Naval History and Heritage Command

In June 1779 the government of Great Britain dispatched a contingent of soldiers to Majabagaduce, Massachusetts (the present-day town of Castine, Maine) and established the military and political headquarters of a new colony for loyalist subjects fleeing rebellious American colonies in New England. The State of Massachusetts responded to the British invasion by organizing what was to become the largest combined military and naval operation conducted by the Americans during the War for Independence. On July 24, 1779 the American naval and land forces--known collectively as the Penobscot Expedition--entered Penobscot Bay and laid siege to the British fort. However, just as victory appeared to be within their grasp, the Americans were forced into a disorganized retreat up the Penobscot River by a British relief squadron that arrived at the entrance to the bay approximately one month later. The British vessels rapidly overtook the fleeing American forces, causing the latter to abandon and scuttle most of their ships to prevent their capture.

During the mid-1990s, Brent Phinney, the owner of a sawmill and steel fabrication shop in Brewer, Maine, discovered the remains of a wooden shipwreck in shallow water immediately off the Brewer (eastern) side of the Penobscot River. Shortly thereafter, he discovered a scatter of colonial-era cannon and other artifacts in the river just offshore of downtown Bangor. In June of 1998 Phinney contacted Dr. Warren Riess, Research Associate Professor of History and Marine Sciences, University of Maine (Darling Marine Center), to assist in recovering artifacts from these and other archaeological sites. Riess in turn contacted the Naval Historical Center's Underwater Archaeology Branch. Naval Historical Center representatives then met with state officials in Augusta to discuss Phinney's discoveries. Among other things, the meeting addressed the shipwreck site's preservation and protection, as well as the removal of artifacts. The mutual interests of the Navy and the State of Maine and their overlapping responsibilities for the Navy's ship and aircraft wrecks in Maine waters was also discussed.

Since 1999, the Underwater Archaeology Branch has conducted research in the Penobscot River as part of a multi-year cooperative effort with the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) to research, investigate, and document shipwrecks and other submerged archaeological sites associated with the Penobscot Expedition of 1779. The submerged sites discovered by Brent Phinney were the subjects of the first phase of investigation. The remains of the wooden vessel (nicknamed the "Phinney Site") underwent a reconnaissance site investigation in 1999 and 2000. Preliminary analysis of data recovered during the 1999 field season led staff archaeologists to conclude that the Phinney Site represented the remains of a small eighteenth-century vessel that may have comprised one of the ill-fated American fleet that participated in the Penobscot Expedition of 1779.

Analysis of the vessel's remaining architecture indicates that it had a keel length of approximately 25.5 meters (83.7 feet), was constructed of a variety of American timber (predominantly white oak), and burned extensively prior to its loss. Specific hull characteristics, including the presence of radial cant frames in the bow, suggest that the vessel was constructed circa 1770. Attributes that point to a connection with the Penobscot Expedition include the presence amidships of two disabled 3 or 4-pounder cannon, as well as an extensive scatter of iron shot throughout the wreck site. Currently, not enough data exist to conclusively identify the vessel, although a number of the aforementioned characteristics closely match historic descriptions of the Continental Navy brig Diligent. The Underwater Archaeology Branch's research indicates that Diligent was constructed in Boston in 1776, had a length on deck of 88 feet, 5 ¾ inches, was armed with either 3 or 4-pounder cannon (depending on the source consulted), and was scuttled approximately two miles below the falls at Bangor (close to the Phinney Site's recorded location).

The artillery and munitions scatter (nicknamed the "Shoreline Site") was the subject of archaeological documentation and assessment in 2001. The Shoreline Site assemblage comprises Revolutionary War-era artifacts ranging from small ceramic fragments to complete pieces of iron artillery. Artillery associated with the site includes two 4 or 6-pounder cannon and one ½-pounder swivel gun. A large, diffuse scatter of colonial-era iron projectiles, including round, grape, case, bar, and half-bar shot, was found in close proximity to the cannon, as was a large iron conglomerate containing a variety of iron shot, fasteners, and scrap metal. Other artifacts observed at the Shoreline Site include glass bottle fragments, iron bar stock, and miscellaneous ferrous hardware. No wooden ship components were found in association with any of the artifacts, leading the Underwater Archaeology Branch to speculate that the Shoreline Site may represent a pile of munitions and artillery that was hastily discarded during the final hours of the American retreat upriver.

In September 2002 members of the Underwater Archaeology Branch initiated an intensive 10-day magnetometer survey along nine corridors of the Penobscot River. The 2002 survey was intended to locate the remains of at least ten American vessels, including the Continental Navy frigate Warren (the flagship of the American fleet), which was reportedly destroyed by its crew at Oak Point near the town of Winterport. The Underwater Archaeology Branch also attempted to pinpoint the wrecks of nine other smaller craft scuttled near Bangor. According to historical sources, most of the vessels that managed to reach Bangor were scuttled in the river immediately below the vicinity of the present-day falls (referred to as the "head of navigation" in numerous historical references), and were very close to one another when destroyed. Warren was apparently burnt at "Oak-Point Cove" (present-day Kempton Cove) after going hard aground during the American retreat.

Originally, the Underwater Archaeology Branch had planned to survey only two corridors of the river; however, cooperative weather conditions and extended workdays enabled staff archaeologists to plan and execute magnetometry of seven additional survey sections. Consequently, a large percentage of the navigable upper reaches of the Penobscot River have now been magnetically investigated. The survey identified approximately 700 localities, many of which exhibit magnetic signatures consistent with the size, duration, and complexity expected of historic shipwreck remains.

At the behest of Dr. Arthur Spiess (Maine State Archaeologist), the Underwater Archaeology Branch submitted a letter report to the MHPC describing the results of a remote-sensing survey conducted in a portion of the Penobscot River known as Dunnet's Cove. This section of the river, located along the western shore just south of the Bangor Harbormaster's dock complex, was to be impacted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) as part of a proposed hazardous material cleanup and mitigation project. Dunnet's Cove lies well within the boundaries of a larger project area investigated by the Underwater Archaeology Branch in 2000 and 2002, and is believed to contain the remains of one or more Penobscot Expedition shipwrecks. Armed with information provided in the Underwater Archaeology Branch's letter report, the MHPC planned to oversee MDEP's activities and prevent damage or destruction of potential shipwreck sites during the mitigation process.

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