Name Prony Out of service 5 November 1861 Class and type Corvette | Owner French Navy Fate Wrecked Tons burthen c.700 | |
Prony was a French Navy corvette during the American Civil War that ran aground and was lost off Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. It proved impossible to refloat the vessel, and efforts at assistance were hampered by both the weather and the fact that she had run aground in an area where Union and Confederate forces were opposing each other.
Loss
Prony had left New York harbor on 20 October with the intention of observing as a neutral the activity of the Union Navy currently blockading the port of Charleston. She arrived off Charleston on 30 October, staying there for two days before heading north, intending to return to New York. However, she was caught in a storm on 4 November off Ocracoke Inlet. Despite some efforts being made to save her, it proved impossible. No loss of life occurred.
At the time of her loss, Prony was under the command of Capitaine de corvette De Fontanges with a crew of 140 and 6 30-pound guns. She was of roughly 700 tons burthen and her engines were of 320 horsepower (240 kW).