Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-07-20

following articles saved / Uniform Coat,
40 Red Coats, Blue Coats, 6 Waistcoats,
164 Jackets, 4 Striped Jackets, | pair
velvet bretches, | pair white bretches, 40
pairs Bretches, 8 Frocks, Al plain shirts, 81
RULED shirts, 5 white shirts, 3 check shirts,
% pairs Drawers, 46J pairs Of stockings,
(silk, thread and cotton, Is pairs Shoes,
stocks, 2 cravatts, | hat, handkerchief,
aud walking Gains OF other things saved
there were 154-24 pound shot, 3 gun bar
res, 2 Eusigns, l Union Jack, Sundry
Doctors instruments, "a shillings, besides
brass, copper, canvass, one rugg, and The
I Ship Merlin's main deck awnin'
Those who saved these articles were Cap
| tains John Mitchell, William Watkins,
Hugh Montgomery, and Martin Vest
Thomas Townsend, Joseph Best, Richard
Eyre, Hugh Stewart, Thomas Moore
Nathan Boyer, William Potts and Thomas
Huston were the crews.
| In this same Account Book can be seen
the names of the purchasers, and the prices
paid for much of the clothing saved from
the wrecks. John Rice paid e3 $50 for a
Blue Coat, 81 $50 for Red Coat and 81
for another coat, Is shillings for / pair of
Bretehes and five shiiiings for another pair
or Thirty-Five DolIars for ALL Frederick
Burd bought a Marine Coat for e3 and a
white shirt for Is shillines Joseph Wade
paid IS shillings for Blue Coat, aud 81
! for white shirt. John Thornton paid 10
saillings for a Blue Coat, II shillings for
| Linsy Jacket, and 81 for a white shirt
| Jonathan COPELAND bought a Red Jacket for
2s Cd, Blue Jacket for IS Sd Linsy
jacket for IS. Sd. and pair of Blue
Bretches for IS 3D. M. Smith secured
! Blue jacket for Is. 3d., a pair OF bretehes
! for S., Cd. a white shirt for 5 shillings. and
| a check shirt for 2 shillings and six pence
Cash bought good many articles at
these prices: Blue Jackets, 81, los, los ),
Green Jackets, los. White Jackets, rs
| 3d. Linsy Jackets 16s, 1885,, 12s 10s., Is.
3D., 5s., IS. Cd, 2s Sd. Frocks brought
| los and Is 6s White Shirts were sold for
| 81, los, los. SIS. aud as low as Is I'D. Tue
check shirts brought los and IS Cd. Draw
ers went at Is. Sd. and Is Sd The Table
Cloth was sold for los.
| Four wagon loads OF Sails, and four
wagon loads Of s'parcells Of old iron, were
sent to Burlington, New Jersey, for safe
keeping as the following invoice will show:
| Red Bank, Nov. Z, 1777.
| sSir-You have inclosed an invoice Of
Sundry Articles that was saved out of the
Ships Augusta and Merlin, Men of War,
winch please to put Into Some dry Store
| Until further Orders, by Order of Commo-
| dore Lakewood Yrs,
Nashl Gait.
To Emanuel Eyres, Esq,
Burlington =
This is the last record we have from the
/ Augusta, and the American fleet were kept
too busy from that time III assisting in the
defense Of Fort Mif1in to secure more guns
! from the sunken ships On November 81,
| the British opened navigation to Philadel-
| phia, and the American feet sailed up the
river towards Burlington, some of the gal
| leys escaping up Timber Greek.
1t is probable that the British removed
the guns from the upper deck, quarter deck
and foreeastie, which were considerably
| lighter than those Oh the lower deck, be-
cause all the guns which were on her when
she was raised were "a FOUNDERS, and these
she carried on her lower deck.
| From October %, 1877, when she was
sunk lower on Red Bank Shoal by the force
of the explosion, until 1869, ninety-two
years, the Augusta, or all tnat was left of
this once fine man Of war remained on that
shoaI She was me a G to navigation,
| lying lengthwise across the edge of the
channel. This was particularly the case
with the truck boats which came up the
river from the creeks on the Jersey side,
| loaded with produce, for the Philadelphia
market. During the fishing seasons the
fishermen usually staked round the hull,
SO they would not get their nets caught in
the thinkers, and frequently lantern was
| fastened there at night, to warn the fisher
men of its location. / am informed that
at very low tide, with strong west wind,
| 1t was possible to STE some OF the tlInbrTs
sticking out Of the river.
In 1869, she was raised by the American
Dredging Company. The wreck was nearly
covered by sand and mud which had been
carried down the river, and lodged against
her, and it was necessary to dredge her out
| before she could be raised. Pontoons were
then used to float her, and when the water
was pumped out of her, and her hulk made
navigable she was towed up the river to
Gloucester City, anchored near the foot OF
Market street, enclosed with stockade and
ten cents admission charged for view
of what was left Of her. and OF what they
found in her. The parties for whom she
was raised, expected TO find a lot Of money
in the Augusta s stroiss box, but when her
safe was opened, no treasure was ia it, but
some old coins and pennies were found IN
the bold Of the vessel.
One of the cannon taken from the Augu ia
was also on exhibition in the enclosure, and
when fired by its owners on one occasion, 1t
bu st, aud was then sold fer old iron.
In year or two interest Jagged. the
stockade disappeared, the Augusta was
washed up on the beach in very high tide,
where all that is left Of her may now be
seen A man who claimed TO own the
ground where the wreck lay, set her on fire
to clear she ground, but he was not success
1 full The two photographs taken by VIM
H Mccormick which accompany this
paper aud will remain with the other relics
Of this unfortunate frigate give an excellent
idea Of how the hulk looks The photo
graphs are presented to the Historical So
ciety At high tide, only the upper part
of her timbers can be seen