The Patuxent's Hidden Treasure-Archaeologists Hope to Excavate Shipwreck That Dates to War of 1812

The Washington Post ^ | 14 Sep 2009 | Steve Vogel

[BGHater]

Aboard a pontoon boat chugging past the marshland of Maryland's upper Patuxent River on a recent Saturday, Ralph Eshelman pointed to the spot where the muddy brown water hides a shipwreck nearly two centuries old, part of the American flotilla that defended the Chesapeake Bay when the British burned Washington during the War of 1812.

Nearly 30 years ago, Eshelman helped direct a team of marine researchers who discovered the wreck, one of the war's most significant artifacts.

After a limited, month-long excavation of the site east of Upper Marlboro in 1980, the wreck was reburied under four feet of mud and sediment to protect it from decay. The hope was that archaeologists with more funding could one day return to excavate the 75-foot vessel, tentatively identified as the Scorpion, flagship of Commodore Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Flotilla. Now, supporters are hoping the time is ripe.

The Navy, which still owns the flotilla, is considering whether to excavate the site and possibly raise the vessel as part of its plans to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

"It's on the agenda to be discussed," said Capt. Patrick Burns, director of Navy commemorations, who is leading the Navy's plans for remembering the war with a three-year-long series of events beginning in 2012. "There are a lot of ideas being bantered about."

No funding has yet been allotted, but Navy archaeologists have done preliminary site work and are intrigued by what might be found.

"It's an important part of history," said Robert Neyland, head of the Navy's Underwater Archaeology Branch at the Naval History and Heritage Command at the Washington Navy Yard.

In July, archaeologists with the office surveyed the site with a magnetometer and thought they identified the wreck's exact location.

[angkor]

If the ComPost would constrain its “objective journalists” from America’s graduate schools of journalism to straight reporting - as it does here - I might actually buy it once in a while.

Interesting story.

[La Lydia]

I go through the same thing with the Wash Post. I get so fed up with it I could scream, and then they print a well written article on an interesting, compelling subject, like this one, and there I am. Just when I was about to deep-six the Sunday magazine, they had an excellent piece on the couple who were with Lincoln when he was assassinated, whose family life ended sadly in insanity. They have done an even-handed and informative job on that ongoing story about the young lawyer who was murdered while spending the night in a house with his "friends."

All that said, their coverage of the Virginia governor's race has been laughable. In cases like this (Obama included), the Post political editors and writers envision them selves as king-makers and players, rather than responsible reporters of a race. Their transparent efforts at manipulating the vote are an embarrassment to responsible journalism.

[centurion316]

The Naval history of the War of 1812 is thought to be the frigate actions and the Great Lakes. But, the Chesapeake and the Atlantic coast actions were very significant and, in fact, much more numerous than the famous events. Raiding parties, schooner engagements, and other small boat activities were a critical part of our war against the British. Let’s hope that they can excavate and preserve this vessel.

[SunkenCiv]

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[silverleaf]

read later

[the OlLine Rebel]

Bump.