The wreck of the USS Alligator is not yet a national landmark, but it may be, someday! For now, it is a national treasure that divers and even snorkelers can visit with ease.
Freedom For All: Anti-Piracy, and Anti-Slavery
The USS Alligator, with her shining copper and bronze fittings, sturdy construction and stalwart rigging, was built at Boston’s Navy Yard and launched November 2, 1820. She carried twelve guns along her eighty-six foot length, and there is no doubt that at one time, sailors enjoyed living and working on the decks that stretched across her twenty-four foot beam.
USS Alligator spent a busy first year at sea, sailing all the way to Africa and back not once, but twice. During those voyages, which took place during James Monroe’s presidency, she was instrumental in the capture of multiple slave running ships.
During that time, she had the intriguing task of searching for a suitable stretch of land on Africa’s coast, on which to establish an American colony. Due to conditions described as “unhealthy”, no such area was located.
In 1822, the Alligator was assigned to the West Indies Squadron, a fleet of ships tasked with ending piracy in Florida. That November, under the command of Lieutenant William H. Allen, Alligator heard about an American Schooner and an American Brigantine that had been taken captive by pirates. On November 9th, she located the pirates as well as five schooners, one ship, and two brigs. Her commander was shot and killed during the fighting which ensued, however all but one of those schooners was reclaimed and many of the pirates fled to the safety of shore.
The End of The Alligator
USS Alligator’s life was a short one. On November 21st of 1822, the ship ran aground on Craysfort Reef, without the loss of any sailors. Just two days later, the Anna Maria, one of the ships that the Alligator had been escorting before she hit the reef, came back to look for the Alligator. Everything of value was transferred to the Anna Maria, and the USS Alligator was set afire and sunk on the reef. Today, the reef, formerly called Craysfort, as well as the lighthouse that was erected there in 1873 bear the Alligator’s name.
Diving the USS Alligator
The Alligator is a fun, shallow water dive that can be accessed by divers of every level. The wreckage lies in between 3 and 12 feet of water, and is one of the best examples of early 1800’s shipwrecks anywhere.
The wreckage lies a short thirty meters from the lighthouse, and the lower hull is still intact. She is home to coral growth, as well as sponges and plenty of reef fish, like butterfly fish, snappers, angelfish, and moray eels. Watch for scorpionfish among the ballast stones, and enjoy the plentiful reef life in the area.
Alligator reef itself is a wonderful dive, being home to centuries-old coral and sea fans, as well as schools of fish and smaller macro life among the coral. Access is by boat, and local dive operators frequent the area whenever conditions are favorable.