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British warship Paul Revere eluded resurfaces in Cape Cod
bostonherald ^

Posted on 04/10/2010 3:42:13 PM PDT by JoeProBono

PROVINCETOWN - The wreck of the British warship that Paul Revere eluded at the start of his famous ride has resurfaced in Cape Cod’s shifting sands.

About a dozen timbers from the HMS Somerset III were spotted on a Provincetown beach after erosion from recent storms.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.bostonherald.com ...


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: 1ifbyland2ifbysea; capecod; godsgravesglyphs; hmssomersetiii; israelbissell; jpb; paulrevere; samuelprescott; ships; warship; williamdawes
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To: GOPsterinMA; raccoonradio; Lonesome in Massachussets; warsaw44

ping


41 posted on 04/11/2010 3:04:36 PM PDT by nutmeg (Bart Stupak: Judas, Neville Chamberlain or Benedict Arnold? All of the above, and Good Riddance!)
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To: JoeProBono; SunkenCiv

SC—a bit of our history resurfaces to a new day.


42 posted on 04/11/2010 3:08:41 PM PDT by exit82 (Democrats are the enemy of freedom. Sarah Palin is our Esther.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel
Boston is basically a weird-shaped isthmus.

And on the opposite side of the Charles River from Lexington and Concord.

43 posted on 04/11/2010 5:33:54 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: rabidralph
Maybe they had night-vision opera glasses.

The moon phase was first quarter. It rose at 11:50 the morning of the 18th and set at 2:00 AM the night of the 19th. The weather must have been good because Paul Revere himself records, "I set off, it was then about 11 oClock, the Moon shone bright."

44 posted on 04/11/2010 5:52:47 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: JoeProBono

In January of 2008, Wellfleet residents and visitors were intrigued by the appearance of shipwreck remains on the Cape Cod National Seashore following a powerful coastal storm.

The Wreck of the Somerset
In the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, the Somerset fired its guns toward the American's newly constructed fortification; however their effectiveness is a matter of debate. Many accounts suggest that despite their tremendous power, the vessel's cannons could not be elevated high enough to reach the hilltop ramparts and proved little more than a loud nuisance to the Americans preparing for battle.

In the three years that followed the Battle of Bunker Hill, Somerset's crew turned their attention toward forcing the French fleet from the northeast coast. To that end, Somerset was reportedly chasing a French vessel, which was making its way toward Boston, when it was driven onto the shores of Cape Cod near Truro on November 2, 1778. In his 1887 work entitled, "The Wreck of the Somerset, British Man-of-War", E.A. Grozier describes the scene colorfully:

The Somerset found herself on a lee-shore, in more danger than she had ever been from the guns of her enemies. She struggled to weather the Cape. . . . The merciless wind beat upon her and wrought havoc with her sails. The billows broke over her. The incoming current of the tide seized her. She drifted helplessly in the trough and struck upon the outer bar. . . . For hours the Somerset pounded upon the bar, and the blinding seas broke over her. Her boats were washed away, crushed like egg-shells and tossed in fragments on the shore. . . . Gun after gun was run through the ports and magazines of solid shot thrown overboard to lighten the ship. Finally at high tide, a succession of great waves lifted the frigate from the bar, bore her over the intervening shoals and landed her, a dismantled wreck, high upon the beach.

The beach was lined with citizens, who tried to save the lives of her crew, although at least 21 sailors perished attempting to escape the foundering ship via long boat. Most of the crew survived the violent grounding and were held as prisoners of war. Word was sent to Truro and as the sky cleared the following day, a detachment of militia marched to the site and under the command of Captain Enoch Hallett of Yarmouth, and took control of the prisoners. Together with their American guards, some 480 men marched through the November cold from Truro to Boston, a trip of more than 100 miles on today's roadways! In the meantime, the remains of the vessel were put under the charge of Colonel Doane.

According to some accounts, the soldiers at the site had their hands full in controlling the riotous groups from Provincetown and Truro, which had each laid claim to the shipwreck spoils, including various artillery, supplies, and the personal effects of the officers and crew. It was the fledgling American government, however, that determined the division of the man-of-war's remains.

Naturally, Somerset's guns were the first items to be salvaged. The larger pieces of artillery were taken away to help fortify Castle Island in Boston Harbor and ramparts in Gloucester and on the coast of Maine. Once the government finished with its salvage effort, Somerset was turned over to the local residents who reportedly removed anything else of value, including iron bolts, chain plates, and even deck planking for firewood. The large hull timbers that remained were eventually buried by the shifting sands of Dead Men's Hollow, but they have been uncovered on at least two other occasions over the last 230 years by storms;once in 1886 when some 60 feet of hull timbers were visible, and most recently in 1973 on the Cape Cod National Seashore.

45 posted on 04/11/2010 9:48:35 PM PDT by concentric circles
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To: concentric circles

Great pics!


46 posted on 04/11/2010 9:53:41 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: NonValueAdded
"There was a quick rustle of petticoats in the darkness and a set of woolen undergarments came floating down to the street."

The first recorded panty raid?

Who said history was boring?

47 posted on 04/12/2010 5:25:12 AM PDT by LTCJ (The Constitution; first, last, always.)
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To: exit82; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 240B; 24Karet; ...

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks exit82.

Just this last "Midnight Swim of Paul Revere" ping. :')

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

·Dogpile · Archaeologica · LiveScience · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google ·
· The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


48 posted on 04/14/2010 6:45:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: cherry

“OT...but does anybody remember the Thresher?.....”

Sure do. IIRC it sank on a shakedown cruise with a lot of America’s best sub technicians on board. The story I remember reading at the time was that some valves had been installed backwards.


49 posted on 04/14/2010 7:06:30 PM PDT by Pelham (Obamacare, the new Final Solution.)
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To: cherry

My good friend’s brother died on the Thresher in 1962, I think. It was a very sad day. His pen pal traveled from Ireland to pay her condolences to the family and ended up marrying another brother.


50 posted on 04/14/2010 7:54:59 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: JoeProBono

Nice. Thanks for the excerpt.


51 posted on 04/14/2010 7:56:47 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

The movie of a few years ago was called “The Crossing”.


52 posted on 04/14/2010 8:04:14 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

;-{)


53 posted on 04/14/2010 8:07:21 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: JoeProBono

Is it dead?


54 posted on 04/15/2010 8:09:21 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: hinckley buzzard
"Why don't they put up a buffer around it and dig it out? Couldn't be that difficult in this day and age."

Why would DC want to spend money on preserving our history and reminding people of the fight for liberty when it could be spent on buying votes instead. [sarc]
55 posted on 04/15/2010 8:23:29 PM PDT by ThomasSawyer (Democratic Underground: Proof that anyone can figure out how to use a computer.)
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To: JoeProBono
And on April 19th.....

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

56 posted on 04/15/2010 8:41:07 PM PDT by stboz
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