The wreck of the British warship HMS Somerset III, which was guarding Boston Harbor the night Paul Revere slipped by on his legendary journey to Lexington in 1775, has resurfaced in the shifting sands off Cape Cod.
Federal park officials, saying they may have only a limited window of opportunity, are seizing the moment and having the wreck “digitally preserved’’ using three-dimensional imaging technology.
“We know the wreck is going to disappear again under the sand, and it may not resurface again in our lifetimes,’’ said William P. Burke, the historian at the Cape Cod National Seashore, noting that the last time any part of the Somerset had been sighted was 37 years ago.
“Somewhere down the road, if someone’s researching the Somerset, or the effects of ocean currents on shipwrecks, or anything like that, they will have this record,’’ he said. “We’re in the forever business. We’re looking at tomorrow, but we’re also looking ahead indefinitely.’’
The Somerset fought in the American Revolution and had a crew of more than 400. In 1775, Paul Revere slipped past the ship before beginning his ride to Lexington to warn the colonials that the British were on the move. In his poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,’’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called it “a phantom ship, with each mast and spar/Across the moon like a prison bar.’’ The ship sank on Nov. 2, 1778, off the Cape.
Come to Provincetown to see this ship from the Revolutionary War. You can stay at one of the most Distinctive Inns in Provincetown, The Revere Guest House. One of the most favorite Inns at the tip of Cape Cod.
“We know the wreck is going to disappear again under the sand, and it may not resurface again in our lifetimes,’’ said William P. Burke, the historian at the Cape Cod National Seashore, noting that the last time any part of the Somerset had been sighted was 37 years ago.
“Somewhere down the road, if someone’s researching the Somerset, or the effects of ocean currents on shipwrecks, or anything like that, they will have this record,’’ he said. “We’re in the forever business. We’re looking at tomorrow, but we’re also looking ahead indefinitely.’’
The Somerset fought in the American Revolution and had a crew of more than 400. In 1775, Paul Revere slipped past the ship before beginning his ride to Lexington to warn the colonials that the British were on the move. In his poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,’’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called it “a phantom ship, with each mast and spar/Across the moon like a prison bar.’’ The ship sank on Nov. 2, 1778, off the Cape.
Come to Provincetown to see this ship from the Revolutionary War. You can stay at one of the most Distinctive Inns in Provincetown, The Revere Guest House. One of the most favorite Inns at the tip of Cape Cod.
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