Venus and Savannah: Scuttled Vessels at the Siege of Savannah

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In September 1779, French ships arrived off the coast of Georgia to join with American forces in an attempt to capture the British-occupied city of Savannah. British General Augustine Provost ordered the scuttling of multiple vessels, including the ships Venus (a transport) and HMB Savannah (an armed ship), to prevent the French fleet from reaching Savannah. The British held on to Savannah following the siege, and these vessels had an important role in the city's defense. This paper will discuss these roles and examine the site formation processes affecting these wrecks, which led to the discovery of artifacts on the river bottom, including cannons, shot, and other artifacts. The result of this paper is the identification of these wrecks through historical research and artifact analysis, and comparison with contemporary shipwrecks.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow