pcolaboy
Hero Member
Please bear with me as this will be long.....
In March of 1781, British Pensacola was under imminent attack by a very large Spanish/French force commanded by Bernardo de Galvez. At the time of the Spanish Fleet's arrival outside the bar into Pensacola Bay the only British Warship in the bay at that time, HMS Mentor, was trapped and unable to leave Pensacola Bay. This vessel was a Sloop-of-War at 220 tons, with 18 twelve pounders, and 6 eighteen pounders. Facing a fleet of 34+ Spanish and French Warships, the commander of the Mentor, Capt. Robert Deans, decided that it would be better that the bulk of his crew be put to use defending the British works surronding Pensacola during the inevitable infantry assault. According to his log book, Capt. Deans orders the remaining skeleton crew of twelve to take the Mentor up the Middle River (now called Blackwater River) located to the extreme northeast of the Pensacola Bay system. While his log book contains EXTREME details of day to day operations, it was rather vaguely and passively written in his log that the Mentor had 'overset', or capsized, in the Middle River on March 23, 1781 due to a sudden rain squall. Two days later, the log again makes a very brief mention that the three crewmen that elected to stay with the Mentor decided to set her ablaze as a small Spanish schooner sailed toward their position. The infantry assault on Pensacola did not really get underway until May at which time the Spanish were victorious and Captain Dean and his log book were captured by the Spanish. When he was finally paroled and sent back to England, there was an Admiralty inquest on the loss of the Mentor that included Horatio Nelson on the committee. Some demanded that Deans be Court Martialed, but during the proceedings the log of the Mentor was finally received from Spanish authorities. Based on the entries in the log, Deans was acquitted and judged to have made a prudent decision to send the Mentor into the very shallow areas of the Middle River.
This wreck has never been found.
FACTS
PROBLEMS
Take a look at my attached map from 1857 showing very detailed soundings (in feet) of the approaches to Blackwater River. Note that the bay referred to as "Santa Maria de Galve Bay" is now called East Bay in the southern extreme and Blackwater Bay in the northern portion. I drew a general path that the ship would have to have taken to get there. Pay close attention to the depths. It's not hard to figure out a general area would have most likely stranded given its draft and the depths of the surrounding waters leading to Blackwater River.
My theory is that the junior officers and crew grounded the vessel well short of Blackwater River on one of the many shoals in the area that are littered with oysters. They then set the Mentor ablaze fearing capture by the Spanish but the Captain probably did not want it noted in the record that the ship did not make it to the desired location as commanded.
Anyone want to put some thought into this? My whole point is that I believe the actual resting place of this wreck is far from where archies has been looking. Is it possible they overlooked these facts and are simply following the log entries without looking at the real world setting?
Thanks,
Pcola
In March of 1781, British Pensacola was under imminent attack by a very large Spanish/French force commanded by Bernardo de Galvez. At the time of the Spanish Fleet's arrival outside the bar into Pensacola Bay the only British Warship in the bay at that time, HMS Mentor, was trapped and unable to leave Pensacola Bay. This vessel was a Sloop-of-War at 220 tons, with 18 twelve pounders, and 6 eighteen pounders. Facing a fleet of 34+ Spanish and French Warships, the commander of the Mentor, Capt. Robert Deans, decided that it would be better that the bulk of his crew be put to use defending the British works surronding Pensacola during the inevitable infantry assault. According to his log book, Capt. Deans orders the remaining skeleton crew of twelve to take the Mentor up the Middle River (now called Blackwater River) located to the extreme northeast of the Pensacola Bay system. While his log book contains EXTREME details of day to day operations, it was rather vaguely and passively written in his log that the Mentor had 'overset', or capsized, in the Middle River on March 23, 1781 due to a sudden rain squall. Two days later, the log again makes a very brief mention that the three crewmen that elected to stay with the Mentor decided to set her ablaze as a small Spanish schooner sailed toward their position. The infantry assault on Pensacola did not really get underway until May at which time the Spanish were victorious and Captain Dean and his log book were captured by the Spanish. When he was finally paroled and sent back to England, there was an Admiralty inquest on the loss of the Mentor that included Horatio Nelson on the committee. Some demanded that Deans be Court Martialed, but during the proceedings the log of the Mentor was finally received from Spanish authorities. Based on the entries in the log, Deans was acquitted and judged to have made a prudent decision to send the Mentor into the very shallow areas of the Middle River.
This wreck has never been found.
FACTS
- Christined and launched as the "Who's Affraid" at an unknown shipyard in Maryland 1778 and placed into service as an American Privateer
- Captured by the British in the Bahamas in 1779
- Refitted in Kingston, Jamaica 1779-1780 for capturing Spanish merchants between Havana, New Orleans, and Mobile then ultimately based in Pensacola
- Several Spanish prize vessels captured and crewed to Pensacola throughout 1780.
- Damaged during a few minor skirmishes with Spanish warships and by a lightning strike on her masts requiring repair at Deer Point in Pensacola Bay in late 1780. Repairs completed by January 1781
- Following repairs, the log indicated that the newly repaired Mentor had an operational draft of 14 feet and a non-ballasted (dry) draft of 11 feet.
- Most of the Mentor's crew is reassigned for land defense around March 19th, 1781
- The Mentor is recorded in the log as having been ordered to sail into to an area that no other vessel of its size had attempted before while being piloted by junior officers and a skeleton crew
- The area and all approaches to the alleged capsizing are less than 10 feet in depth indicated by British soundings in that period as well as modern soundings
- The capsizing event allegedly occurs during a spring rain storm in a sheltered waterway
- The HMS Mentor is 64.5 feet from the upper deck to the top of the main mast
- Having just lost his ship, the only logbook entry by the commander regarding the capsizing event was "The Mentor was overset in the Middle River by a sudden squall."
PROBLEMS
- How do you pilot a large sailing vessel drawing 13-14 feet through a waterway that is 10 feet in depth except for occassional holes of 12 feet with a crew unfamiliar with the waterway?
- How does a 220 ton, high-seas vessel simply capsize in a protected waterway during a rain storm in March?
Take a look at my attached map from 1857 showing very detailed soundings (in feet) of the approaches to Blackwater River. Note that the bay referred to as "Santa Maria de Galve Bay" is now called East Bay in the southern extreme and Blackwater Bay in the northern portion. I drew a general path that the ship would have to have taken to get there. Pay close attention to the depths. It's not hard to figure out a general area would have most likely stranded given its draft and the depths of the surrounding waters leading to Blackwater River.
My theory is that the junior officers and crew grounded the vessel well short of Blackwater River on one of the many shoals in the area that are littered with oysters. They then set the Mentor ablaze fearing capture by the Spanish but the Captain probably did not want it noted in the record that the ship did not make it to the desired location as commanded.
Anyone want to put some thought into this? My whole point is that I believe the actual resting place of this wreck is far from where archies has been looking. Is it possible they overlooked these facts and are simply following the log entries without looking at the real world setting?
Thanks,
Pcola
