Keys
.
at the time.
peninsula. The storm is estimated to have been a minimal hurricane based on observations from the ship Virginia Ann. Several other vessels encountered the storm along its track, including the steamship Marion, which experienced hours of violent winds, torrential rainfall, and frequent thunder and lightning. The hurricane curved north, then northeast, striking North Carolina
that same day before speeding northeastward as it hugged the United States East Coast. Its track is only known through 1200 UTC
on September 28. Ludlum (1963) refers to the hurricane as the "Equinoctial Storm", and describes its area of impact as the "entire coast".
In the aftermath of the Battle of Carnifex Ferry
in present-day West Virginia
, Rutherford B. Hayes
of the 23rd Ohio Infantry
was camped south of the battlesite, where he wrote about a "very cold rain-storm" in a September 27 letter to his wife Lucy. Conditions at the time were characterized by leaking tents and temperatures getting "colder and colder". Hayes wrote, "We were out yesterday P.M. very near to the enemy's works; were caught in the first of this storm and thoroughly soaked. I hardly expect to be dry again until the storm is over." Strong winds buffeted the Burlington, New Jersey
, area from early evening to midnight on September 27, uprooting trees and causing some damage to property. Further north, Boston, Massachusetts, experienced intense winds and light rainfall for about five hours starting at midnight, with no initial reports of significant destruction.
four days later and her location at the time of her encounter with the storm, she probably encountered the cyclone much earlier in the month. The violent south-southwesterly gale lasted 15 hours when the vessel was probably located at 20.5°N, 47°W. The storm was initially assigned a single set of coordinates for October 6, and no attempt was made to reconstruct its track due to a lack of certain data on it. However, it was noted that a ship further north on October 9 experienced a heavy gale. Based on the likely correlation between the two ship reports, the storm's track was extended four days to late on October 9 in the Atlantic hurricane database.
, North Carolina, and observations from the ship Honduras, it is believed to have attained hurricane intensity. The hurricane made landfall in eastern North Carolina and proceeded up the coast before crossing eastern Long Island and coming ashore in southern New England. Its demise on November 3 marked the end of the 1861 Atlantic hurricane season; the next tropical storm would not form in the Atlantic until June 1862. Two storm systems affected the region in the week following October 28, both of which influenced a Civil War expedition which was "the largest fleet of war ships and transports ever assembled".
The first storm, which is not recognized as a tropical cyclone, disrupted the initial assembly of the fleet on October 28. However, the fleet set sail the next day on its mission to attack Confederate forces (its destination was "supposedly a military secret"). On November 2, the expedition encountered the second storm—the tropical hurricane—which wreaked havoc on the organization of the fleet and sunk two of its vessels. There was knowledge at the time of the series of storm systems, but few details on the condition and fate of the fleet, sparking great concern. Some of the other ships were forced to return home for repairs, but the majority rode out the storm successfully. The expedition proceeded onward and seized Port Royal Sound
at the Battle of Port Royal
. As described by Ludlum (1963), the hurricane is known as the Expedition Hurricane due to its influence on the fleet.
However, the hurricane also had a significant impact on land. Earlier in the year, Union forces had captured the fort guarding Hatteras Inlet at the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
. In the early morning hours of November 2, high seas began to overwash Hatteras Island
, "completely covering all dry land except the position of the fort itself". After four hours, water began to subside. Extremely high tides associated with the cyclone continued up the coast as far north as Portland, Maine
. Storm tides at various points, including New York City, Newport, Rhode Island
, and Boston, reached levels unseen for at least 10 years and up to 46 years. In New York, the storm persisted for 20 hours starting early on November 2; rising waters inundated wharves along the East
and Hudson Rivers. Floodwaters flowed up to five blocks inland, and a popular bar located in a hotel became isolated by the flooding. In response, a man transported customers to and from the bar on his private boat at a cost of two cents per ride. Strong winds in Brooklyn
brought down trees and telegraph wires.
Infrastructure throughout the Tri-State area suffered. Parts of the New Jersey Railroad line were undermined, and the Shore Line Railway
at Bridgeport
was inundated. Flooding was also prominent in the New Jersey Meadowlands
and along the Newark Turnpike and Plank Road, which was left temporarily impassible. Further east, the hurricane triggered coastal flooding along the shores of Long Island
, while northeasterly winds blew several ships ashore along the northern coast of Long Island. The eastern side of the hurricane blasted the southeastern New England coast between November 2 and November 3, damaging over 250 vessels at Provincetown, Massachusetts
, and running aground 20 others. Water from the Massachusetts Bay
surged into the village of Wareham
. In downtown Boston, the storm began late on November 2 and lasted until late the next morning, although the highest tides did not occur until after conditions had already cleared. Twenty-two occupants of the ship Maritania drowned when the vessel sank after striking a rock during the worst of the storm. At the time, she was located 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the Boston Light
.
