Stunning Shipwrecks From War of 1812 Invaded by Mussels

Diana Disfigured

Photograph courtesy City of Hamilton    

Quagga mussels, an invasive species in Lake Ontario, have begun to take over the historic shipwrecks, as this 2008 image of the Hamilton's Diana figurehead shows. (Related: "Invasive Spiny Water Flea Reaches Lake Champlain Basin.")

Published August 8, 2013

Exploring the Wrecks

Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic

A 1982 expedition funded in part by the National Geographic Society used a remotely piloted submersible vehicle to photograph and explore the Hamilton and Scourge shipwrecks, 300 feet (91 meters) below the surface of Lake Ontario. The wrecks were discovered in 1973 after amateur archaeologist Daniel A. Nelson, an Ontario dentist, deduced the location using notes in another ship's logbook.

The wrecks are now owned by the city of Hamilton, Ontario, and are protected as a Canadian National Historic Site.

Published August 8, 2013

Relics of War

Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic

When this image of the armed schooner Hamilton was taken in 1982, artifacts from the War of 1812 were still clearly visible some 170 years after the ship sank. Visible items include a carronade—a type of cast-iron, short-barreled cannon—and a gunpowder ladle (on the deck, at cannon's right).

Published August 8, 2013

Disappearing Artifacts

Photograph courtesy City of Hamilton    

A carronade on the 200-year-old Hamilton shipwreck is among the artifacts now hidden beneath a crust of quagga mussels, an invasive species that has spread throughout the Great Lakes region in the past two decades.

Published August 8, 2013

Window on History

Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic

As this 1982 image shows, even the sliding glass windowpane in the stern of the Scourge was still intact 170 years after the ship sank during the War of 1812. Lake Ontario's cold, pure, dark waters have long provided "ideal environmental conditions" to preserve the Scourge and its sister shipwreck the Hamilton, but invasive mussels now cover much of the wreckage, says Canadian Conservation Institute scientist Nancy Binnie.

Published August 8, 2013

Window Damage

Photograph courtesy City of Hamilton    

Invasive quagga mussels have besieged the Hamilton and Scourge in recent years, and the 200-year-old shipwrecks are showing signs of deterioration. This window on the Scourge was intact in 1982 but had collapsed by 2008.

Published August 8, 2013

Silenced Guns

Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic

A pivot gun rests muzzle-down on the deck of the schooner Hamilton. This image was taken in 1982; though the surface of the gun is corroded, Canadian Conservation Institute scientist Nancy Binnie thinks the iron underneath may still retain evidence of the original foundry marks.

Published August 8, 2013

Mussel Mass

Photograph courtesy City of Hamilton    

The Hamilton and Scourge are among the best-preserved ships from the War of 1812, but in recent years they have been besieged by a small but fierce enemy: invasive quagga mussels. By 2008, the mussels had completely taken over this pivot gun on the Hamilton.

Working with the city of Hamilton, Ontario, and others, underwater archaeologists from Parks Canada recently completed a survey of the historic site to guide preservation efforts.

Since the hulls are still intact, the ships' interiors likely contain many archaeological treasures, but they also hold the bones of the men trapped within when the ships sank. While further study could reveal a lot about the lives of the sailors, "the sites must be respected because they are war graves," says conservation scientist Nancy Binnie.

Published August 8, 2013

See More Shipwreck Pictures

Illustration courtesy Becker Collection, Boston College; sonar image courtesy Teledyne BlueView and James Glaeser, Northwest Hydro

Published August 8, 2013