Mystery Shipwreck found off St. Augustine. 06-28-2011

[Larsmed]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/28385224/detail.html

http://www.news4jax.com/news/28385224/detail.html

exciting stuff...Could be revolutionary war ship! Enjoy.

LArry

[allan]

I smell trouble in this sentence While it's believed the ship may be British, American or Spanish, the true origin of objects found on board, including a second cannon, pewter spoons and copper cookware, remain a mystery, making it anyone's guess. I wonder if it has cannons is it military or commercial ?

[Diver_Down]

This wreck has been undergoing salvage/discovery for at least 2 years. They have nicknamed her The Storm . Last season, they recovered a cauldron with numerous lead shot, the ship's bell (no inscription), and numerous EO's. One of the EO's turned out to be a Queen Anne's style pistol. This year they are bringing up 2 of the cannon with more laying on the bottom. They speculate that it is British. At the time (Revolutionary), Las Floridas was a British possession. They hypothesize that it was transporting loyalists from the rebelling colonies to a loyal possession.

[ivan salis]

very rough guess --but cannon looks to be of the size and type roughly of a rev war or early 1800;s (war of 1812 ) era british 12 Lber to me. clean her off and it should tell the story of her. *( opps corrected to 12 lber - 2,000 lb range ) -- heck a 42 lber was the only smooth bore naval cannon that weighted over 3 tons -- 6,000 lbs

[Smithbrown]

If it really weighs 20,000 pounds, then there is no way that can be a 32 pounder, which should weigh more than twice that. That suggests 6 pounder, or short 9 pounder. And it looks too short to be a 32 pounder- that would be at least 9 1/2 feet.

Smithbrown

[Diver_Down]

If it really weighs 20,000 pounds, then there is no way that can be a 32 pounder, which should weigh more than twice that. That suggests 6 pounder, or short 9 pounder. And it looks too short to be a 32 pounder- that would be at least 9 1/2 feet.

Smithbrown

20,000 pounds? Man, that is one big gun. I think if you re-read the article it is a 2,000 pound gun. It is a about 8 feet in length. Originally, Meade suggested last year that it was a merchant ship. Now, he has proposed a different theory this season as a possible military transport for loyalists.

[mad4wrecks]

This should help.

Tom

[Smithbrown]

sorry, typing late at night here and the extra nought crept in. But at that weight and that length, it is a small calibre gun, round the 6 pounder range, as small as 3 or 4 , up to 9.
smithbrown

[ivan salis]

humm say at about 1 ton -- 2000 lbs - could it be 12 lber? --- if so there is a 4 gunned british miltary vessel --HMS Flying Fish that went missing in 1806 while bound from burmuda to britian * --she was a ballahoo class vessel -- small 4 - 12 lber gun sloop of war (fish class)

[Diver_Down]

humm say at about 1 ton -- 2000 lbs - could it be 12 lber? --- if so there is a 4 gunned british miltary vessel --HMS Flying Fish that went missing in 1806 while bound from burmuda to britian * --she was a ballahoo class vessel -- small 4 - 12 lber gun sloop of war (fish class)

Bermuda to Britain? Someone got blown off-course ...

[ivan salis]

these vessels were rotten sailing vessels - single masted lil sailing monsters more of a schooner than a sloop actually --many "true " professional naval sea capts when offered "command" of these deathtraps turned them down - it might have been damaged at sea * and thus headed to st augustine for repair when she sank --often ships sailed along the florida coast --using the gulf stream to aid their sailing and ran northward toward jacksonville then cut eastward -- using the ocean "stream" currents within the ocean to assist them on their run for europe

[bronzecannons]

This should help.

Tom

That's strange, because we found a 6-pounder once that weighed less than 400 pounds. That general shot-to-cannon-weight guide was no where near correct in this case because the below cannon had a 3 inch bore and also had '6 Pounder' stamped on it.
TW

[Larsmed]

Diver_Down

hey thanks for clearing that up. I did not know if this was an entirely different wreck or not. I saw that article last year about finding the caldron and an encrusted flintolock pistol under an xray. So I take it they just found the cannons?

I would think they would have found them first or maybe the news team is finding out late, hehe


Larry

[Diver_Down]

Diver_Down

hey thanks for clearing that up. I did not know if this was an entirely different wreck or not. I saw that article last year about finding the caldron and an encrusted flintolock pistol under an xray. So I take it they just found the cannons?

I would think they would have found them first or maybe the news team is finding out late, hehe


Larry

The cannons were found last year, but they were waiting to bring them up when their Marine Archeology program began this year. Chuck had taken a dive in early December after a storm came through. He said the area was cleaned of overburden and it was like a new site. The Queen Anne's pistol had been removed from the encrustation. Whenever there is a public display of recovered objects, you can bet that they were found earlier. LAMP will get a nice boost in donations due to the latest publicity. There are plenty of retired citizens of the old city with disposable income that look forward to contributing their part in preserving our past.

[Smithbrown]

No, Ivan, still too light to be 12 pounders, they go in at about 3000- if I have my noughts in the right place.

Bronzecannon- there is a difference in weight between guns cast for state navies- tend to be longer, and definitely heavier - and guns cast for the commercial market, such as your example- lighter and cheaper.

Smithbrown