George Law Firm LLC - Maritime Law Group

Transcription

Charles A. George # / William S. Hammett # / Shawna R. Hillary *
 Admitted in SC / * Of Counsel Admitted in TN - CA
Monday, April 28, 2014
Mr. Kevin Kilcullen
Federal Historic Preservation Officer
Chief Branch of Visitor Services
National Wildlife Refuge System
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mailstop 634
4401 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203
[email protected]
Via: Email and USPS
RE: Request for Determination of Eligibility for the shipwreck site of La Galga
Dear Mr. Kilcullen:
This letter is a formal request for a Determination of Eligibility to the National
Register for the shipwreck site of the La Galga located within the Chincoteague National
Wildlife Refuge. I am appealing to you on behalf of my client, Mr. John L. Amrhein, Jr.,
for a Determination of Eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places for the above
referenced cultural resource pursuant to Section 2(b) of Executive Order 11593 which
says that “The agency head shall refer any questionable actions to the Secretary of the
Interior for an opinion respecting the property's eligibility for inclusion on the National
Register of Historic Places.” This is a follow-up to the recent request that was made by
my office for a Determination of Eligibility to the National Register for the shipwreck site
of the La Galga located within the Chincoteague National Wildlife refuge.
As you know, the request was made directly to Ms. Carol Shull, the Interim Keeper
of the National Register of Historic Places. 36 CFR 63.4(c) says that “Such determinations
may be made without a specific request from the Federal agency.” 36 CFR 60.3 says that
the Keeper is the individual who has been delegated the authority by National Park
Service (NPS) to list properties and determine their eligibility.” You sir also received a
copy of the request and the associated documents as you were on the submission mail-
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
Mount Pleasant, SC 29465-0354
www.maritimelg.com
out list and your office signed the return receipt and mailed it back to my office indicating
that you received the submission packet.
Ms. Shull, via her March 6, 2014 letter to me, (you were copied on this letter as
well) informed me that the request for a Determination of Eligibility to the National Register
be made directly to the USFWS which has control of the shipwreck site because the site
is located in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We are complying with Ms.
Shull’s request by way of this letter.
In essence you have, and we have provided, all the necessary documents to
submit the Request for Determination of Eligibility for the shipwreck site of La Galga for a
determination of eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. If you
require us to resubmit our request with your office, please let me know in a timely fashion
and we will comply. If you do not require us to reapply, I respectfully request that you
proceed with the process.
The location map provided in the submission packet sent to you and your office,
clearly delineates the site of the La Galga, hereinafter designated as the Area of Potential
Effect (APE), which is nearly two miles south of the present Maryland - Virginia border
and is in the Chincoteague National Wildlife refuge.
Simply put, this means that you and your office are the proper authority for this
request for a Determination of Eligibility to the National Register at this time.
For the record and let me be clear; this is not a submission to nominate to the
National Register. This is a request for determination of eligibility only.
The Determination of Eligibility to the National Register Requested is Required by Law
On February 19, 2008, Gray and Pape, Cultural Resource Managers in Richmond,
Virginia, filed a permit application under the Archaeological Resource Protection Act
(ARPA) to conduct remote sensing in a non-disturbance survey of the area of potential
effects within the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge which is believed to contain the
remains of the Spanish warship, La Galga, which ran ashore on Assateague Island in
1750. This survey was sponsored by my client, Mr. John Amrhein, Jr.
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
Mr. Amrhein’s motivation for undertaking this survey is because federal authorities
have so far refused to do make the legally required survey since the discovery of the site
in 1983 and subsequent presentation to the USFWS and other agencies. According to
ARPA, Section 14 (a) & (b), Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA),
and Section 2(a) of Executive Order 11593, the responsibility for verification of cultural
resources under the control of the USFWS is clearly the responsibility of the USFWS not
my client, although as an individual he has a right to participate according to the
aforementioned laws. Mr. Amrhein’s stated goal is to see the shipwreck excavated and
displayed in a museum in much the same manner as the steamboat Bertrand in the
Desoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the Bertrand collection is recognized as
nationally significant and the Cultural Resource Management Program there states that
the collection is the “legal responsibility of the U.S. government through the Fish and
Wildlife Service.” The shipwreck site of La Galga is no different.
Furthermore, according to the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act
of 1997, Sec. 7, Refuge Conservation Planning Program, (E)(2)(c), the management plan
for a shipwreck site like La Galga is required to be disclosed to the public via the
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the Refuge that is now many months
overdue.
