By Crystal-Rose Jones
A two-decade-long mission to confirm the final resting place of Captain James Cook’s famed vessel, His Majesty’s (HM) Bark Endeavour, has concluded with the news that the ship is resting in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.
Three years ago, U.S. marine archaeologists announced that the shipwreck site RI 2394 was Endeavour, later renamed Lord Sandwich, but the final report confirming the position has only just been released.
“The report deepens and confirms our identification of RI 2394 as Endeavour based on 25 years of dedicated study,” Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project Manager of Maritime Archaeology James Hunter said.
“We’ve collated extensive data comparing British and American 18th-century vessels, including timber analysis and scantling (structural hull element) measurements; this further reinforces our historical knowledge and provides additional archaeological support for our findings.”
Hunter called it an “incredible milestone in maritime history.”
“This has been the culmination of decades of dedicated work by our archaeological team, supported by the USA Bicentennial Gift Fund,” he said.
The Australian National Maritime Museum first started working with the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project on locating the ship in 1999.
The relationship resulted in archaeological expeditions in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004. These included sensing of the seafloor, underwater analysis by divers, and studies of samples including stone, coal, timber, and sediment.
The Ship’s History
On Aug. 26, 1768, the Endeavour set sail from England’s Plymouth Harbour under Cook’s command.
Cook, an accomplished astronomer, navigator, and surveyor, charted more than 8000 km of Australia’s coastline with an impressive degree of accuracy and detail for the time, mapping the eastern coast, claiming it as British territory, and naming it New South Wales.
The Endeavour returned to England in 1771, where it was used as a naval transport vessel before being sold on the private market and subsequently renamed Lord Sandwich.
The ship was then used to cart troops to the American colonies in support of Britain.
By 1778, the ship was in poor condition and was used as a jail for American prisoners of war in Newport Harbour, which was held by the British.
When American and French forces besieged Newport Harbour, the vessel was one of 13 scuttled to create a submerged blockade.
The Endeavour has remained in place until the present day.