Twelve More Revolution Cannons Found in Savannah River-- Part 3:

The HMS Rose was a brig that carried 160 men and twenty 9-pounder cannons.  Earlier, it had worked to control smuggling in Rhode Island and fought and patrolled waters off New York City and up the Hudson River.  Later, it switched operations to the south as the British were hoping they could get the support of many Loyalists there and the ship ended up in Savannah, Georgia, after the British captured it.

But with French ships closing in on the city, the Rose was scuttled on September  19, 1779, to block the Savannah River.

It is possible that the cannons also may have belonged to the  HMS Venus or HMS Savannah which were also scuttled.  The French did not capture the city and kept control of it until almost the war's end.  (I could not find any records on these two ships as British Navy ones, but likely were troopships.  I have seen a couple places where it was mentioned that ships by these names were sunk in the river.)

The cannons appear to date from about the mid 1700s, which would put them  closely aligned to the Rose's history.

The ones found last February were about five feet long.

An interesting story.

--DaCootRose

Twelve More American Revolution Cannons Found in the Savannah River-- Part 2: HMS Rose?

The river bottom of the Savannah River is strewn with all sorts of old stuff , ranging from Indian pottery to parts of a Confederate Civil War ironclad (the CSS Georgia) and other vessels lost dating back to Colonial times.  

When the first three cannons were found during dredging last February east of Savannah's famed River Street, archaeologists and the British Royal Navy  offered an intriguing possibility about their source.

Based on measurements and appearance, those cannons might have been from the British HMS Rose, a ship they scuttled during the American revolution in the Savannah River to block French ships from aiding the colonists who were attempting to retake the city.

But, now further investigation has the ship being sunk farther up the river and that it had had its cannons removed beforehand.

Farther research show that the cannons might have belonged to  British transport ships that were also sunk to block the river's channel.

Archaeologists are hoping further research will bring to light identifying elements of the cannons and matches to what the scuttled ships were carrying as weapons.

So, Whose Cannons?  --Cooter