The HMS Hussar served in the American Revolution, mostly carrying dispatches along the American coast. By the middle of 1779, the British position in New York City was growing increasingly precarious. When Admiral Sir George Brydges Rogers took his twenty ships-of-the-line south in November, it was decided that the Army payroll should be moved to anchorage at Gardineri Bay on eastern Long Island.
On 23 November 1780, against his pilot's judgement, Captain Charles Pole decided to sail the Hussar on the East River through the treacherous waters of Hell's Gate between Manhattan Island and Long Island.
The ship was swept onto Pot Rock and began sinking. Unable to run his ship aground, Pole's ship sank on 29 meters of water. Though the British denied it, rumors abounded that it was carrying between $2 to $4 million in gold which caused many salvage attempts despite the extreme difficulty of the wreck site which continued over the next 150 years.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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