Naval History Blog

Dr. Raymond Hayes (left) and Head Conservator George Schwarz examine p-XRF data taken from a Civil War-era Aston pistol recovered from USS HOUSATONIC at the Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory.

NHHC volunteer, Dr. Raymond Hayes, Professor Emeritus at Howard University, Washington DC, and Woods Hole Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, has partnered with the Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory (UACL) to analyze archaeological materials from historic naval shipwrecks.

Dr. Hayes has been awarded a Research & Discovery Grant from Olympus INNOV-X to examine archaeological components from shipwrecks using an innovative Delta portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) unit.  This state-of-the-art technology uses an x-ray beam to identify the specific elements present within archaeological material.  Dr. Hayes’ research endeavors to use this data to trace the elemental composition of a wood sample back to original construction materials, marine sediments, and sealing or fastening materials applied to wooden ships. Included in the study are data from USS Housatonic, USS Tulip, and CSS Alabama, as well as recently recovered artifacts from the 2011 USS Scorpion field project, the archaeological investigation of a Patuxent River shipwreck believed to be the flagship of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, which fought to defend Washington D.C. from the British during the War of 1812. As part of the Navy’s commemoration of the Flotilla’s important role in the War of 1812, a full excavation of the USS Scorpion site is anticipated.

Scientific technologies like pXRF provide archaeologists and conservators valuable chemical information that can be used to better conserve and interpret submerged cultural heritage.  An innovative feature of pXRF devices is that they can be used in both the laboratory and the field to analyze artifacts recovered from wet environments.  Artifacts from underwater sites can be difficult to initially identify as they may be encased within thick concretions or obscured by unidentifiable corrosion products, however, pXRF data can give archaeologists data which can signal the presence of an artifact. 

Detail of portable X-Ray Fluorescence machine collecting data from Civil War-era pistol.

Following recovery from underwater archaeological sites, artifacts are particularly susceptible to damage caused by soluble salts (e.g., chlorides) accumulated from the water or sediment that surrounded them for decades or even centuries.  If allowed to crystallize, the salts expand and cause catastrophic damage which may result in complete destruction of the artifact.  Data from pXRF can determine the concentration of chlorine within an artifact to help conservators understand the degree of salt contamination and mitigate it properly.  During conservation, pXRF can help conservators develop the most optimal treatment plan for artifacts and reveal the presence of toxic components, such as lead, cadmium or arsenic. Comparative data may also reveal similarities or differences in artifact composition that could suggest age and geographic origins.

This is only one part of the extensive research that goes on at the Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Lab, where over 2300 artifacts recovered from US Navy shipwrecks and aircraft wrecks are curated, 140 of which are currently undergoing active conservation treatment. The Laboratory, located in BL 46 of WNYD, also hosts public tours showcasing important artifacts that span from the American Revolution to World War II and make the Navy’s history come alive! Please feel free to contact us anytime (202.433.9731) if you’d like to visit!

 For more information about the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch and the Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory, please visit http://www.history.navy.mil/underwater.

The nuclear-powered guided missile frigate USS BAINBRIDGE (DLGN 25) commissioned on 6 October 1962. Her first Mediterranean deployment began in February 1963, and included demonstrations of her long-range high speed dash capabilities and operations with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ENTERPRISE (CVAN 65). BAINBRIDGE returned to the Mediterranean in May 1964, this time joining ENTERPRISE and the guided missile cruiser LONG BEACH (CGN 9) to form the first all-nuclear-powered task group. At the end of July the three ships began Operation Sea Orbit, a two-month unrefueled cruise around the world.

In October 1965 BAINBRIDGE again rounded the Cape of Good Hope, en route to the Western Pacific for the first of eleven Seventh Fleet cruises. Operating for much of this deployment off Vietnam, she screened aircraft carriers, served as a radar-picket ship, and performed search and rescue missions. In June the frigate crossed the Pacific to her new home port, Long Beach, California. Between 1966 and 1973 she conducted five additional Far Eastern tours, which involved additional Vietnam War combat operations as well as voyages to Australia and, beginning in 1970, the Indian Ocean. In 1967-1968 BAINBRIDGE underwent shipyard overhaul and her first nuclear refueling. The ship’s seventh trip to the Far East, beginning in November 1973, included a lengthy visit to the Arabian Sea, a locale that would become very familiar in the coming decades.

