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Picture Page October 2012 A shipwrecked cargo of ammunition.......
The following photographs are being reproduced here with permission from Anchor Research & Salvage (SRL). According to their web page (www.arsdr.com), the company is a Dominican Republic corporation that 'was formed in 2009 for the purpose of seeking, documenting, and rescuing significant historical shipwrecks in Caribbean waters'. These photographs show items found and/or recovered from a side-wheeler steamship that was carrying surplus arms and ammunition when it went down sometime around 1900 in 20 feet of water near Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
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. . . . . . . .The photograph above shows the anchor of the ship; one of the pointed ends of the anchor can be seen as the green mass just to the right of center. .
. . . . . . . . . . . This photograph shows the sea bed most likely after the loose sand covering the cargo had been removed, revealing a mass of loose bullets, probably from the boxes that had been on the top and sides of the pallet, the brass cases of these cartridges having corroded away. These appear to be two grooved, round nosed bullets. That some are white while others are black seems a little odd.
. . . . . . . . . . This photograph shows what appears to be a pallet of boxed cartridges. Those boxes stacked on the lower left of the pallet and possibly also stacked along at least a portion of the back side and forming an 'L' look like 20 round boxes of rifle cartridges lying on their sides. The rest of the pallet is made up of 50 round boxes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . The photograph above shows three of the 50 round boxes that were removed from the pallet but are still stuck together with most of the 150 cartridges still in place. They show the alternating nose up/base up packaging that has been the norm in the ammunition industry for 50 round boxes from the1870s until the 1980s or thereabouts when plastic box inserts came into use. . . . . . . . . . . . . .The photographs above and below show 50 round stacked boxes with portions of their labels still intact and legible after 120 or more years in the ocean. I believe the side labels read as follows: 'These cartridges are made expressly for use in Smith & Wesson's .44 calibre Russian Model New Army Revolver according to their specific directions. We unhesitatingly and strongly recommend them for use in this arm'. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company signature in script is at the bottom of the label.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . That these are the .44 Russian cartridge is borne out by the photographs
on the right of a couple of the cartridges from the shipwreck, one showing
the corroded and nearly illegible headstamp. I have included a photograph of
a .44 S&W Russian cartridge made by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company
that was probably made about the same time as these. The cartridges are
black powder loads, based on the lack of a cannelure around the case and
what appears to be a solid mass formed by the bullet and powder seen through
the side of the corroded case.
One can only assume that the ship was also carrying firearms that were chambered for the .44 S&W Russian cartridge, however, no firearms were found when the company was documenting and recovering items from this wreck. Unfortunately, the company will not be salvaging this shipwreck, as the foundation that provides it's funding prefers to focus on older, more historically interesting wrecks. According to my contact who provided the pictures and information on the shipwreck, the ship is thought to be the Steam Yacht "May", a side wheel steamer with a cargo of surplus military supplies, which sank in the area in 1891. .
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