January 18, 2005
Parking lot shipwreck
An archaeological diver from Mobile said he thinks it's possible that a piece of a British warship that was sunk during the War of 1812 has been hiding in plain sight for seven years, standing on display in a historic fort's parking lot . . . since Hurricane Georges heaved it from the sea floor and onto an island house in 1998 . . .Full story here.Forest's theory is that the massive flotsam is actually the top, left, rear side of the British warship HMS Hermes, a sloop-of-war carrying about 20 guns. The vessel was set on fire and exploded during the first of two British attacks on Fort Bowyer in Baldwin County during the War of 1812.
Posted by David on January 18, 2005 1:49 PM
I've been there several times, having grown up in Hattiesburg, MS and I lived in Daphne, AL for a brief period as well. I thought it was probably from the HMS Hermes too. Not that I'm claiming he stole it or anything, but it just seemed to fit. The disply is quite interesting.
Posted by: ccs178 on January 18, 2005 4:58 PM
I forgot to add a reading suggestion in my comment:
SINK OR BE SUNK! THE NAVAL BATTLE IN THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND THAT PRECEDED THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
http://www.annabellepublishing.com/sink_review.html
It's a short book and very interesting.
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) on January 18, 2005 5:05 PM
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