British Ship Industry

The British sloop Industry as it would have appeared under sail off the original 18th century Lighthouse.

The Discovery and Excavation of the British Sloop Industry, Lost in 1764 off St. Augustine

In 1763, as part of the peace negotiations after the Seven Years War, Spain's colony of La Florida was ceded to Britain. As Spanish troops, military supplies, and citizens were evacuated from Florida to Cuba, the colony was re-populated by British troops from the 9th Regiment of Foot, the initial English force garrisoned in St. Augustine. In desperate need of supplies, these soldiers eagerly awaited the arrival of four sloops sent from Royal Army headquarters in New York to St. Augustine, loaded with cargos of weapons, munitions, tools, cookware, and other necessary goods.

One of the iron cannons from the Industry resting on the seafloor.

One of these ships was the Industry, a merchant ship hired by the British Crown and captained by Daniel Lawrence. Recklessly deciding to navigate St. Augustine's notorious channel without the aid of a local pilot, Lawrence paid for this decision by stranding his ship on a sandbar on May 6, 1764. The loss of the Industry was a blow for Britain's control of Florida, which would only last another two decades (1763-1784).

LAMP diver recording the remains of the Industry wreck. The shipwreck is located off St. Augustine in an area of relatively poor visibility.

The wreck of the Industry, designated site 8SJ3478, was discovered in 1997 by archaeologists from Southern Oceans Archaeological Research, Inc. (SOAR), after conducting extensive archival research and a magnetometer survey with support from the state of Florida and the St. Augustine Lightouse and Museum. Excavations were conducted between 1998 and 2000 first by SOAR and subsequently by LAMP, which was formalized in 1999 in conjunction with the ongoing archaeological research on this shipwreck site. A variety of artifacts reflecting the Industry's cargo of tools and military supplies were uncovered and recorded, including eight cast-iron cannon, an iron swivel gun, crates of iron shot, three iron mooring anchors, three millstones, copper cookware, and boxes of tools such as axes, shovel blades, knives, trowels, files, and handsaws. Many of these finds, including one of the cannons and the swivel gun, were recovered, conserved, and are currently on display at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum.

Iron swivel-gun recovered from the Industry, currently on display at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. This would have been mounted on the gunwale (side) of the ship and used as an anti-personnel weapon.

LAMP archaeologists continue to monitor the Industry wreck site and are planning on renewing investigations at the site as part of the summer 2007 season of the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project. Past and future seasons of archaeological investigation of the Industry promise to continually improve our understanding of this brief but important period in the history of our nation's oldest port city.

This wooden crate, loaded with iron axe heads, had been intended for the newly established British garrisons in St. Augustine.

Three-dimensional model of the Industry wreck, re-creating the wreckage as it appears on the seafloor.

• Visit the virtual exhibit of the Industry at the Museum of Underwater Archaeology
• Read more about the Industry and the conservation of some of the artifacts at Texas A&M University's Conservation Research Laboratory website

Diving Videos

Video 1: LAMP Diver

Video 2: LAMP Diver and Trunnion

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