The law states: “In developing each comprehensive conservation plan under this
subsection for a planning unit, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall identify
and describe the archaeological and cultural values of the planning unit.” The regulations
and policy found in the USFWS Manual 614 3.1 (B)(3)&(4) require that “Identified cultural
resources in category 4 that may be affected by a Service ‘undertaking’ as defined in 36
CFR 800.16(y) must be evaluated using the criteria found in 36 CFR 60.4 to determine
whether they are eligible for listing in the National Register.” Until that official
determination is made, the site is potentially eligible and according to 36 CFR 63.2(c) the
National Register Criteria for Evaluation must be applied to the site of La Galga and/or
otherwise the APE.
The CCP is an undertaking within the meaning of the 36 CFR 800.16(y) and so
is the USFWS’s refusal to comply with Executive Order 11593 Section 2(a) which
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
requires that cultural resources be located, inventoried, and nominated to the National
Register. Executive Order 11593 goes even further and specifically states that “[w]here,
after such reconsideration, the Federal agency head proposes to transfer, sell, demolish
or substantially alter the property he shall not act with respect to the property until the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation shall have been provided an opportunity to
comment on the proposal.”
In layman’s terms, a Section 106 review is in order in the La Galga matter and
needs to be completed before the issuance of the CCP or any final disposal of the ARPA
permit; neither of which have taken place so far. The Determination of Eligibility is a
statutory prerequisite. Only one of the four (4) criteria cited for eligibility at 36 CFR 60.4
needs to be met to advance to a Section 106 review. As was clearly documented in the
request for a determination of eligibility package that you received, La Galga has met all
four of these criteria.
Additional Law Mandating the Identification and Evaluation of Cultural Resource Sites
There is additional law that requires you to act on this request in an efficient and
prompt manner with no more delay. 36 CFR Section 800.4(b)(1) states that the USFWS
“shall make a reasonable and good faith effort to carry out appropriate identification
efforts.” Section 2(b) of Executive Order 11593 says that “The agency head shall refer
any questionable actions to the Secretary of the Interior for an opinion respecting the
property's eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Executive Order 13287, Preserve America, states that cultural resources, like La
Galga that lies within the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, need to be inventoried
and evaluated for their suitability to contribute to community economic development
initiatives, including heritage tourism. 36 CFR 800.2(c)(3) states that representatives of
local governments are entitled to participate in the Section 106 review as consulting
parties and under the spirit of the law they must be included in the process. Because of
the outstanding ARPA permit, I also request that you recognize my client as a consulting
party pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(c)(4).
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
The Interim Keeper, Ms. Carol Shull stated that she cannot make the determination
until you officially request it. It appears that all agencies involved have been properly
noticed by way of the email sent by the Interim Keeper, Ms. Carol Shull, on March 6. I am
now respectfully requesting that you make a formal request for a Determination of
Eligibility to the National Register for the shipwreck site of the La Galga.
I am thanking you in advance for your prompt and cheerful cooperation in this
matter and please feel free to contact me directly 404-441-3100 or email me
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
Very Truly Yours;
Charles A. George Esq.
Managing Partner
CAG/jbl
CC:
Ms. Carol D. Shull
Interim Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places
Chief, Heritage Education Services
National Park Service
[email protected]
Mr. Eugene Marino
Deputy Federal Preservation officer
Service Archaeologist
National Wildlife Refuge System
Division of Visitor Services and Communications
4401 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203
[email protected]
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
Ms. Anne Marocchini Sittauer
Refuge Supervisor - South Zone (NY, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV)
Northeast Regional Office
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035-9589
[email protected]
Ms. Deborah Darden
Superintendent, Assateague Island National Seashore
7206 National Seashore Lane
Berlin, MD 21811
[email protected]
Mr. David L Conlin Ph .D.
Archeologist, Chief
Submerged Resources Center
12795 West Alameda Pkwy
Lakewood, CO 80228
[email protected]
Mr. Jim Kendrick
Regional Archeologist
115 John Street
Lowell, MA 01852
[email protected]
Mr. J. Rodney Little
State Historic Preservation Officer
Maryland Historical Trust
100 Community Place
Crownsville , MD 21032-2023
[email protected]
Ms. Julie Langan
Director and State Historic Preservation Officer
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
DHR Headquarters, Richmond Central Office
2801 Kensington Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221
[email protected]
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
Ms. Pam Schenian
Tidewater Regional Preservation Office
14415 Old Courthouse Way, 2nd Floor
Newport News, VA 23608
[email protected]
Mr. John Eddins
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Old Post Office Building, Suite 803
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
[email protected]
Ms. Katry Harris
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Old Post Office Building, Suite 803
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
[email protected]
Mr. Scott B. Kahan
Acting Regional Director
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035-9589
[email protected]
Mr. Kevin Holcomb
Refuge Manager
Chincoteague NWR
P.O. Box 62
823 1 Beach Road
Chincoteague, VA 23336-0062
[email protected]
(888) 240-8510 Office
(404) 441-3100 Cell
(843) 972-8466 FAX
P.O. Box 354
www.maritimelg.com
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register
Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being
documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only
categories and subcategories from the instructions.
