Combined Annual Meeting for
Sackets Harbor History Organizations
Speaker Program Topic:
War of 1812 Shipwrecks Exploration
Presented by Ben Ford
Wednesday June 8, 2011 at the Battlefield Historic Site’s Barn off Hill Street
Annual meetings at 6:00 p.m.; speaker program at 7:00 p.m.
Sackets Harbor was at the heart of America’s defense of its inland waterways during the War of 1812. Evidence of this role is visible throughout the community, but there may be less obvious remains lying just offshore. A current archaeological project is attempting to locate and identify two ships built at Sackets Harbor, the frigate Mohawk and an unnamed gunboat. Featured speaker, Ben Ford, will give a talk outlining the historical significance of these vessels and the previous historical and archaeological work that suggests the locations of their remains. Planned methodology for locating and identifying the shipwrecks will also be presented.
The presentation “War of 1812 Shipwreck Exploration” will be delivered by Ben Ford, a graduate of the Texas A&M Nautical Archaeology Program. Dr. Ford has been actively researching the archaeology of Lake Ontario.
The research team includes Dr. Ford (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) a maritime and historical archaeologist, project geologists Dr. Katherine Farnsworth (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Scott Harris (College of Charleston), and Carrie Sowden the Archaeological Director of the Great Lakes Historical Society, plus two Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate students studying maritime archaeology, and undergraduates from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the College of Charleston.
All interested individuals are invited to attend “War of 1812 Shipwreck Ex-ploration.” There is no charge to attend this public program, which is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. June 8, immediately following the Annual Meetings of the Sackets Harbor Battlefield Alliance, Inc., the Sackets Harbor Historical Society, and the Sackets Harbor Area Cultural Preservation Foundation, Inc.