Page 58 - Panama City Living May/June 2019

SHIPWRECKS ON DOG ISLAND
... one of the hulls revealed by Hurricane Michael is still mostly buried in the sand, making it impossible to take measurements. Photos above and right courtesy of Andrew Smith
eventually made his way back to France. He wrote a firsthand narrative of the experience, describing the outfitting and loss of the vessel in great detail.
The HMS Fox, a British warship, was directly associated with soldier-of-fortune William Augustus Bowles, a colorful figure in Florida history. Le Tigre and the HMS Fox have not yet been conclusively located, according to Mollema.
A great number of vessels were lost from August 1861 to 1863, due to Union blockades during the Civil War. The large number of
sunken vessels dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries represents the exploitation of local resources (fish, lumber) that played a principal role in the rapidly expanding economy at the time. Although the vast majority of these ships may never be found, artifacts continue to resurface. Mollema says, “If someone stumbles across something of interest, don’t touch it; take a photograph for us, note its location, and call us.”
Mollema recommends contacting the Bureau of Archaeological Research at (850) 245-6444, or the Florida Public Archaeological Network (FPAN) at (850) 595-0050
58 • May–June 2019 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com
Left: Unidentified foreign bark wrecked off coast after the hurricane of 1899, Dog Island, Florida. From the State Library & Archives of Florida
Above from left: Probably the Russian bark "Latara"[or Latava]; the Norwegian bark "Vale" (in foreground); the American schooner "James A. Garfield" (beyond the Vale); and another Norwegian bark, the "Jafnhar." From the State Library & Archives of Florida