1. Name of Property
Historic name: _____La Galga Shipwreck Site__________________
Other names/site number: ______________________________________
Name of related multiple property listing:
_______N/A_________________________________________________
(Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Location
Street & number: __Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge______
City or town: __Chincoteague____ State: VA__________ County: Accomack__
Not For Publication: *
Vicinity: *
*The locational information contained herein has been publicly known since 1983
___________________________________________________________________________
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,
I hereby certify that this
nomination _X__ request for determination of eligibility meets
the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic
Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the property ___ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I
recommend that this property be considered significant at the following
level(s) of significance:
___national
___statewide
Applicable National Register Criteria:
_ _A
_ __B
__ C
___local
___D
Signature of certifying official/Title:
Date
______________________________________________
State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government
1
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
La Galga Shipwreck Site
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
In my opinion, the property
meets
does not meet the National Register criteria.
Signature of commenting official:
Date
Title :
State or Federal agency/bureau
or Tribal Government
______________________________________________________________________________
4. National Park Service Certification
I hereby certify that this property is:
entered in the National Register
determined eligible for the National Register
determined not eligible for the National Register
removed from the National Register
other (explain:) _____________________
______________________________________________________________________
Signature of the Keeper
Date of Action
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Classification
Ownership of Property
(Check as many boxes as apply.)
Private:
Public – Local
Public – State
Public – Federal
X
Category of Property
(Check only one box.)
Building(s)
District
Site
X
Structure
Sections 1-6 page 2
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Object
Number of Resources within Property
(Do not include previously listed resources in the count)
Contributing
Noncontributing
_____________
_____________
buildings
_____________
sites
_____________
_____________
structures
_____________
_____________
objects
_____1______
______________
Total
_
_1______
Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ___0_____
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions
(Enter categories from instructions.)
__TRANSPORTATION: Water-related(ship)
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Current Functions
_TRANSPORTATION: Water-related (Shipwreck)_
_LANDSCAPE: Wildlife Refuge_
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Sections 1-6 page 3
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
_____________________________________________________________________________
7. Description
Architectural Classification
_OTHER: 18th Century Spanish warship_
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Materials: (enter categories from instructions.)
Principal exterior materials of the property: ___wood; iron fastenings_________
Narrative Description
(Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe
contributing and noncontributing resources applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that
briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style,
method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has
historic integrity.)
______________________________________________________________________________
Summary Paragraph
SUMMARY
The remains of Spanish warship, La Galga, lie buried in the Chincoteague National Wildlife
Refuge in the immediate area that straddles latitude thirty-eight degrees and in the area known
today as Old Fields’ Pond, a waterfowl impoundment that covers the remnants of the inlet which
encapsulated the shipwreck shortly after she drove ashore on September 5, 1750.(Huony, 1751)
It is this shipwreck that created the legend that the ponies that run wild there today descended
from those that swam ashore from this shipwreck. The preponderance of the evidence suggests
that the legend is true and that the notion that they descended from horses abandoned in the 17th
century is now contradicted. The wild ponies of Assateague are the number one tourist attraction
on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
______________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Description
Sections 1-6
7 page 41
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
SETTING
The physical appearance of the shipwreck site has changed dramatically since 1750 and the
shipwreck was instrumental to those changes. There was a rapid outgrowth of the beach
immediately after the wreck witnessed by a large level sand beach opposite the wreck in 1840,
Fig. 7-3. This plat shows a “Wear Bay.” A “weir” or “wear,” is an obstruction in a stream that
diverts its course. The end of Wear Bay coincides with the obstructing shipwreck. There were
changes from 1840 to 1859, Fig. 7-4 which resulted in leaving Assateague much as it is today.
This area has remained basically unaltered since 1859 except that there is a dirt road of modern
origin through the site and construction of a dam and water gate to permit flooding of the area
that contains the remains of La Galga. No portion of the wreck site is visible today but the
shipwreck itself permanently altered the landscape.
