Archaeologists were at work on Gwynn’s Island Monday and Wednesday, searching for artifacts related to the 1776 Battle of Cricket Hill in the waters of Hills Bay.
Guided by a map of the battle drawn contemporaneously by Thomas Jefferson, Brendan Burke of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum and Adam Parker of Search Inc. performed a remote sensing survey as a first step in searching for the artifacts. They swept a marine magnetometer and a Klein 3900 sidescan sonar back and forth across the bottom in a grid pattern to look for evidence of Governor Lord Dunmore’s Floating City, which set sail from York County after the governor was chased from Williamsburg in 1775 and ended up at Gwynn’s Island.
The archaeologists, who were joined ashore by Clyde Smith, vice chairman of Virginia’s Board of Historic Resources, and special projects director for Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), said they had come across a number of magnetic targets that they will analyze, prioritize, and investigate later during an actual dive. Burke said the artifacts he believes they’re most likely to come across are anchors, because the fleet “had to get out of Dodge in a hurry” during the heat of battle and likely cut their anchors or let the lines play out.
Finding evidence of the battle is not the men’s only goal.
“We’re concerned not just with finding an anchor,” said Burke, “but a touchstone of the story of the development of our state.”
He explained that Gwynn’s Island was where Lord Dunmore, who had been the governor of Virginia since 1771, established his last land-based settlement in the commonwealth. He had with him “a contingent of soldiers, loyalists, and some sailors” on a motley collection of as many as 100 vessels, from brigantines to schooners to frigates to scows, that had anchored along the shores of the island.
“When he left, British political authority left with him,” said Burke. “When the fleet cut their anchor cables in Hills Bay, it was a metaphor for cutting the umbilical cord of British dominion over the colonies.”
Everywhere that Dunmore went after that, said Burke, “Eyes followed him.” Although he sought refuge in various places, from Maryland to New York, he couldn’t do anything without his movements being reported to the revolutionary forces, and he returned to England before the year was out.
Evidence of the battle is not the only thing of interest to the men. Hills Bay has been involved in historical shipping for centuries, said Burke, so the team is “casting a broad net” to recover evidence of “any of the maritime chapters that may be represented.” All of the work will be done in cooperation with state regulatory authorities, he said.
As part of the survey, Burke said he hopes people who have found anchors or other artifacts off the shores of Gwynn’s Island over the years will let the team know so they can examine them and determine whether they might be part of the story. Anchors from that era can be identified by their lack of an iron stock across the top, he said. Instead, there would just be a straight shank with arms and palms at the bottom and a ring at the top. The stock would have been wooden.
Smith said that he was on-site with the team to observe work on “a very historically significant project” and will be involved in the permitting process for conducting an archaeological excavation if anything is found. He said that he was also there at the behest of Cussler.
“He sent me,” said Smith. “Artifacts and information in the local community are crucial to the things we do.”
All of the men praised the local residents who have helped make the project a reality: Forrest Morgan of the Mathews County Historical Society, Tom Robinson of the Mathews Maritime Foundation, and Tom Edwards and Ray Procopio, who made their boats available this week.
“I think it’s wonderful that there are so many preservation-minded organizations and individuals in Mathews,” said Burke, “and that they came together to monument the field of action.”
While big names such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington generally get all the recognition, he said, “Commemorations like this shed a light on the functional role of the patriots like Andrew Lewis who actually did the work.”
To share information about artifacts or to find out more about the project, call Robinson at 804-240-4065.