A dozen more Revolutionary War cannons were uncovered last month in the Savannah River outside Savannah, Georgia, according to a video and photos posted by the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday.
Archaeologists from the Corps, Savannah District, Commonwealth Heritage Group, and Tidewater Atlantic Research Inc., have now retrieved 15 rusty cannons from the river since the beginning of last year. Fragments of another cannon, and other artifacts such as anchors and ammunition called bar shot used to damage the hull of ships, were also discovered.
“There is no telling what all is down there,” Corps district archaeologist Andrea Farmer told CNN. “So much of the river is unknown.”
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The Corps, tasked with deepening the river from 42 feet to 47 feet so modern supertankers can navigate the waters, hired salvage divers to help pull the items out. However, divers can only work during high and low tide and when freighters are not passing overhead.
It is not clear which ships the items come from. The British sent ships to block the river during the Revolutionary War to stop French vessels from helping the colonists. Based on measurements and appearance, the material could belong to a British ship called the HMS Rose, CNN reported. However, the artillery on the ship was believed to have been removed before the ship sank further upriver.
It is also possible that Civil War-era ships carried older ordinances or that cannons used at Fort Jackson or other places in the 1800s were discarded in the river. However, Farmer said she does not believe they are from the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ship uncovered several years ago.
Farmer added that archaeologists are searching for evidence that the cannons date back to the Revolutionary War, such as distinguishing marks and an itemized copy of what ships carried.
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More information on the items recently discovered is expected next week after experts have more time to study them.
“They are still actively performing archival research and working with other experts on this, so they will have more information to share,” Farmer said.
