Wreck of British ship HMS Rose found after 250 years

The wreck of the British warship HMS Rose has been found in the USA. The vessel dates back to the American War of Independence.

American soldiers, while dredging a section of the Savannah River, may have found the wreck of the British warship HMS Rose. The vessel was the real bane of their ancestors during the American-British War of American Independence (1775-1783).

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Shipwreck and artefacts discovered at the site have not yet been formally identified. However, given the location and the fact that they predate the Civil War by a century, their provenance is not in doubt. At least with Royal Navy historians, who believe they come from the ship HMS Rose, from the fighting during the Siege of Savannah in 1779.

The Royal Navy website has reportedthat the recovered artefacts include a cannon, an anchor and a number of smaller items from the ship. The relics from the wreck of the ship HMS Rose were secured by archaeologists. Now, specialists are cleaning and preserving them so that they can be placed in a museum in the future.

The ship HMS Rose was sunk in the waters of the Savannah River to prevent the French navy from reaching the Georgian capital, which was in British hands at the height of the fighting, in order to support the American troops besieging it.

The ship HMS Rose, armed with 20 guns, was extremely active in America in the 1870s. The crew’s record included numerous successes in catching smugglers heading for Rhode Island. This prompted the Americans to send the first armed vessel, the sloop Providence, in response. The Continental Navy, the forerunner of today’s United States Navy, was also established at that time.

The British ship also made frequent expeditions up the Hudson River. In effect helping to drive George Washington out of New York when war broke out. The ship HMS Rose then continued to patrol the east coast until deciding to sink in order to blockade enemy troops.

Finding the wreck of this ship is a very significant event for researchers of US history. Archaeologists will certainly continue to search the region and in time may find even more artifacts from the era.