The pond is bordered on the west by a narrow band of marsh and associated grasses which
separate the pond from the pine forest. On the east, a narrow band of marsh followed by rolling
sand dunes then a sloping beach to the ocean. To the north is the access road and marsh. To the
south is marsh. The pond itself attracts migratory waterfowl and the wild ponies come here to
drink. This area is open to hunting during the season in a controlled fashion.
SITE INVESTIGATIONS
The most important clues to locating the shipwreck are found in the Maryland Archives. In Spain
Captain Huony testified he was “on the border” between Maryland and Virginia but was told he
was in Virginia.(Huony, 1751) There was conflict among the locals over the salvage of the
wreck after Captain Huony told them that “the owner of the land” owned the shipwreck. This
resulted in a survey to establish the line, probably initiated by the sheriff of Worcester County,
MD, John Scarborough (Brown, 1908:482). While Captain Huony was in Norfolk, VA, he
received a report on the survey placing the wreck within two ship lengths inside of Maryland. He
wrote the Governor of Maryland to report on the survey result and to apologize for his
misunderstanding on the boundary.(Brown, 1908:491) The locals most likely informed him of
the boundary line of Maryland and Virginia found in the patents of 1687, Fig. 7-2. That line may
have been marked by the same tree documented in 1859 by Charles Ferguson Fig. 7-4. The 1750
survey proves that the boundary line was moved south from what Captain Huony was told while
at Assateague. In September of 1750, Acting Governor of Virginia, Thomas Lee, wrote the
Board of Trade in England stating that the boundary on the seaside of Virginia ended “about
latitude thirty eight degrees.” Some late 18th and early 19th century maps bear this out. The
modern boundary line between the two states was not monumented until 1883, whereby Virginia
lost a considerable area of Chincoteague Bay and Assateague Island to Maryland.
Sheriff John Scarborough reported to the governor on the state of the shipwreck.(Brown
1908:481-2) When mentioning the mahogany planks on board for the King’s palace being built
in Madrid, he said that there were thousands of pounds worth that could be gotten before the
“ship bursts with the sea and sinks into the land.” The Spanish reported that after three days the
ship was “covered with sand.”(Huony 1751). These statements, taken literally, reinforce the
present condition of the wreck as being buried within Assateague Island. The ship had come
ashore in or next to a small inlet. The remains of the wreck were soon totally covered as the
Section 7 page 25
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
beach built out. The location of the wreck as being buried on Assateague was remembered by a
few families over the centuries. These same families also claimed that the wild horses on
Assateague today owe their origin to this shipwreck. They also recall the rescue by the Indians
that was recorded in the Spanish archives.
Between 1980 and 1982, John Amrhein, Jr., with others, made several organized attempts to
located La Galga in the ocean with no success (Amrhein 1983: Exh. L-2). Archival research
uncovered in 1982 proved that the beach had grown out in the area of latitude thirty-eight
degrees. New information was also discovered in the Accomack County Courthouse which
proved that the present line between Maryland and Virginia was not operative in 1750. That line
was at latitude thirty-eight degrees, Fig. 7-2, (Amrhein, 1983:7). It was recorded in this fashion
on some 18th and 19th century maps.(Griffith, 1795). Mitchell, (1846) records the tangential line
on the mainland and correctly records the line at latitude 38 degrees as it crosses Assateague
Island.
The boundary line of Virginia was in dispute from the very beginning of the Maryland colony in
1632. In 1668, Edmund Scarburgh surveyed the boundary running a line from the Pocomoke
River on a tangential line across the Peninsula to the edge of Chincoteague Bay. The line was
supposed to be a due east line which would have ended just a little south of latitude 38 degrees,
the prescribed boundary. The line was not run across to Assateague until 1883 and it was an
extension of the erroneous tangential line on the mainland, not a due east line as prescribed. The
location of La Galga proves the location of the Colonial Boundary. The line was not set on
Assateague until 1883(Peninsula Enterprise, December 6, 1883, Eastern Shore Public Library.
In early 1983, Amrhein and his team leased/purchased a Geometrics 856 portable magnetometer
to facilitate a land survey. Because the survey in the area of latitude 38° was greatly hampered by
the pond, survey work was performed along the beach and marshes from that area north to the
present line. A marine sensor was also towed in Pope Island Bay. Nothing of import was
discovered. (Amrhein 1983: Exh. M-2) The search resumed in the area of the pond after
interviews with two locals from Chincoteague who recalled childhood accounts that the
legendary Spanish galleon had not only wrecked in this area but was buried within the island.
This new information resulted in detection of magnetic anomalies in the immediate area of
latitude thirty eight degrees. No other anomalies were detected in the surrounding areas.
