St. Marys Gunboat Project Hopes to Locate and Acquire Artifacts-- Part 1

From the December 8, 2005, Florida Times Union "St. Marys Group Floats Scheme to Search for Gunboats That Sank; the Two Boats Went Down During a Hurricane That Struck Coast of Georgia in 1813" by Gordon Jackson.

Two Jeffersonian gunboats were ported at the battery of Point Peter in what is today the town of St. Marys, Georgia.  Recent archaeological excavation at the battery has yielded much information of its use as a Navy base before and during the War of 1812 (important for its location right on the border of Florida).  It also verifies that St. Marys was the site of the last battle of the War of 1812.

Now, a group of area residents have formed the St. Marys Gunboat Project to search for two gunboats that were sunk there by a hurricane in 1813.  Hopes are for locating them and raising any artifacts they may still contain

--Brock-Perry