Warship's 1742 Sinking Left Crew on Deserted Island

A British warship that sank off Florida nearly 300 years ago, forcing its crew to embark on a remarkable survival journey, has been identified. HMS Tyger, first discovered within Dry Tortugas National Park in 1993, was identified after archaeologists visited the site in 2021 and discovered five cannons, believed to have been thrown overboard, about 500 yards from the wreck. The 50-gun warship, which sank on Jan. 13, 1742, while on patrol during the War of Jenkins' Ear between Britain and Spain, initially ran aground on reefs. "Buried in the margins of the old logbooks was a reference that described how the crew 'lightened her forward' after initially running aground, briefly refloating the vessel and then sinking in shallow water," the National Park Service said in a release.

A reevaluation of the site, with consideration of the British six- and nine-pound cannons, confirmed the wreck as the HMS Tyger, according to the release. Park Manager James Crutchfield said it was an "exciting" find that tells a story "of perseverance and survival." After their ship sank, the survivors among the crew of 300 were stranded for 66 days on the deserted Garden Key, reports USA Today. "They erected the first fortifications on the island, more than 100 years before Fort Jefferson, which now dominates the island," according to the release. Battling heat and dehydration, they built new vessels from pieces of the wrecked ship and went in search of help, supplies, and Spanish ships to commandeer.

After "botching an attack on a Spanish vessel," they burned the remains of HMS Tyger to prevent its guns falling into enemy hands, then sailed their makeshift vessels some 700 miles through enemy seas to British-held Port Royal in Jamaica over 55 days, NPS said. Josh Marano, the archaeologist who led the team, stressed the discovery of the cannons "highlights the importance of preservation in place as future generations of archeologists, armed with more advanced technologies and research tools, are able to reexamine sites and make new discoveries." The wreck site and its artifacts, viewed as property of the British government, are protected under cultural resource laws and will be routinely monitored, CBS News reports. (More shipwreck stories.)