General Moultrie

General Moultrie is considered to be the first hopper dredger in the world,

Built in 1855 by William Colyer, New York,  Machinery built by C.H. Delamater, New York.

Commissioned in 1855 and placed in service as "USED Dredge General Moultrie". She was assigned to the US Army Corp of Engineers Charleston District, Intended for use on the Charleston Bar

In the Civil War (1861-1866) she was converted to a troop carrier, but never used in this capacity.

Bedause the waterways were blokced by the 'stone fleet"in the early years of the war, she was locked in Charleston Port for 6 months. In 1863 she was inspected with a view towards blockade running, and was  found to be in sufficient working order. In march 1864 she managed to escape the harbour undetected.

A newspaper article from Nassau (Bahamas) 3 May 1864 suggests that she had been sold to work as adredger in Nassau Harbour. Her documentation record in New York notes simply that she was 'SOLD FOREIGN' in 1866.

Source: www.jstor.org e.o.