The Iona was a Scottish-built

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

purchased by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

agents for use as a

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Following a collision with ''Chanticleer,'' she sank in the Upper Clyde near

Fort Matilda Fort Matilda is an area of the town of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland. Its name comes from a coastal battery built on Whiteforeland Point 1814–1819 to defend the River Clyde. History In 1862 the Confederate paddle steamer collided with ''C ...

in October 1862. The wreck, which lies around 27 m below

chart datum A chart datum is the water surface serving as origin (or coordinate surface) of depths displayed on a nautical chart and for reporting and predicting tide heights. A chart datum is generally derived from some tidal phase, in which case it is ...

, is now designated as a Historic Marine Protected Area by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

References

1855 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in October 1862 Protected wrecks of Scotland Blockade runners of the American Civil War Historic Marine Protected Areas of Scotland {{Merchantship-stub