Atlantic hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year when hurricanes usually form in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic are called hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition, there have been several storms over the years that have not been fully...
occurred during the first year of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and had some minor impacts on associated events. Eight tropical cyclones are believed to have formed during the 1861 season; the first storm developed on July 6 and the final system dissipated on November 3. Six of the eight hurricanes attained Category 1 hurricane status or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
, of which three produced hurricane-force winds in the United States. No conclusive damage totals are available for any storms. Twenty-two people died in a shipwreck off the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast, and an undetermined number of crew members went down with their ship in the July hurricane. Based on maximum sustained winds, the first and third hurricanes are tied for the strongest of the year, although the typical method for determining that record—central barometric air pressure—is not a reliable indicator due to a general lack of data and observations.
Four tropical storms from 1861 had been previously identified by scholars and hurricane experts, but three more were uncovered in modern-day reanalysis. Known tracks for most of the systems are presumed to be incomplete, despite efforts to reconstruct the paths of older tropical cyclones. Three systems completely avoided land. They all had an effect on shipping, in some cases inflicting severe damage on vessels. A storm in September, referred to as the "Equinoctial Storm", hugged the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and produced rainy and windy conditions both along the coast and further inland. The last storm of the season followed a similar track, and had an impact on a large Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
fleet of ships sailing to South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
for what would become the Battle of Port Royal
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...
. Two vessels were sunk and several others had to return home for repairs. Ultimately the expedition ended in a Union success.
Methodology
Prior to the advent of modern tropical cyclone tracking technology, notably satellite imagery, many hurricanes that did not affect land directly went unnoticed, and storms that did affect land were not recognized until their onslaught. As a result, information on older hurricane seasons was often incomplete. Modern-day efforts have been made and are still ongoing to reconstruct the tracks of known hurricanes and to identify initially undetected storms. In many cases, the only evidence that a hurricane existed was reports from ships in its path. Judging by the direction of winds experienced by ships, and their location in relation to the storm, it is possible to roughly pinpoint the storm's center of circulation for a given point in time. This is the manner in which three of the eight known storms in the 1861 season were identified by hurricane expert José Fernández Partagás's reanalysis of hurricane seasons between 1851 and 1910. Partagás also extended the known tracks of most of the other tropical cyclones previously identified by scholars. The information Partagás and his colleague uncovered was largely adopted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
's Atlantic hurricane reanalysis
Atlantic hurricane reanalysis
Atlantic hurricane reanalysis is an ongoing project within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which seeks to correct and add new information about past Atlantic tropical cyclones...
in their updates to the Atlantic hurricane database
HURDAT
The North Atlantic hurricane database, or HURDAT, is the database for all tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, since 1851.-History:...
(HURDAT), with some slight adjustments. HURDAT is the official source for such hurricane data as track and intensity, although due to a sparsity of available records at the time the storms existed, listings on some storms are incomplete.
Although extrapolated peak winds based on whatever reports are available exist for every storm in 1861, estimated minimum barometric air pressure listings are only present for the three storms that directly impacted the United States. Two hurricanes during the year made landfall on the mainland United States, and as they progressed inland, information on their meteorological demise was limited. As a result, the intensity of these storms after landfall and until dissipation is based on an inland decay model developed in 1995 to predict the deterioration of inland hurricanes.
Hurricane One
The first tropical cyclone and hurricane of the 1861 season is believed to have formed on July 6, immediately east of the Leeward IslandsLeeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
. A 1938 publication documented the storm's effects on Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and St. Kitts, and given a lack of prior reports on the cyclone, modern-day reassessments concluded that it was relatively weak when it affected those islands. After crossing the northern Leeward Islands, the tropical storm broadly curved toward the northwest, likely intensifying into the equivalence of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on July 9. The majority of the storm's track in the western Atlantic was unknown until it was reconstructed based on reports from, and the effects on, three ships in its vicinity.
On July 10—when the storm was approaching or at its peak intensity with winds of 100 mph (160.9 km/h)—the Bowditch encountered severe hurricane conditions which destroyed both of her masts and washed her entire crew overboard. Her captain was able to climb back aboard, where he survived for over a week with no food or water until he was rescued by a schooner. The Echo and Creole both sustained significant damage, and the crew and captain of the latter ship had to be rescued after she began taking on water. The extent of the damage to the three ships served as the basis for evaluating the storm's intensity in Partagás's paper. The hurricane ultimately passed between Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and the United States before dissipating after July 12.
