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The wreck of the HMS Conqueror near Rum Cay

THOUGH the lore of shipwrecks is often embellished, that of HMS Conqueror on Rum Cay often has the date, the destination, and basic historical facts reported incorrectly. It wrecked on 13 December, 1861 (not the 29th), it was not the first propeller ship in the Royal Navy (HMS Rattler was in 1842), and the ship was on its way to Bermuda, not Mexico. HMS Conqueror was a two-decked steam-screw (propeller) ship, first-rate, of the line, 240 feet long, 55 feet wide, and 34 feet deep.