Disappearance of Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston in 1813-- Part 2

After the Patriot left Charleston Harbor, no trace of the ship, crew or Theodosia was ever found.

A number of theories and legends have spring up about their disappearance.  Some claim the ship was attacked by pirates and made to walk the plank.  Others think they might have been captured by the British since the war was going on at the time.

Perhaps most fanciful of all was the story of a Karankawa Indian chief, who claimed that he had rescued a woman who had washed up ashore after a shipwreck and that in thanks, she had given him a locket with the name Theodosia inscribed upon it.

Personally, I think their end came from a storm or shipwreck.  The Patriot would have to pass North Carolina's Outer Banks n the way to New York and, as you know, many ships have been wrecked in that area.  Had the British captured or destroyed the ship, they would have written about it.

Now, after more than 200 years, it is not likely we will ever know their fate.

--Brock-Perry