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Black Warrior
 NY
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Max Depth: 36-40ft/11-12m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Clay/Muck
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Rating: 4.00 by 1 divers
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Black Warrior is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in NY. This dive site has an average rating of 4.00 out of 5 from 1 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 36-40ft/11-12m.
Type: Passenger steamer
Built: 1852, New York NY
Specs: (225 x 37 ft ) 1556 gross tons
Sunk: February 20, 1859
Ran aground in fog - no casualties
Depth: 35 feet
The Black Warrior is one of the most dived-upon wrecks in New York waters. She sits in 35 to 40 ft of water. Her large wooden paddlewheels are still visible, and timbers extend out along the wreck site. In between these is a good place to sift for artifacts. She occasionally gives up the treasured silverware, or an old bottle. brass spikes are still seen poking up from many timbers. Her topography changes with each passing storm, and the best time to find something is after a storm. The silty bottom, if disturbed, reduces visibility to zero.
The Black Warrior was built 1852 in New York at a cost of $135,000 and owned by the New York and New Orleans Steamship Co. The wood ship was 225 feet in length and weighed 1,556 gross tons. Aside from being fully rigged with sails, the 37 foot beam was flanked by two steam driven side wheels.
The Black Warrior carried mail, passengers and cargo through her voyages, most of which were between New York, New Orleans and Havana, Cuba.
On February 20, 1859, about 9:00 AM, while trying to enter New York harbor in a heavy fog, the captain of the Black Warrior ran his ship aground on Rockaway Bar. All passengers, crew and cargo were brought safely to New York by the assisting vessels, Screamer, Achilles and Edwin Blount. At first, she was resting easy and no trouble was anticipated in towing her off. Unfortunately, the Black Warrior struck at high tide, and although during the next few days every effort was made to save her, she settled deeper and deeper into the sand. Finally, on February 24, during high tide, she was moved about one hundred feet before grounding again. That same day a gale blew up and the once-proud Black Warrior was pounded to pieces.
http://www.northeastdiver.com/blackwarrior.html
http://njscuba.net/sites/site_black_warrior.html
http://www.aquaexplorers.com/BlackWarrior.htm