This is remarkable! As a Civil War buff I think the find on the shore of the Alabama coast as the result of Hurricane Ike is stunning news. If only this old ship could talk…what tales it could tell….what a find!
When the waves from Hurricane Ike receded, they left behind a mystery: a ragged shipwreck that archeologists say could be a two-masted Civil War schooner that ran aground in 1862 or another ship from 70 years later.
The wreck, about 6 miles from Fort Morgan, had been partially uncovered when Hurricane Camille cleared away sand in 1969.
Researchers at the time identified it as the Monticello, a battleship that partially burned when it crashed trying to get past the U.S. Navy and into Mobile Bay during the Civil War.
After examining photos of the wreck post-Ike, Museum of Mobile marine archaeologist Shea McLean agreed that it is probably the Monticello, which ran aground in 1862 after sailing from Havana, Cuba, according to Navy records.
“Based on what we know of ships lost in that area and what I’ve seen, the Monticello is by far the most likely candidate,” McLean said. “You can never be 100 percent certain unless you find the bell with ‘Monticello’ on it, but this definitely fits.”
Fort Morgan was used as Union forces attacked in 1864 during the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Technorati Tags: HurricaneIke, CivilWar, Monticello, Alabama
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
This Navy site says Monticello sank off Newfoundland in 1872. Is this the same ship?
If you google search Monticello civil war ship, the first two Wikipedia entries are for two different ships. USS Monticello sank off Newfoundland, the second is Monticello (privateer), which is supposedly the one off Ft. Morgan.