HMS Tyger was a fourth rate frigate armed with up to 50 guns that was built in 1647 and was the scourge of the Spanish fleet during the War of the Seat (or Jenkins’ Ear), an armed conflict between Great Britain and Spain over the privilege of being able to trade with America and which mainly developed in the Caribbean between 1739 and 1748.
The British warship arrived was 40 meters long and weighed 704 tons. She carried six six-pounders on the quarterdeck, twenty-two 9-pounders on the upper deck, and twenty-two 18-pounders on the gun deck. Her crew included 281 men, including 5 officers and 57 marines.
In 1741, the Tyger was already sailing in the vicinity of Cuba and Jamaica, intimidating the Spanish while guarding the route between Cape Corrientes and Cape San Antonio, pursuing enemy ships to the Gulf of Mexico. On one of those patrols, on January 13, 1742, the English ship ran aground on the coral reefs near Garden Key, off the coast of Florida.
The crew desperately removed the heaviest guns and anchors, as well as moving the ship’s contents to the rear to lighten the load, and tried various means of removing the ship from its delicate position. But it was useless. Bad weather complicated the situation and HMS Tyger became stuck.
Nearly 300 years later, archaeologists from the U.S. National Park Service have identified the remains of the British warship within Dry Tortugas National Park. Researchers discovered the remains of five cannons approximately 450 meters from the main wreck site.
The first time evidence of a sunken ship was located on Garden Key, the second largest island on the Dry Tortugas, was in 1993. But we had to wait 30 years to confirm that the evidence found corresponded to the HMS Tyger. The size and characteristics of the cannons were key to clarifying the mystery.
Marine archaeologists have now determined that the cannons, discovered in 2021, were British and weighed three to four kilos, which would coincide with the story that some of the artillery pieces were thrown overboard, as explained in an article published in the International Journal of Nautical Archeology.
“Archaeological finds are exciting, but connecting them to the historical record helps us tell the stories of the people who came before us and the events they experienced,” says park manager James Crutchfield. “This particular story is one of perseverance and survival. National parks help protect these untold stories as they come to light,” he adds.
After the shipwreck of HMS Tyger, the approximately 300 crew members endured 66 days marooned on what is now Garden Key. They erected the island’s first fortifications, more than 100 years before Fort Jefferson, which now dominates the landscape and is the main cultural resource within the park.
The survivors battled heat, mosquitoes and thirst as they tried to escape the deserted island. They built boats from salvaged parts of HMS Tyger and made several attempts to seek help, gather additional supplies, and locate Spanish Navy vessels in the area.
After a failed attack on a Spanish ship, the surviving crew burned the remains of the Tyger to ensure that its guns did not fall into enemy hands and used their improvised boats to escape to Port Royal, Jamaica, traveling up to 1,125 kilometers over 55 days. through enemy waters.
HMS Tyger was the first of three British warships to sink off the Florida Keys. Archaeologists had previously identified the location of the other two (HMS Fowey and HMS Looe), but the Tyger remained missing. Hence, experts take a closer look at the ships’ logbooks.
“This discovery highlights the importance of preserving the site as future generations of archaeologists, armed with more advanced technologies and research tools, can reexamine the sites and make new discoveries,” concludes Josh Marano, who led the team that made the discovery. discovery together with Andrew Van Slyke.
Shipwrecks in Dry Tortugas National Park are threatened by both natural and cultural degradation. These threats include major storms, erosion, illicit excavations, theft, vandalism, and physical damage caused by surface activities.