Other Investigations
1980-81. Subaqueous Exploration and Archaeology, Ltd., a Maryland corporation, spent a great
deal of time surveying and diving the area just below the Maryland-Virginia line. The only thing
discovered was the scarce remains of a shipwreck about eighty yards off the beach and a half
mile south of the present Maryland-Virginia border. The corporation was led to this site because
of fraudulent “research” offered by the SEA, Ltd. founder, Donald F. Stewart (Amrhein 2007).
Amrhein served as Assistant Project Director responsible for magnetometer operation and diving
for SEA, Ltd.
Section 7 page 263
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
1980-82. Alan Riebe applied for a permit with the help of Daniel A. Koski-Karell, archaeologist,
to explore for La Galga along the coast of Assateague Island in the area between latitude thirty
eight degrees and the modern boundary line. Although Riebe located some artifactual evidence
of a shipwreck in the same area identified by SEA, Ltd. as a shipwreck, nothing was found to
suggest that a man-of-war was lost at this location. No cannonballs or musket shot or any
evidence of an armed vessel was found. The Commonwealth of Virginia denied the permit in
1982. Riebe then relocated to North Carolina to search for the El Salvador of the 1750 fleet lost
at Cape Lookout. (Amrhein, 2007:481)
1982-83. Amrhein and four other former investors of SEA, Ltd. and an attorney from Virginia
Beach, formed Ocean Recovery Operations, Inc. to look for La Galga. The ocean survey
conducted with a Varian proton magnetometer produced no results other than what had been
located by SEA, Ltd. New research proved that the island had built out and documents found in
the Accomack County Courthouse verified the all-important boundary line. Nothing was found
in the ocean at latitude thirty eight degrees. One of the members of this group was Richard Cook.
1983. Sam Margolin, an archaeologist working for the Commonwealth of Virginia, performed
magnetometer searches in the areas already worked by SEA, Ltd, Amrhein, and Riebe in the
hopes of locating La Galga. As of 1994 La Galga was still listed as documented but not yet
discovered. (Margolin 1994:97-8)
1983-1989. In 1989, Richard Cook with his Alpha Quest Corporation received an exploration
permit from the Commonwealth of Virginia VMRC #89-0671-2 to search for La Galga in the
area that SEA, LTD, Amrhein, and Riebe had worked in previous years. Cook spent several
years doing sporadic research in this area and recovered artifacts which could not be attributed to
La Galga. Cook ignored the findings in Amrhein (1983) related to the all important boundary
line and struck out on his own convinced that what Donald Stewart had told him about the
boundary and other research was true.
1996. A corporation called Sea Hunt, Inc, owned and operated by Ben Benson, brought a great
deal of money and equipment to the Eastern Shore to search for shipwrecks. He was introduced
to Richard Cook who provided his research to Benson telling him that he had already located La
Galga years before. Based on what Cook had told him, he filed for a recovery permit from the
Commonwealth of Virginia (VRMC #97-0163 and #97-0498). In 1998, Sea Hunt filed claim to
La Galga in federal court (Sea Hunt v. Unidentified.., 2:98cv281, U.S. ED of VA). Benson told
the court that he had spent 400 hours of searching for La Galga. In 2002, his attorney, Peter
Hess, admitted to Amrhein that Sea Hunt had not found La Galga and then admitted that he
knew that Amrhein had documented the shipwreck as being with the Chincoteague National
Wildlife Refuge. Benson (Benson 1997) was persuaded to look for La Galga because the
USFWS had ignored Amrhein’s findings (Amrhein 1983).
In 2002, the National Park Service sponsored an Archaeological Overview and Assessment
performed by the Maryland Historical Trust with Dr. Susan E. Langley as Chief Investigator.
Her report (Langley, 2002) fails to document any success of locating La Galga in the ocean
adjoining Assateague. Documented in her report is oral testimony from locals that the shipwreck
Section 7 page 247
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
is buried beneath Old Field’s Pond as documented by Amrhein in 1983. This survey was
prompted by the Sea Hunt litigation. (See LAW below)
2008. An ARPA permit application was filed with USFWS by Gray & Pape cultural resource
managers of Richmond, Virginia on February 19, 2008, to perform a non-intrusive magnetic
survey. Although there has been no action taken on the application, the actions by the USFWS
and the Spanish Embassy to stall the process and the mandates found in Executive Order 11593,
Sect. 2(a-b) and the USFWS service manual 602 FW3 confirms for the purposes of eligibility to
the National Register that this archaeological site contains the remains of La Galga.
