Relics of the PasT
Evidence of another shipwreck discovered in the Savannah River.
One of three cannons brought up during maintenance dredging in late February. Photo by J. Gary Hill
By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill
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to preserve their integrity, until a holding facility could be made ready, and within days were transferred to a secure location. As word about these finds got out, rumors were flying fast and free like cannonballs in a full broadside exchange. One of the first was that the ship was the HMS Rose. This British Navy vessel was a sixth-rate post ship; her keel was laid on June 5, 1756, and launched on March 8, 1757, at the Blaydes Yard (the same shipyard that produced the HMS Bounty) in the port city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The Rose was briefly considered for Captain James Cook’s circumnavigation of the world but was rejected in favor of the HMS Endeavour, a larger vessel better suited to carrying the provisions needed for this extensive voyage. HMS Rose made her presence known in the American colonies, initially around Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, where she served
ver the last several years the mighty Savannah River has given up her dead in the form of scraps of history retrieved from its bed. Just a few years back, an extensive recovery effort was undertaken to recover the remnants of the CSS Georgia, a Civil War era Confederate ironclad discovered during the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project. During recent maintenance dredging in the same area, the river gave up yet another surprise. Due to the proximity to the CSS Georgia site a clamshell dredge was used, which allows for more sensitive removal of materials, and on February 18, the dredge Weeks 320, brought up another discovery. The find included three cannons, an anchor, and a sizeable piece of timber with copper spikes. These pieces were reported to the Army Corps of Engineers, as they are the controlling entity on these navigable waters. The finds were kept on board, safe and wet 12
Southern Tides Magazine
April 2021
