IDENTIFICATION OF WOOD AND POLLEN AND PHYTOLITH ANALYSIS OF BILGE SEDIMENT FROM A SHIP ASSOCIATED WITH THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENOBSCOTT EXPEDITION

Summary

Five ship wood samples were submitted for identification. Sediment from the bottom of

the bilge also was examined for both pollen and phytoliths. This ship is believed to have been

part of the Revolutionary War Penobscott Expedition. In 1779, an expeditionary force consisting

of Federal Navy, Massachusetts Navy, and privateers headed up the Penobscott River in Maine

to attack a British fort at the mouth of the river. The American ships were trapped, then

scavenged and burned. Wood samples were identified to provide evidence that this ship was,

indeed, American made. Pollen and phytoliths were examined from sediment collected in the

bilge to provide additional evidence about the ship, time of year that the ship sank, or other

information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• PaleoResearch Institute

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