To Scuttle and Run: The Institute of Maritime History’s Search for Lord Dunmore’s Floating City of 1776
Author(s): David P. Howe; P. Brendan Burke
Year: 2017
Summary
Since 2008 the Institute for Maritime History (IMH) has supported a research project at the confluence of the St. Marys and Potomac rivers. This area is the suspected locus of Lord Dunmore’s scuttled fleet from 1776. As the last British colonial governor of Virginia, Dunmore fled the colony with a flotilla of loyalists, soldiers, and sailors. Aboard the civilian fleet, guarded by Royal Navy sloops and a frigate, Dunmore unsuccessfully attempted to restore order to an unravelling colony. After his floating city suffered numerous defeats at the hands of Virginia rebels, Dunmore ventured up the Potomac River in a cruise of reprisal, culminating in his departure from the colonies for good. Hastily gathering a flotilla for the voyage, as many as 23 vessels were scuttled for want of seaworthiness or crew. IMH continues to search for the scuttled fleet and this paper outlines the historical background, field methods, and results.
Cite this Record
To Scuttle and Run: The Institute of Maritime History’s Search for Lord Dunmore’s Floating City of 1776. David P. Howe, P. Brendan Burke. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435623)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Chesapeake
•
Revolution
•
Shipwreck
Geographic Keywords
North America
•
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
18th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 348