Over 30 ships from early European colonization to modern times have met their fate on the treacherous shoals fringing the entrance to Port Royal Sound. These shipwrecks include a French corsair called Le Prince that wrecked while entering the sound after a successful voyage of trading and raiding in the Spanish West Indies in 1577. HMS Colibri, a British warship that grounded on the shoals after plundering Sea Island plantations during the War of 1812, and the SS William Lawrence, a merchant steamship bound with an assorted cargo to Savannah wrecked during a winter gale in 1896. This illustrated presentation will discuss the ongoing efforts by the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology to document these shipwrecks along with other unfortunate casualties of the shoals to advance our knowledge of the maritime archaeological legacy in the waters of South Carolina.

James Spirek, the State Underwater Archaeologist for S.C., works at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.  Employed there since 1996 and holding his current position since 2012, Jim’s responsibilities include managing and studying the maritime archaeological legacy residing in the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters of South Carolina.  Jim has participated in numerous projects documenting a diverse range of sunken prehistoric and historic watercraft, Colonial and Native American sites, Civil War warships and blockade runners, and other underwater archaeological remains in state waters.  Jim received his B.A. in History from George Mason University in 1987 and his M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University in 1993.

Co-sponsored with the Beaufort County Public Library’s Beaufort District Collection

A brief Annual Meeting of the Beaufort County Historical Society will precede this presentation.