A lost Revolutionary War-era ship that was unearthed at the site of the World Trade Center will finally be exhibited in a museum over a decade after it was found.
The New York State Museum announced in a mid-May press release that the ship will be housed in its Albany headquarters. The 18th-century vessel was found during an excavation of Ground Zero in July 2010.
But details about the boat have perplexed historians until now – just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
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With help from Texas A&M University historical preservationists, experts have been working for 14 years to gather facts about the ship while preserving it carefully.
The ship, which measures 50 feet long and 18 feet wide, has been identified as a “rare” American-built gunboat.
Experts have identified the vessel as a American-built gunboat, which likely resembled the contemporary depiction on the left. (New York State Museum / Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, Texas A&M University)
The vessel was likely built in the Philadelphia area in the 1770s.
It was used during the Revolutionary War but was decommissioned after roughly two decades.
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“[B]y the 1790s, the ship was out of commission and repurposed as landfill to expand New York City, ultimately ending up beneath what would become the World Trade Center,” the New York State Museum said.
“Today, it stands as one of the few American-built Revolutionary War ships to be identified, studied and preserved in New York State.”
The ship was repurposed as landfill in the 1790s before being discovered beneath Ground Zero in 2010. (AKRF via New York State Museum)
In total, 600 pieces of wood and roughly 2,000 artifacts were found at the site, including musketballs.
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After years of carefully preserving each piece of wood and artifact, the preservation team began the process of reconstructing the vessel at the New York State Museum on May 14.
Six hundred pieces of wood were recovered from the excavation site, plus over 2,000 artifacts. (New York State Museum / Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, Texas A&M University)
In a statement, New York State Historian Devin Lander said the exhibit is “history in its rawest, most thrilling form.”
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“We’re not just unveiling a ship – we’re resurrecting a lost relic of the American Revolution, right before your eyes,” Lander said.
The team began reconstructing the vessel at the New York State Museum in May after 14 years of preservation work and research. (New York State Museum)
“New York stood at the epicenter of our fight for freedom, and this gunboat is a physical reminder of that courage and grit.”
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The historian added, “To watch it rise again, plank by plank, is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness the intersection of archaeology, storytelling and national identity.”