BAINBRIDGE received an extensive modernization and refueling between June 1974 and September 1976, with post-overhaul work lasting until April 1977. While in the shipyard, at the end of June 1975, she was reclassified from frigate to cruiser, receiving the new designation CGN 25. Her next Seventh Fleet deployment ran from January to August 1978 and included visits throughout the region, from Japan and Korea to Thailand and Singapore, with her homeward-bound voyage taking her to Australia and through the South Pacific. BAINBRIDGE made three more WestPac tours from 1979 to 1983, each of which involved extensive operations in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

After receiving her final nuclear refueling overhaul in 1983-1985, BAINBRIDGE left the Pacific after two decades, transited the Panama Canal and rejoined the Atlantic Fleet. Her operations thereafter comprised counter-drug smuggling patrols in the Caribbean; several deployments to northern European waters; and four Mediterranean cruises, including combat operations off Libya in 1991-1992, a Red Sea and Arabian Gulf tour, and service as the flagship of the Standing Naval Forces, Atlantic, in 1994. Inactivated in October 1995, BAINBRIDGE decommissioned in September 1996.

On 1 October 1990 the carrier INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) transited the Strait of Hormuz en route to the Arabian Gulf. The following day she conducted flight operations in the Gulf, becoming the first carrier to do so since CONSTELLATION (CV 64) had operated there in 1974.

INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) left the Gulf on 4 October, following three days of sailing in its confined and shallow waters. A Pentagon spokesman said that the aircraft carrier had successfully completed her mission, which was “to demonstrate to our friends and allies in the region that it is possible to put a carrier in the Gulf and carry out operations.”

On 26 September 1931 Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., laid the keel for the first U.S. Navy ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. Ranger (CV 4) was commissioned on 4 June 1934 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, with Capt. Arthur L. Bristol in command. She made a shakedown cruise to South America prior to transferring to the Pacific in early 1935. For nearly four years she participated in fleet problems reaching to Hawaii, and in western seaboard operations that took her as far south as Callao, Peru, and as far north as Seattle, Wash. Ranger returned to the Atlantic in 1939, where she remained for most of the rest of her service. Ranger took part in Neutrality Patrols after war broke out in Europe in September 1939, with these operations becoming increasingly intense during 1941.

The early months of 1942 saw Ranger engaged in war operations in the South Atlantic, followed by service carrying U.S. Army fighter planes to West African bases in April and July. In November 1942 she was an important element in Operation Torch, providing air cover for the invasion of Morocco. Ranger was assigned to work with the British Home Fleet in the northeastern Atlantic from August to November 1943, during which time she launched strikes on German shipping along the Norwegian coast.

Following training and aircraft transportation duty in early 1944, Ranger was overhauled and sent to the Pacific, where she arrived in July. She spent the rest of World War II preparing air groups for combat operations. The carrier returned to the Atlantic after Japan’s surrender and remained there until she was decommissioned in October 1946. Ranger was sold for scrapping in January 1947.

September 25th, 1961

Commissioning of USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

        Fifty years ago USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was commissioned.  The biggest ship in the world at the time, Enterprise was certainly unique.  However, as  an article in the May 1961 issue of Proceedings noted, the name of such a unique ship was hardly new.  Instead, Enterprise inherited in its name a rich Naval history with origins in the Revolutionary War and notable achievements in various Naval battles.  The article, compiled from Navy Department releases, relates the unique & varied history of a name shared by eight different ships:

        The first Enterprise was a 70-ton sloop which originally belonged to the British and cruised on Lake Champlain to supply their posts in Canada.  After the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by the Americans on 10 May 1775, she became the object of desire in the mind of Benedict Arnold, who realized he would not have control of Lake Champlain until her capture.   Read the rest of this entry »

1 August, 2011 - 

This begins the final week of excavation on the 2011 USS Scorpion Project! The team will work together this week to continue to investigate the wreck, map the site and recover artifacts. The team was pleased to welcome 7 staff members on site from NHHC Commemorations  and gave them a tour of the barges and explained the details of the archaeological operation.    

A diver recovers the starboard cathead.

2 August, 2011-

Today, the archaeology team recovered two important pieces of the ship’s architecture which they believe to be ”catheads.” Wooden vessels commonly had a pair of these thick, L-shaped beams incorporated into either side of the bow (one portside, one starboardside). One arm of the “L” projected out over the water and allowed sailors to raise and lower the anchor without causing damage to the side of the ship; the catheads were also strong enough to carry the heavy anchors suspended over the water while the ship was underway. The starboard cathead recovered from the site is in quite good condition and still has the iron components intact…a rare find and an important discovery! 