Section 7 page 25
8
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Section 7 page 269
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Section 7 page 210
7
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Section 7 page 28
11
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Section 7 page 2912
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Section 7 page 210
13
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
_________________________________________________________________
8. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria
(Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register
listing.)
X
A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history.
X
B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
X
C. Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values,
or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack
individual distinction.
X
D. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history.
Criteria Considerations
(Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.)
A. Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes
B. Removed from its original location
C. A birthplace or grave
D. A cemetery
E. A reconstructed building, object, or structure
F. A commemorative property
G. Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years
Section 78 page 211
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Name of Property
County and State
Areas of Significance
_ARCHAEOLOGY/Historic, Non-aboriginal
_Maritime History____
_Military___________
_Law______________
_Literature _________
___________________
___________________
Period of Significance
__1731-50__________
___________________
___________________
Significant Dates
__
1750
_
___________________
___________________
Significant Person
(Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.)
_Marguerite Henry ___
_Daniel Huony_______
___________________
Cultural Affiliation
_First Spanish Period__
_Contact Period______
_Colony to Nation____
Architect/Builder
_Juan Cassanova______
___________________
___________________
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Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes
level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any
applicable criteria considerations.)
The La Galga shipwreck site is nationally significant as it is tied to two classics in children’s
literature: Misty of Chincoteague and Treasure Island. This site meets Criteria A, B, C, and D
according to 36 CFR 60.4 and National Register Bulletin #20. The period of significance, 17311750, spans the time from when La Galga was built until she wrecked in 1750. This date span is
important for both the historical and archaeological record. (See details MILITARY)
La Galga is not only important to the eighteenth century historical record but she played a
pivotal role in the evolution of an entire island community—that of Chincoteague Island,
Virginia. The number one tourist attraction on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is the wild ponies of
Assateague Island. To date, and analyzed here, the preponderance of the evidence proves that the
legend is true that there were horses aboard La Galga when she wrecked. What cannot be
disputed is that La Galga is responsible for the Spanish shipwreck legend whether there were
horses aboard or not. This shipwreck would also find its way into a federal courthouse with the
result of a legal precedent of international significance. (See LAW below)
______________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of
significance.)
Historical Context
On August 18, 1750, the Spanish man-of-war, La Galga, departed Havana, Cuba for Spain,
escorting six other ships which consisted of four Spanish merchant ships, a Portuguese merchant
and a schooner belonging to the King of Spain. They were carrying New World products and
treasure. La Galga’s departure had been delayed due to repairs on the ship and waiting for cargos
and crew to arrive and be loaded. This delay linked La Galga with the disastrous fate of the fleet
she was assigned to protect. This delay also changed the course of history.
On August 25, 1750, the fleet encountered a hurricane off of Cape Canaveral, Florida, a point
where the fleet would have turned east towards Spain. The hurricane disabled the ships leaving
them at the mercy of the winds and the north-bound Gulf Stream. The ships were propelled to the
coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. Two of the ships made it safely into Hampton Roads,
Virginia. At North Carolina, El Salvador was lost at Cape Lookout and Nuestra Señora de
Soledad was lost at Old Drum Inlet. The Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe was driven to Ocracoke
Inlet and was unable to proceed. The King’s schooner, Nuestra Señora de Mercedes, was lost on
the shoals six leagues north of Cape Charles at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. La Galga drove
ashore on Assateague Island on September 5, 1750.
La Galga sat in shallow water a very short distance from the beach and in or adjoining a small
inlet. None of the crew died during the storm or on board the ship. Several died trying to swim
ashore on pieces of the wreck. This included one Englishman who was being held prisoner by
the Spanish. On the third day some Indians arrived who aided the Spaniards with their canoes
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OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
and some crew made a raft from ship wreckage and made it to shore (Huony 1751). It wasn’t
until the following day that the English arrived and carried Captain Don Daniel Huony and his
crew to the mainland in Worcester County, Maryland. Spanish records show that there were not
only a number of desertions of prisoners but of the Spanish crew as well. Some of these may
have been absorbed into the neighboring settlements without returning home. Captain Huony
ultimately returned home to Spain in early 1751.
Oral Tradition
Oral traditions are a critically important tool in preserving, protecting and understanding cultural
resources. Oral traditions can augment and expand the historical record. The word “legend” has
always been used when talking about the origin of the Assateague ponies as being associated
with a Spanish shipwreck. Until now (Amrhein 2007), no one has correlated actual archival
documents about the Spanish shipwreck, La Galga, with the oral traditions that have not only
persisted but have been noted in the written record over the centuries.
