Maple Leaf National Historic Landmark Shipwreck Site 1994

kvholland

Private
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Location
Jacksonville, Florida
Hello. I am new to this form. In Fact, I have never participated in one before. Civilwartalk caught my attention while reading some very interesting posts. What prompted me to find you was my interest in determining if anyone was aware of the shipwreck Maple Leaf.
It was sunk in the St. Johns River, Duval County, Florida on April 1, 1864. I suppose now that I have jumped in, I'll just ask. Has anyone?
 
Welcome to CivilWarTalk!

Maple Leaf was studied pretty thoroughly by teams from East Carolina University's nautical archaeology program in the early 1990s. I think you'll find lots of folks here interested in the naval/maritime side of things.

Here's a 1990s article from ECU on the Maple Leaf project (attached).
 

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Yes, the very same Holland. However, much older than when I first touched Maple Leaf! It was a hot sunny summer day. The usual afternoon thunder showers ran us into Doctors Lake for refuse everyday that week. Late in the afternoon, the boat towed 24volt metal detector caught a snag, which required a dive to untangle. My wife's brother, who was more experienced in dark water diving went first.
To make a long story short, we had finally found Maple Leaf.
I also found that it's cargo hull was beyond my reach ~ buried under six or seven feet of mud. Everything above the bottom was gone. Just a very few things related to the engine of the 1851 Canadian steamship remained.
How do I write an more depth? How would I learn about uploading images, video? Etc. is there a user manual with tis forum?


 
Last edited:
Welcome aboard!

You can attach images or PDF files (if not too large) by clicking the "Upload a File" button at lower right. If the file is already online somewhere, you can embed a link to it using the picture icon in the menu bar above.
 
Thank you for your kind welcome. A great deal of information has been acquired from ML. Please, feel free to help us learn more. I will be uploading photos of artifacts, historical documents, anything that might be of interest, and answer any questions if the need arises. There are many artifacts we can not identify in regard to ML that need your input.
Thank you, again, for your warm welcome.
Keith
 
Super movie!
Thank you Andy. This is all new to me. Forums I mean. It will take me a while to figure it out, but rest assured I will give my best.
According to you number of Posts, you must have started this Forum. Check out the "short Timer Calendar" pic I just posted. I'm not sure we can call it that. Who knows? If it's wrong though I want to know.
Thanks for making me feel welcome!
 
Yes, the very same Holland. However, much older than when I first touched Maple Leaf! It was a hot sunny summer day. The usual afternoon thunder showers ran us into Doctors Lake for refuse everyday that week. Late in the afternoon, the boat towed 24volt metal detector caught a snag, which required a dive to untangle. My wife's brother, who was more experienced in dark water diving went first.
To make a long story short, we had finally found Maple Leaf.
I also found that it's cargo hull was beyond my reach ~ buried under six or seven feet of mud. Everything above the bottom was gone. Just a very few things related to the engine of the 1851 Canadian steamship remained.
How do I write an more depth? How would I learn about uploading images, video? Etc. is there a user manual with tis forum?


Wow !
Great video.
I looking forward to your future posts about the Maple Leaf.
 
A fantastic model of the Maple Leaf,
9P5A7846-1024x682.jpg

http://www.mandarinmuseum.net/maple-leaf
 
Welcome to CivilWarTalk!

Maple Leaf was studied pretty thoroughly by teams from East Carolina University's nautical archaeology program in the early 1990s. I think you'll find lots of folks here interested in the naval/maritime side of things.

Here's a 1990s article from ECU on the Maple Leaf project (attached).


Yes, ECU did a remarkable job surveying Maple Leaf. But.....what ML has to offer has hardly been "studied pretty thoroughly". The ship has been fully mapped, which was a monumental job and took three years as it was buried under six to seven feet of muck providing no visibility. ECU did not do this alone. It also cost the State of Florida three hundred thousand dollars. Please, don't think I regret this, I don't. The survey and future management plan was written in three separate vols. All has been available on the Internet, accessible to the archaeological and General public at large on the ML shipwreck site since 1996. I say well done!
I'm here to continue researching the contents of ML ~ seven hundred and ninety eight thousand pounds of Civil War era cultural material, in a state of near perfect condition of an entire Brigade! Plus three Sutlers goods. Better still, this can start, not by championing the recovery of more material, but by allowing the members of civilwartalk the opportunity to review the over three thousand items already recovered by my company, SJAEI, that we gifted to the State of Florida in 1996.
What say you in regard to this proposal? I will digitally and release to this forum photos of artifacts, written research papers in regard to these items, audio tapes, etc., and answer any questions should the need arise. Maybe the need will not arise. This will largely depend on whether or not they care.
St. Johns Archaeological Expeditions, inc. (SJAEI) freely, with great pleasure, abdicated it's right to own any material, deeded not only the artfacts, but all our conservatory equipment, to the citizens of Florida nineteen years ago. Have you seen this marvelous collection?
We are the custodians of a NHL Shipwreck site. My duties, obligations, and responsibilties as a steward of Malpe Leaf's history dictate that I find a public forum for the benefit of both ML and the public.

Kindest Regards,
Keith
 
Welcome from Canada!:beaver: I have to admit when I read the title of the thread I thought you were talking about the terrible performance of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL)! I had a good laugh when I read through the thread, and discovered it was actually about a ship!:redface::laugh:, but what does NHL, in this case, stand for?
 
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