Deadman's Wreck

The Gulf Breeze peninsula sticks out into Pensacola Bay from the east, dividing the bay proper from Santa Rosa Sound to the south. Just off the northern side near the peninsula tip is a little spit of land called Deadman’s Island. This small patch of sand harboring scrubby trees and prickly-pear cactus forms a sheltered cove that has been used for centuries by mariners plying the waters of Pensacola Bay and the surrounding Gulf of Mexico. With a shallow, sandy bottom that slopes off to deep water with good holding ground, the island was recognized very early by European colonists as a prime location to careen their ships for cleaning.

Careening, the process of hauling ships into shallow water and tipping them on their sides to scrape barnacles, clean off weed, and perform repairs, was necessary in tropical waters where shipworms and other marine organisms played havoc with wooden hulls. A gently sloping bottom and soft sediment helped the difficult task. Possessing these qualities, the cove was named Old Navy Cove and became a center of maritime industry in Pensacola. Over the years, a marine railway was constructed to assist with repairs and the island was used as a quarantine station for ships coming into Pensacola Bay to help prevent the spread of yellow fever and other diseases. A cemetery of disease victims located on the island may have inspired the name.

In 1988, University of West Florida archaeologists were engaged in an archaeological survey of Deadman’s Island to record the remains of the marine railway and other cultural features. A group of boys snorkeling in the surf called the archaeologists’ attention to some timbers that had uncovered in the shallow water. Recognizing the timbers as the remains of a ship, the crew called Florida’s State Underwater Archaeologist Dr Roger Smith to inspect the site. During a preliminary examination, Dr Smith determined the wreck likely was colonial in age and deserved more thorough investigation and recording.

Because UWF did not yet have a maritime archaeology program, Dr Smith agreed to teach an introductory course in the spring of 1989 and follow it with a field school. The summer of 1989 brought UWF’s first nautical archaeology field school focusing on the shipwreck. Twelve students spent six weeks uncovering and recording timbers, as well as recovering and conserving the few artifacts encountered. One of the field supervisors, a graduate student from St Andrews University in Scotland, wrote his masters’ thesis on the ship.

Field work revealed the vessel’s port side to the turn of the bilge to be extremely well preserved from stem to sternpost. Internal framing and ceiling planking as well as exterior planks were recorded along with the ship’s keel and a portion of the keelson; all were identified as white oak. Artifacts recovered from within the ship indicated a British colonial connection. For example, a uniform button from the British 60th Regiment of Foot, stationed in Pensacola in 1777 and again in 1779, was recovered from the lower hull.

Pensacola was occupied by the British from 1763 until 1781 when the Revolutionary War Battle of Pensacola returned control of the city to the Spanish; the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution made Spanish control official in 1783. Historical documents from the British Period indicate use of Old Navy Cove as a careening ground, and state that at least two vessels were abandoned in the cove when they proved too damaged to repair. Although a positive identification for the Deadman’s Island Wreck could not be established, it likely is either HMS Stork or HMS Florida, both sloops-of-war recorded as being stripped and abandoned in the cove.

The timbers were covered with sand and sandbags at the end of the field work to help with preservation. Despite the project being well-publicized in the local press and media, a series of public lectures, and an exhibit in the local community center, all describing the ship’s British colonial cultural affiliation, the wreckage was vandalized the following year by persons seeking non-existent treasure. Today, little remains of the Deadman’s Island Wreck, just a few scattered timbers and metal fasteners. Although, fortunately, much information was recovered by archaeologists, the site was essentially destroyed by thoughtless and greedy individuals, leaving nothing for visitors to see.

Article by Della Scott-Ireton. Photos courtesy Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research. If you have questions about underwater archeology, click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page and choose Archeology Questions from the drop-down menu.