The legend that the wild horses on Assateague came from a Spanish shipwreck became
internationally known with the publication of Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague in 1947
(Henry 1947). Mrs. Henry came to Chincoteague in 1946 to see the legendary wild ponies
because she had heard of the Spanish shipwreck legend.1 She heard firsthand the legend from
Clarence and Ida Beebe, horse ranchers whose roots went back centuries on Chincoteague
Island. She documents in her book the legend as it was remembered by the Beebe’s. Clarence
Beebe says that the legend is true, “All the wild herds on Assateague be descendants of a bunch
of Spanish hosses… legends be the only stories as is true!” Clarence Beebe went further and
stated that “Why I heard ‘twas the Indians who chanced on ‘em first.”(Henry, 1947:38-40)
Mrs. Henry was told that the shipwreck had occurred before the white man had arrived. That
premise is documented in Footner, (1942:219). Footner stated that “the Spanish galleon was
wrecked on Assateague four hundred years ago.” Mrs. Henry took literary license and created a
fictional ship called the Santo Christo said to be carrying ponies from Spain for the Viceroy of
Peru to work in the mines. The legend, as recorded by Marguerite Henry and remembered by
many, says that a Spanish ship wrecked possibly in the 1500s and that the crew were rescued by
the Indians. The Indian involvement is documented again in Scribner’s Monthly in April 1877,
predating Misty of Chincoteague by seventy years. It is recorded here that “the whites were
rescued by the then friendly Indians and carried to the mainland, whence they found their way to
some of the early settlements” (Pyle 1877:737). This description post dates Jamestown (1607) by
a number of years and agrees with La Galga’s captain’s account of traveling to Snow Hill, MD
and Norfolk, VA after being rescued (Huony 1751). Because some accounts of the legend do not
mention the white man, historians, as well as some of the old families of Chincoteague, have
erroneously assumed that the legendary shipwreck must have occurred before the English settled
the area in the mid 17th century.
1. Website Misty of Chincoteague Foundation http://www.mistyofchincoteague.org/author.html
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Chincoteague was an insular community until the causeway was built from the mainland to the
island in 1922. Up until then, packet boats from the mainland were the primary means of
communication. With this causeway came others to settle on Chincoteague not only from
Accomack County but other states as well. With the influx of “come here’s,” as they are locally
known, came the dilution and corruption of the islands local traditions.
When Howard Pyle visited Chincoteague in the 1870’s there were individuals alive that were
probably only two generations away from the 1750 shipwreck. The 1870 federal census lists 239
families residing in the Islands Township which included not only Assateague and Chincoteague
but the other islands on the Eastern Shore of Accomack. There were a total of 1,122 men women
and children. Included in these there were five individuals over seventy, fourteen over sixty and
thirty seven over fifty years of age.
In 1884, Wallace’s Monthly provided a detailed account of the oral tradition:
“Away back in the dim and misty past, beyond the reach of the memory of the oldest and
perforce most wrinkled and weather-beaten native, a ship, freighted deep with Spanish horses,
went ashore on the treacherous sands of Chincoteague Island.” “…some of the horses swam
ashore and lived.” “Just how long ago the ship went ashore, or how many horses saved
themselves from the wreck, or whether the crew was drowned or not, or where the ship cleared
from or where she was sailing to, no man knows.” The account said the ship wrecked either upon
“…the southern point Chincoteague Island or upon the barren wasteland called
Assateague Beach.” “The original Spanish horses were small…” “A taint of
inferior blood was introduced into the Chincoteague drove through some farm
horses ferried across the bay from Maryland some years ago…”“Many years
after the wreck of the Spanish ship a handful of fisherman settled on
Chincoteague.”
More references to the horses and the shipwreck:
1913. Harper’s Monthly Magazine of October, article by Maude Radford Warren, titled “The
Island of Chincoteague,” describes the horses as strong, shaggy, small creatures, somewhat
larger than Shetland ponies. The ponies were said to have come “from some wrecked vessel in
the eighteenth or perhaps seventeenth century.”
1929. Ralph Poole of the Baltimore Sun visited Chincoteague and describes the pony penning,
“The origin of the Chincoteague ponies is shadowed in the mists of the past. They have roamed
the island for many, many years; as long, in fact, as the oldest residents can remember, and
longer. There is a tradition that the first one swam ashore from a Spanish ship, wrecked off
Chincoteague in Colonial days.” “The Isle of Ponies,” Baltimore Sun, August 11, 1929.