Hurricane Two
A month after the dissipation of the first hurricane, another tropical storm formed north of HispaniolaHispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
on August 13. Ludlum (1963) described the "Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
Hurricane" between August 14 and 16, and it was determined that the system had, in fact, surpassed the threshold for hurricane status based on wind observations from two ships. The storm skirted the north coast of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
as it moved west-northwest and passed through the Florida Straits. On or around August 15, Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba experienced heavy rainfall. Although the cyclone did not directly make landfall, it delivered hurricane-force winds to southern Florida. It turned more toward the northwest as it entered the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, where it began to gradually weaken. It is listed as having dissipated on August 17 in the northern Gulf.
The hurricane damaged or wrecked numerous vessels. Six ships were wrecked or grounded in the Bahamas, and the crews of at least two, the John Stanley and the Linea, had to be rescued. The steamship Santiago de Cuba left port on August 4, and began to encounter squally conditions later that afternoon. Heavy seas and a strong gale inflicted some damage on the vessel. Several ships along the eastern coast of Cuba were wrecked during the storm, leading to great uncertainty and concern regarding the fate of the Santiago. At least three vessels were lost or grounded along the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
.
Hurricane Three
The first storm to be uncovered in modern-day reanalysis existed in late August, and ties the July hurricane for the strongest system of the season in terms of maximum sustained winds. Its track is known between August 25 and August 30, during which time it progressed generally northeasterly from a point northeast of the island of Bermuda to the central northern Atlantic. On August 30, the Harvest Queen recorded a barometer of 28.3 inHg (958.3 hPa) on August 30; this report was a strong indication that the storm had attained hurricane intensity, although the system was likely undergoing its transition into an extratropical cycloneExtratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
at the time.
Hurricane Four
The subsequent hurricane was also previously unrecognized until contemporary research, although the majority of its track remains unknown. The only indication that a tropical cyclone existed was the ship David G. Wilson, which was dismasted by a severe storm on September 17. As no other information is available on the hurricane, it is listed in the Atlantic hurricane database as a single point in the central Atlantic (at 28.5°N, 50°W).Hurricane Five
The first storm to directly strike the mainland United States was first detected on September 27, off the east coast of the FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
peninsula. The storm is estimated to have been a minimal hurricane based on observations from the ship Virginia Ann. Several other vessels encountered the storm along its track, including the steamship Marion, which experienced hours of violent winds, torrential rainfall, and frequent thunder and lightning. The hurricane curved north, then northeast, striking North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
that same day before speeding northeastward as it hugged the United States East Coast. Its track is only known through 1200 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on September 28. Ludlum (1963) refers to the hurricane as the "Equinoctial Storm", and describes its area of impact as the "entire coast".
In the aftermath of the Battle of Carnifex Ferry
Battle of Carnifex Ferry
The Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia , as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Union victory that contributed to the eventual Confederate withdrawal from western Virginia...
in present-day West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
of the 23rd Ohio Infantry
23rd Ohio Infantry
The 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during much of the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a variety of campaigns and battles, and is remembered with a stone memorial on the Antietam National Battlefield not far from Burnside's...
was camped south of the battlesite, where he wrote about a "very cold rain-storm" in a September 27 letter to his wife Lucy. Conditions at the time were characterized by leaking tents and temperatures getting "colder and colder". Hayes wrote, "We were out yesterday P.M. very near to the enemy's works; were caught in the first of this storm and thoroughly soaked. I hardly expect to be dry again until the storm is over." Strong winds buffeted the Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
, area from early evening to midnight on September 27, uprooting trees and causing some damage to property. Further north, Boston, Massachusetts, experienced intense winds and light rainfall for about five hours starting at midnight, with no initial reports of significant destruction.
Tropical Storm Six
Two tropical systems are known to have existed during the month of October. The first was originally documented by Partagás (1995), who detected it based on a faulty report of a violent gale from a ship, the Mariquita. The report was said to have been from October 16, but given her arrival date in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
four days later and her location at the time of her encounter with the storm, she probably encountered the cyclone much earlier in the month. The violent south-southwesterly gale lasted 15 hours when the vessel was probably located at 20.5°N, 47°W. The storm was initially assigned a single set of coordinates for October 6, and no attempt was made to reconstruct its track due to a lack of certain data on it. However, it was noted that a ship further north on October 9 experienced a heavy gale. Based on the likely correlation between the two ship reports, the storm's track was extended four days to late on October 9 in the Atlantic hurricane database.