Archaeologists examine the iron block recovered from the wreck site.

3 August, 2011-

Another interesting find today! The team recovered an iron block from the site; the archaeologists hypothesize that it may have been used as ballast. Sailors often placed heavy material such as stone or metal into the hold of a ship to help stabilize and balance it while underway; the ballast could be moved about the hold as needed to compensate for any changes in the weight distribution of the vessel. Before excavation took place, a magnetometer survey was conducted on the wreck site; several strongly magnetic anomalies were detected…one of which may have been this block! 

 4 August,  2011- 

Today, the UAB dive team spent most of the day near the stern of the vessel measuring and mapping the area. Unlike the bow, the stern is a bit disarticulated with no real structure. When the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla was ordered scuttled, historical accounts are unclear as to how it was actually done. Firsthand accounts from 22 August, 1814 report that the British troops marching on Bladensburg were able to see flames in the distance (presumably from scuttling the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla); this may indicate that rather than puncturing the ships’ hulls to sink the vessels, sailors burned or placed kegs of gunpowder aboard and exploded them to prevent British capture. Although archaeologists have not observed charring on the architecture of the stern, the absence of an intact stern when the bow is so solidly intact, suggests that gunpowder may have been the method used to scuttle the ship. More research will need to be conducted before a solid conclusion is determined. 

5 August, 2011 -

 An exciting artifact was recovered today: a small, cylindrical glass bottle with a slightly rounded foot and a flared lip. The bottle is pale green in color, measures approximatly four inches and likely held some type of medicinal liquid or ointment. This bottle is nearly identical to those recovered by Donald Shomette in the original investigation of the wreck in 1980. As flagship of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, USS Scorpion would have likely had a surgeon on board; the bottle will join other previously recovered medical artifacts such as a tooth key and surgical scissors, which are on display in the National Museum of the United States Navy on the Washington Navy Yard. The bottle has been brought back to the Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Lab at the Washington Navy Yard for further analysis and conservation.  

A pair of surgical scissors recovered from the wreck site.

 6 August, 2011 -

 More exciting artifacts recovered today!  In the morning, the team first recovered a pair of scissors. The scissors appear to be made of an iron alloy and are in remarkably good condition.  Because of their small size and very fine, sharp blade, such scissors were likely part of a surgeon’s kit. This pair bears a resemblence to another recovered during the 1980 excavation, however the blades on this pair are straight. Later on in the afternoon, the team recovered a small stoneware jug. One of the most exciting details about the jug is that it was recovered with air inside; which may have been produced as the contents of the jug decomposed over time. The team managed to trap the air within the jug following recovery and may be able to chemically analyze it using a process called gas chromatography to determine the original contents of the container.

 At the end of the day, the team began to backfill the parts of the wreck where they had been working throughout the project. Backfilling refers to the process of redistributing the previously removed sediment back around the wreck. It is important that the site remain covered until the next and final phase of the Scorpion Project; the thick clay and sediment help protect and preserve the ship and its contents beneath the river bed.

 As the 2011 field season draws to a close, UAB sincerely thanks the Naval History & Heritage Command for its continued support of the USS Scorpion Project, and partners Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland State Highways Administration for their hard work and cooperation. UAB also thanks nautical archaeologists Heather Brown and Bradley Krueger, who joined the UAB team for the project, and also our fantastic summer interns who worked on site: Sarah Cahlan, Melissa Campbell, Ryan Frazier, Maria Grenchik, Chris Kelly, John Rees and Marcus Schweinfurth. Thanks to all who came to visit us on site and followed our progress on the blog. Stay tuned for the next phase of the project and to see the artifacts as they progress through the conservation process!

A deep water diving helmet equipped with lights. Photo: Alexis Catsambis

After more than two weeks in the North Sea aboard USNS Grasp, amid cold winds, unpredictable weather and swells of nearly 16 feet, the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB), along with partners from Ocean Technology Foundation, Naval Oceanographic Office, SUPSALV, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 and the US Naval Academy, continues to comb the ocean floor for the remains of John Paul Jones’ Revolutionary War flagship Bonhomme Richard.

