Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on an intriguing news item. A cannon said to be from HMS Bounty, the ship made famous by a mutiny in 1789, is being put up for sale at an upcoming auction. According to … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Last October we posted about the Providence, a replica of a Revolutionary War sloop, which in the summer of 2019, will be moving to its new home port, Old Town Alexandria, VA. Old Town Alexandria is certainly no stranger to 18th-century ships. … Continue reading
Researchers have dated stone tools and bones from a butchered rhinoceros and other ancient fauna found in the Philippines’ northern island of Luzon, that date back over 700,000 years, or several hundred thousand years before modern man evolved. So far no human bones have … Continue reading
One hundred and six years ago today, the White Star liner Titanic sank after striking an iceberg. Over 1,500 lives were lost. Here is a repost from 2012 of Joseph Conrad’s commentary on the sinking. In June of 1912, Joseph Conrad wrote … Continue reading
The Sea War Museum Jutland made an amazing discovery while scanning the sea floor off Denmark. They have identified the wreckage of one of the most technologically advanced German submarines of World War II, the U-3523. The submarine was found with its bow … Continue reading
Next January and February, an expedition to Antarctica will search for Ernest Shackleton‘s doomed ship, Endurance, crushed by the ice in 1915. Finding the wreck of the ship is not the primary objective of the venture, however, which is to study … Continue reading
Fifty years ago today, the interisland ferryWahine capsized and sank in shallow water after running aground near the mouth of Wellington harbor in New Zealand. The ship had been caught in a storm caused by Tropical Cyclone Giselle. Wahine was a twin-screw, turbo-electric, roll-on/roll-off passenger and … Continue reading
A new exhibit has recently opened at the Postal Museum in London — Voices from the Deep. The exhibit features undeliveredd letters retrieved from the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa, a British merchant ship which was sunk by a U-boat 300 miles southwest of Galway … Continue reading
The remarkable discovery of 29 ancient footprints just above what would have been the tide line on Calvert Island in British Columbia provides new evidence to support the idea that early humans first migrated to America by sea along what is termed … Continue reading
On Throw-back Thursday and in honor of Women’s History, here is a slightly reworked post from 2012 about Winnie Breegle, a World War II WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and a Navajo code talker, who didn’t happen to … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the discovery of the wreckage of the USS Juneau by the Paul Allen’s RV Petrel. The Juneau was sunk by Japanese torpedoes during the Battle of Guadalcanal in November of 1942. Of the 687 men who … Continue reading
The latest news from Paul Allen’s research vessel Petrel: Wreckage from the USS Juneau (CL-52) was discovered on March 17, 2018, by the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel. The Juneau was sunk by a Japanese torpedo during the Battle … Continue reading
At the end of January, we posted about a shipwreck that was suspected to be the remains of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry slaves to the United States. The wreck was roughly in the right place on … Continue reading
On this day, March 14th, in 1757, Admiral John Byng was executed by firing squad on the quarterdeck of HMS Monarch in the Solent for the crime of failing to “do his utmost against the enemy.” Byng was the first … Continue reading
This looks fascinating. The New Bedford Whaling Museum has announced that, in partnership with Mystic Seaport Museum, they have developed the world’s most comprehensive whaling history database which is now available online for everyone to use at WhalingHistory.org. In their … Continue reading
There is a new newest oldest message in a bottle. In 2014, we posted about a German fisherman who found a 101-year-old message in a bottle, making it the oldest message ever found in a bottle at that time. Then … Continue reading
On International Women’s Day, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper ship Neptune’s Car, bound for San Francisco from New … Continue reading
When was the first surprise attack by carrier aircraft on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii? The obvious answer is the Japanese carrier attack of December 7th, 1941. But what about February 7th, 1932? We posted yesterday about … Continue reading
The wreckage of the USS Lexington, sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea during World War II, has been located by the expedition crew of research vessel (R/V) Petrel, owned by billionaire-explorer Paul Allen. The ship was found roughly 500 … Continue reading
The first time I visited Mystic Seaport Museum, in addition to spending time on the historic ships, I recall spending quite a while talking to the docent in the village cooperage. The production of barrels, for the storage of oil on whalers, as well … Continue reading