Shipwreck

<p><span class="deck"> The saga of Kip Wagner, the first modern American to grow rich from ancient Spanish treasure</span> </p>

<p><span class="deck"><span class="typestyle">She was the last major American warship sunk during World War II, and her sinking was the single worst open-sea disaster in our naval history. How could it have happened?</span> </span></p>

<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> The storm that wrecked the Virginia-bound ship Sea Venture in 1609 inspired a play by Shakespeare— and the survivors’ tribulations may well have sown the first seeds of democracy in the New World</span> </span></p>

<p><span class="deck">A hurricane sank a fleet in Pensacola Bay 450 years ago, dooming the first major European attempt to colonize North America, a story that archaeologists are just now fleshing out.</span></p>

<p>Although a draw, the fight between the <em>Monitor</em> and <em>Virginia</em> decisively ushered in the modern era.</p>

<p>In an annual ritual, Naval Academy plebes must work together to climb a greased obelisk that honors the captain of the SS Central America.</p>