The Most Beautiful Shipwrecks From Around The World

A Ship Of Many Uses

The SS Republic (originally named the SS Tennessee) was built in the U.S. in 1853 and initially served as a merchant vessel. It was then used to open the first regular passenger steamship service between New York City and Central America. She then became an armed Union service ship during the Civil War. After, she was sold at auction and used to haul passengers and cargo between New York and New Orleans. During her fifth trip, she found herself in the middle of a hurricane, took on too much water, and sank into the ocean by Savannah, Georgia. Luckily, most of the passengers survived. The ship was rediscovered in 2003.