ALBANY – Discovering Revolutionary War History

Workers who excavated the World Trade Center site in Manhattan about 15 years ago uncovered wood from a boat that dates back to the Revolutionary War. This particular vessel had been buried for over two centuries.

Recently, more than 600 pieces of this wood have begun the meticulous process of returning from a 50-foot container at the New York State Museum.

After spending years submerged and underground, these pieces are now set to be displayed in a museum.

Organized like a giant jigsaw puzzle on the museum floor, research assistants and volunteers dedicated several weeks to cleaning the wood using picks and brushes before starting the reconstruction.

It’s believed that the ship is a gunboat built in 1775 aimed at protecting Philadelphia, though researchers are puzzled about how it ended up neglected along the Manhattan coast before being buried in the reclaimed land during the 1790s.

“The public can come and reflect on the mysteries around this ship,” said Michael Lucas, the museum’s curator of historical archaeology. “Like the past, we have information. There’s no complete story.”

From Landfill to Museum Exhibit

The restoration project traces its beginnings back to July 2010, when parts of the boat were discovered 22 feet below street level.

Crews working on an underground parking facility at the World Trade Center site found curved wood from the hull, near the location of the former Twin Towers, which fell during the 9/11 attacks.

Despite the muddy conditions, the wood was well-preserved in oxygen-deficient settings for centuries. Workers carefully extracted about 30 feet of the boat’s rear and central sections, even recovering parts of the bow the following summer from the other side of an underground wall.

The wood, which traveled over 1,400 miles to the Maritime Archaeology and Conservation Center at Texas A&M, underwent a 3D scanning process. After spending years in a preservative solution, the pieces were placed in a large freeze dryer to remove moisture and then wrapped in a mile of bubble wrap before arriving at the State Museum in Albany.

Though the museum is located 130 miles north of Manhattan, it has ample space to showcase the ship. Reconstruction is taking place right in the exhibition area, allowing visitors to gradually see the shape of the boat taking form through its weathered wooden skeletons.

Peter Fix, an associate research scientist overseeing the reconstruction, anticipates that the project will wrap up by the end of the month.

Recently, Lucas engaged with visitors at the museum, discussing the ship’s history and its discovery.

The Ongoing Mystery of the Voyage

Researchers recognized they had unearthed a boat in the heart of Manhattan, but questions lingered about its type and purpose.

Analysis revealed that the wood was sourced from trees cut in the Philadelphia area during the early 1770s, suggesting the vessel was constructed nearby.

The ship was likely built under constrained circumstances. The wood was knotted, and iron spikes were used for faster assembly, though these tend to corrode over time in seawater.

Current theories suggest that the ship was hastily manufactured in Philadelphia during the summer of 1775, not long after the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in Lexington and Concord. That summer, 13 gunboats were built to defend Philadelphia from potential threats along the Delaware River, with this particular gunboat featuring a cannon positioned at the bow, capable of carrying over 30 men.

“They were really pushing to get these boats out there to deter the British from advancing up the Delaware,” noted Fix.

Historical records indicate that at least one of the gunboats was photographed by British forces, and there’s some indication that the restored boat might have been commandeered by them. Notably, it contains a pewter button embossed with “52,” suggesting a connection to the uniforms worn by soldiers of the 52nd Pedestal Regiment of the British Army, which was active during the war.

It’s also conceivable that the ship made its way south towards the Caribbean, where the British redirected large numbers of troops during the conflict. Damage to the wood indicates it encountered mollusks typical of warmer waters.

The exact path of the boat and its prolonged stay in the coastal waters remain shrouded in mystery.

By the 1790s, it had become somewhat forgotten and was subsequently buried as part of a project that expanded Manhattan’s land into the Hudson River area.

By that time, parts of the revolutionary warship, such as its mast, had likely been stripped away.

“It’s important history,” Lucas remarked, reflecting on the significance of the findings. “It’s also a great artifact that opens up a plethora of stories to explore.”