Tropical Storm Seven
A 1960 publication mentioned a tropical storm near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina sometime in October 1861 without specifying a date. Newspaper reports indicate that ships mainly north of the Cape Hatteras area encountered strong northerly gales for several days starting on October 7, and winds in New York City persisted from October 7 to October 10 with a northerly component. Partagás (1995) noted, "These findings do not seem to support a tropical system but the author made the decision of retaining the storm [...] due to the lack of solid evidence against its existence." However, little is known about the system, and its inclusion in the hurricane database is limited to a single point at 35.3°N, 75.3°W.Hurricane Eight
The final storm of the season followed a generally north-northeasterly course from the Gulf of Mexico northward along the U.S. East Coast between November 1 and November 3, dissipating over New England. The storm crossed southern Florida, and based on observations from Hatteras InletHatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet is a estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.- History :...
, North Carolina, and observations from the ship Honduras, it is believed to have attained hurricane intensity. The hurricane made landfall in eastern North Carolina and proceeded up the coast before crossing eastern Long Island and coming ashore in southern New England. Its demise on November 3 marked the end of the 1861 Atlantic hurricane season; the next tropical storm would not form in the Atlantic until June 1862. Two storm systems affected the region in the week following October 28, both of which influenced a Civil War expedition which was "the largest fleet of war ships and transports ever assembled".
The first storm, which is not recognized as a tropical cyclone, disrupted the initial assembly of the fleet on October 28. However, the fleet set sail the next day on its mission to attack Confederate forces (its destination was "supposedly a military secret"). On November 2, the expedition encountered the second storm—the tropical hurricane—which wreaked havoc on the organization of the fleet and sunk two of its vessels. There was knowledge at the time of the series of storm systems, but few details on the condition and fate of the fleet, sparking great concern. Some of the other ships were forced to return home for repairs, but the majority rode out the storm successfully. The expedition proceeded onward and seized Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County in the U.S. state of South Carolina...
at the Battle of Port Royal
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...
. As described by Ludlum (1963), the hurricane is known as the Expedition Hurricane due to its influence on the fleet.
However, the hurricane also had a significant impact on land. Earlier in the year, Union forces had captured the fort guarding Hatteras Inlet at the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, sometimes known as the Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark, was a small but significant engagement in the early days of the American Civil War. Two Confederate forts on the North Carolina Outer Banks were subjected to an amphibious assault by Union forces that...
. In the early morning hours of November 2, high seas began to overwash Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton,...
, "completely covering all dry land except the position of the fort itself". After four hours, water began to subside. Extremely high tides associated with the cyclone continued up the coast as far north as Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. Storm tides at various points, including New York City, Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, and Boston, reached levels unseen for at least 10 years and up to 46 years. In New York, the storm persisted for 20 hours starting early on November 2; rising waters inundated wharves along the East
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
and Hudson Rivers. Floodwaters flowed up to five blocks inland, and a popular bar located in a hotel became isolated by the flooding. In response, a man transported customers to and from the bar on his private boat at a cost of two cents per ride. Strong winds in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
brought down trees and telegraph wires.
Infrastructure throughout the Tri-State area suffered. Parts of the New Jersey Railroad line were undermined, and the Shore Line Railway
Shore Line Railway (Connecticut)
The Shore Line Railway was a part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad system, running east from New Haven, Connecticut to New London along the north shore of Long Island Sound...
at Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
was inundated. Flooding was also prominent in the New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
and along the Newark Turnpike and Plank Road, which was left temporarily impassible. Further east, the hurricane triggered coastal flooding along the shores of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, while northeasterly winds blew several ships ashore along the northern coast of Long Island. The eastern side of the hurricane blasted the southeastern New England coast between November 2 and November 3, damaging over 250 vessels at Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, and running aground 20 others. Water from the Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Bay
The Massachusetts Bay, also called Mass Bay, is one of the largest bays of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the distinctive shape of the coastline of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Its waters extend 65 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Massachusetts Bay includes the Boston Harbor, Dorchester Bay,...
surged into the village of Wareham
Wareham, Massachusetts
Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221....
. In downtown Boston, the storm began late on November 2 and lasted until late the next morning, although the highest tides did not occur until after conditions had already cleared. Twenty-two occupants of the ship Maritania drowned when the vessel sank after striking a rock during the worst of the storm. At the time, she was located 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the Boston Light
Boston Light
Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States...
.