The wreck of a gun-running ship secretly built in Britain to help slave-owning Confederate forces during the American Civil War has been given special protection.
The paddle steamer Lelia was a purpose-built war ship clandestinely ordered and built in Liverpool for the Confederate government in the southern states of the US, fighting the Unionist forces in the north.
But it sank in a ferocious storm on its maiden voyage to Bermuda on January 14 1865, with the loss of 47 crew and now lies at the bottom of Liverpool Bay.
Another seven lives were lost when the Liverpool No 1 lifeboat was sunk whilst being towed out to pick up Lelia survivors.
The shipwreck has now been granted protection by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England, recognising its historic importance.
Recreational divers can still dive it but they are not allowed to damage or remove anything from it.
The site will be monitored and studied in detail.
A multibeam image showing the damage to the Lelia (Picture: Bibby Hydromap/PA Wire)
Built late in the war (1861 to 1865 ) at Millers shipyard in Toxteth, Liverpool, it is recognised as one of only a small number of ships associated with British involvement in the American Civil War - and the country's complicity in helping the Confederates.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "The Lelia is one of a small group of British ships involved in running guns and munitions to the Confederates.
"Though the UK remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War, the Lelia comprises evidence of the British financing of blockade runners that sent munitions and luxuries to Confederate ports in return for cotton and tobacco. As such it is very significant as historical evidence."
At the beginning of the American Civil War, the Confederacy lacked the manufacturing capability to sustain a war with the more industrialised northern Union.
It had to import war supplies, including guns and ammunition, in order to sustain its war effort and trade cotton and tobacco with Europe.
But the Unionists inherited almost all of the warships of the pre-war state, imposing a naval blockade to strangle the southern war effort.
The Confederates hoped ships like the Lelia would help beat the blockade.
Black and white multibeam image showing the damage to the Lelia (Picture: Hydromap/PA Wire)
The wreck was discovered and identified in the early 1990s when a bell marked 'Lelia 1864' was recovered.
The partially-buried remains lie 15m (50 feet) below the surface, 10 miles north west of Hilbre Point in Wirral.
They include one of the paddle wheels, the engine and boiler rooms, less well-preserved cargo areas and a steam winch, not in situ.
The deck and all structures that were on it haven't survived but as much as 1.9m of hull remains buried in the seabed offering the potential for preserved cargo comprising British-manufactured munitions and machinery.
Heritage minister Rebecca Pow said: "Protecting sites like the wreck of the Lelia helps us to preserve an important story about Britain's role in the American Civil War.
"Although the conflict happened over 100 years ago, it is right that we ensure the protection of this site so we can learn more about one of the most significant shipwrecks off the coast of North West England and broaden our knowledge about our nation's seafaring history."
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