Attached is a summary report of our reconnaissance of wooden steamships from World War One at Widewater VA in September and October. We will return to the site in September +/- October 2015 to continue work. Please contact me if you would like to participate.
2014 fieldwork plans, updated
IMH’s field projects for 2014 include the following —
1 Help Scott Tucker assess a 1680s site (done)
2 Search for eight sites in St Mary’s River for Maryland Historical Trust (July)
2a Inspect a storm anchor in St Mary’s River, Maryland (July)
3 Assess a dozen WWI wooden steamers at Widewater, Virginia (September – October)
3a Assess 14 Pootomac sites en route to Widewater (September)
4 Continue mapping Civil War wrecks at Quantico, Virginia (October)
5 Resume search for Lord Dunmore wrecks at St George Island, Maryland (July – Augusr and November)
6 Help LAMP search for French wrecks from 1565 off Florida (July – August)
7 Assess possible SS “Express” (1878) wreck near Patuxent River, Maryland (August – September?)
Specific dates will depend on weather and participants. For more information or to join in fieldwork please click the “contact” button in the top right corner of this page and say which projects interest you.
2014 fieldwork plans
World War One started 100 years ago this August. As we reach its centennial, IMH plans to map and assess the remains of approximately 15 large, wooden steamships from that war. They were built for the US Shipping Board’s Emergency Fleet Corporation, and now lie submerged or partially exposed in an area of the Potomac River called Widewater, near Aquia Creek and near Mallows Bay, Maryland, where more than 150 of their sisters were burned for scrap in the 1920s. We will also search for other wrecks in the vicinity, assess perhaps 15 more sites in transit, and report all findings to the Maryland Historical Trust or the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, depending on site locations.
Fieldwork is scheduled for the period from 13 September to 5 October. This project will provide an excellent opportunity to engage volunteer divers in the assessment of a large number of large wrecks from a crucially historic period whose effects are still keenly felt today, in an area that is geographically convenient to Washington DC, and in diving conditions that are benign, if somewhat turbid.
Please review the attached project summary. Then, if you are interested in participating, either click the “Contact” button above, or email david.howe@maritimehistory.org.
2014 newsletter
The attached newsletter summarizes events in 2013 and plans for 2014.