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in its cradle prior to launch. Photo: Alexis Catsambis

The search zone encompasses several hundred nautical miles, so to locate Bonhomme Richard, which may lie several hundred feet beneath the frigid waters of the North Sea, the team utilizes remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). ROVs are tethered to the research vessel via electrical cable and towed, whereas AUVs are programmed to survey specific coordinates and then allowed to collect data as they navigate independently through the water. The ROVs and AUVs are equipped with sidescan sonars, multibeam echosounders and magnetometers which scan the sea floor and deliver data to the archaeologists aboard the command vessel. The combined data collected from this equipment helps archaeologists to clearly differentiate between debris items and potential archaeological sites or “targets”. So far, the expedition has conducted 3 remote-sensing surveys and 13 AUV missions.

Divers preparing for a deep water descent. Photo: Alexis Catsambis

The Bonhomme Richard survey expedition is also an important training opportunity for Navy divers. To date, there have been 14 diver investigations launched, many of which have focused on targets resting at more than 200 feet deep. Such depths exert enormous pressure on the human body, so instead of regular compressed air, divers must use a specially-formulated mixture of  oxygen, nitrogen, and/or helium. The ratio of the gasses is essential to the safety of the diver; if the mix is off by even a little, it can be very hazardous, so it is important that divers be well-trained when undertaking mixed-gas diving. To further protect themselves from the extreme pressure and cold, the divers wear a full deep water diving helmet which locks into place, and several warm layers beneath a dive suit designed to keep them dry while working underwater.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Dr. Robert Neyland, UAB, records measurements and observations from his dive.

 Monday, 18 July 2011-

Today, we were back in the Patuxent trenches continuing our efforts to delineate the boundaries of the suspected USS Scorpion wreck.  So far, the team has been successful in uncovering ship timbers in test units placed on the upstream and downstream extremities of the site.  These test units allow archaeologists to assess the vessel’s degree of preservation, articulation, and orientation within the river.  One of the vessel’s features that we are still trying to determine is which end of the wreck is the bow and which end is the stern. Since Scorpion and the rest of the Chesapeake Flotilla were possibly burned when scuttled in 1814 to prevent British capture, this may have severely damaged the ends of the structure making it difficult to delineate bow from stern. More excavation and analysis is needed before a positive identification can be made.

An exciting discovery! Archaeologists working at the north end of the wreck site have determined that it is likely the bow of the ship. One main reason for this hypothesis is the discovery of a “breasthook,” a thick, curved piece of wood that is typically placed across the stem (the very foremost part of a ship) to strengthen it and unite the bows on each side. So far, all of the planking and architectural structure of the ship uncovered by the divers appear to be very strong and solid; after nearly 200 years sealed beneath the thick sediment of the Patuxent, the majority of the vessel appears to be quite sound and very well-preserved.

Immediately following each dive, the team records notes, measurements and observations while underwater. They also produce a detailed sketch of the submerged wreck site based upon the new areas exposed during the dredging. Updated sketches are a necessity to the project as more and more of the wreck is uncovered. The UAB team is currently working to further expose and analyze the southern end of the wreck which, after the discovery this morning, is most likely the stern of the vessel.

Iron strop with wood fragment (presumably part of a deadeye) recovered from the wreck site. Image courtesy of MSHA.

Friday, 22 July, 2011-

A very interesting artifact was recovered today! Archaeologists working near the north end of the wreck (now believed to be the bow) recovered a double-looped iron ”strop” which typicaly holds a circular wooden piece called a “deadeye,” an essential part of the rigging of a sailing vessel. The deadeye was so called by sailors because of the way it’s three holes resemble the eyes and nose of a skull. The strop was transported back to the NHHC Underwater Archaeology & Conservation Lab and, after further analysis, appears to contain a small wood fragment of the deadeye it once held.

Despite the extreme heat, the team managed to conduct several dives and continue to delineate the extent of the vessel. In the afternoon, underwater visibility improved enough for Dr. Neyland to take down the underwater video camera and film near the southern end of the wreck.

Anthracite, a high-luster, clean-burning coal commonly used aboard ships. This piece was recovered from the Scorpion project wreck site.

Saturday, 23 July, 2011-

Another interesting artifact was recovered today: a piece of anthracite. Anthracite is a very hard, compact variety of coal that is very lustrous. Although difficult to ignite, anthracite was the preferred coal for use aboard ships as it burned cleanly and produced little smoke. With their considerable expertise, archaeologists are able to sift through several meters of sediment and distinguish very small, seemingly insignificant artifacts like this as potentially important parts of the wreck site. The team continued to excavate key points on the wreck site and sketch the architecture of the ship as more and more of the vessel is revealed. Stay tuned for updates next week!