Fascinating story out of the Great Lakes.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A 22-gun British warship that sank during the American Revolution and has long been regarded as one of the “Holy Grail” shipwrecks in the Great Lakes has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, deep water, explorers announced Friday.
Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people aboard during a gale in 1780.
The 80-foot sloop of war is the oldest shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship ever found in the Great Lakes, Scoville and Kennard said.
Here she is, HMS Ontario, lost since 1780:
The article goes on to state that there are no plans to raise her or remove artifacts; she still belongs to the Royal Navy, and will be treated as a war grave. Rightly so. May she and her crew rest in peace.
Rightly So, Indeed. I wonder if there is a list anywhere of who was aboard, the names, etc. Whether or not, any genealogy work has been completed previous to today’s find?
Just Curious. My family had many ship’s Captains’, from what little research I have seen.
Thank you for allowing me to comment.
May The Men of the HMS Ontario, REST FOREVER IN PEACE.
cw
Just wondering, why would she still belong to the Royal Navy, if sunk in American waters during time of war? Obviously I am no admiralty expert……