"A Watery Grave for a Tory Bunch: A Shipwreck of Loyalist Hope In British East Florida"

Abstract: "Join State Underwater Archaeologist Brendan Burke for a presentation about a shipwreck from the American Revolution different from many others. In early 1783, prior to the war's official end, a convoy of transports left Charleston loaded with hundreds of Loyalists and their belongings. Seeking a new life elsewhere, some never reached their destination as the convoy suffered predation from rebel privateers and storms. Within sight of safe harbor, vessels came to grief at St. Augustine in British East Florida during a wild tumult that left only a shipwreck as testament to the volatile period. For seven years, Burke was part of a team of archaeologists that excavated the wreck and unwrapped the story of loyalism and its meaning at the end of the American Revolution. His presentation covers their discovery and documentation of this unique aspect of the American Revolution."

Brendan Burke joined the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 2021 as the State Underwater Archaeologist. He works throughout the public waters of the Commonwealth to document our shared maritime heritage. His work with maritime landscapes takes him from the waters and beaches of the Eastern Shore to inland navigations of the Shenandoah Valley. Previously he was Assistant Director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program in St. Augustine, Florida where he worked with a team of archaeologists to excavate historic shipwrecks along the First Coast. Brendan completed his graduate work at William and Mary on the Anglo-Powhatan world and was co-author of Shrimp Boat City, a study of boatbuilding and maritime culture in northeast Florida.