Present Day
The hull of Hatteras rests in approximately 60 ft (18 m) of water 20 mi (32 km) off of Galveston, Texas and is buried under about 3 ft (0.91 m) of sand. Her steam engine and two iron paddle wheels remain on the ocean bottom. The wreck is monitored to ensure that it is not damaged by oil and gas development in the area.
The wreck of Hatteras is the property of the United States Navy, though the Texas Historical Commission, Texas A&M University at Galveston and the federal Minerals Management Service cooperate in preserving the important historical site.
At one time, local treasure hunters filed suit claiming the right to salvage the ship, but the courts found in favor of the United States government, in one of the few times courts have ruled in favor of historic preservation of a shipwreck site versus commercial interests.
The following update on the wreck of USS Hattaras was published on 11 September 2012 by the Associated Press:
Read more about this topic: USS Hatteras (1861)
Famous quotes containing the words present and/or day:
“We do not rest satisfied with the present.... So imprudent we are that we wander in the times which are not ours and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists. For the present is generally painful to us.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
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