Bang Bang! Cannons, Carronades, and the Gun Carriage from the Storm Wreck

Summary

The Storm Wreck, one of sixteen Loyalist refugee ships from Charleston lost on the St. Augustine Bar on 31 December 1782, has been excavated for six seasons, 2010-2015. In December 2010, a pile of four 4-pdr cannons and two 9-pdr carronades was encountered on the wreck site, where they were seemingly jettisoned in an attempt to refloat the ship after it grounded. Two of these guns were raised in 2011 for conservation and display. The carronade, whose serial number has been found in Carron Company records, was dated 1780 and is believed to be the second oldest specimen to have survived anywhere in the world. During the 2015 season, another long gun was unexpectedly encountered, about 12 m away from the main cannon pile. It was still attached to the partially preserved remains of its gun carriage. This paper presents an overview of these seven guns and the carriage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology, Conservation, and Interpretation of the Storm Wreck, a Wartime Refugee Vessel Evacuating Charleston, South Carolina at the End of the American Revolution and Lost at St. Augustine, Florida on 31 December 1782   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 786