1941. Year uncertain. Article in Baltimore Sun by Katherine S. Edmonds writing about
Chincoteague and the horses: Paragraph heading “Swam from a Spanish Ship”, “Mrs.[Victoria
Watson] Pruitt’s grandfather, the eighteenth century Robert Watson, is authority for the story
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Name of Property
County and State
that a Spanish ship filled with horses was wrecked off Assateague, nearby island, and some of
the horses swam ashore. This is the generally accepted version of the ponies’ origin and some
who support it hold that the animals were stunted by their environment and by their diet of marsh
grass.” The Watson family owned land on Assateague south of latitude 38° from the late 18th
century. The Watson family lived on the mainland opposite the shipwreck of La Galga in 1750.
1943 Mears Scrapbook, p. 42, Louis Watson of Chincoteague High School, “There is an old
legend about our ponies which states that a Spanish vessel which was loaded with horses was
shipwrecked and some survived.”
Historians familiar with the subject are unanimous that there were no horses on Assateague when
the English settled the area. But that does not disprove the legend. It merely shifts the legendary
shipwreck to a more recent time period.
The Indian connection associated with the legend ties La Galga to the legend. Documented in the
Archives of Spain it is record that the Indians rescued the crew of La Galga.2 However, the date
or century of the event got pushed back by the residents of the Eastern Shore because of the
misinterpretation of the Indian connection. The Indian connection found in the legend persuaded
people to date the event prior to the arrival of the English, not just on the Eastern Shore but the
Jamestown settlement of 1607 as well. (Footner 1942)
In 1911, historian Jennings Cropper Wise was inclined to believe “that some of the planters of
the peninsula, in order to avoid the expense of fencing off the marshes on the mainland,
transported their stock to the nearby islands about this time, and that this is the true origin of the
Chincoteague pony concerning which so many fables have been written.” He goes on to say
“These horses were periodically driven into a pen and the foals branded with the mark of the
owner; and in order to prevent any secret encroachments upon the rights of others, it was
generally required that notice of the penning should be posted at the parish church two weeks
before the drive. Here then is not only a reasonable origin for the pony, but the origin of the
pony-penning as well! Why look to shipwrecks and pirates?”(Wise 1911:307-9).
It is this one author who guided those that followed (Ames 1940, Turman 1964, Bearss 1968) to
reach the same conclusion. From the sources used by Wise, it is easily observed that he had no
knowledge about the Spanish man-of-war, La Galga, that ran ashore on Assateague in 1750. He
was not even a resident of the Eastern Shore. He was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1884 and is
remembered for his work as professor and commandant of cadets at the Virginia Military
Institute. Wise would not have known about La Galga because no one did until the Archives of
Maryland were published in 1908 which contained the letter from Captain Daniel Huony to the
Governor of Maryland giving the precise location of the wreck—two ship lengths on the
Maryland side of the border as the border was understood to be at that time in 1750. (Brown
1908: 493-4) It took years before Huony’s letter became generally known.
2. The crew made their way to land in “Indian canoes” (canoas de Indios). Letter, December 2, 1750, from the
Duque de Sotomayor in Lisbon to the Marqués de Ensenada. Based on a sailor’s testimony. Secretaría de Marina
503, AGS.
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Name of Property
County and State
There is no “legend” that the horses descended from those abandoned by 17th century colonials.
It is only the “theory” of Jennings Cropper Wise and others. What has been published in recent
decades that subscribes to that notion is the result of modern historians making assumptions
without the complete record before them. Their errors, over time, have become historical fact.
The media, hungry to write about the horses, consult only the tourist literature that precedes
them. Almost all of this can be attributed to Wise. The limitations of a century old opinion made
without all of the necessary facts now forms the basis for what is currently disseminated by the
National Park Service.
1968: The Historical Base Map of Assateague Island
In 1962, the National Park Service acquired what is today the Assateague Island National
Seashore. The lands extended south to the Maryland-Virginia line which separates the Park
Service land from the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge which had been acquired by the
Department of Interior in 1943. With this purchase the federal government not only became the
gate keepers that controlled public access to the island but they also assumed responsibility to
disseminate their interpretation of the origin of the ponies.
Today the official position of the National Park Service is that the horses “are descendants of
domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state” and that “this is the most plausible
explanation.” The NPS mentions the shipwreck theory but fails to recognize that there even was
a Spanish shipwreck on their website.3 The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge website
reiterates the NPS position and discounts the shipwreck theory while not even recognizing that
there was a Spanish shipwreck. This can be directly traced to the misconceptions of Wise. The
U.S. Fish & Wildlife service has gone a step further to introduce a third “theory” which they give
equal consideration to the shipwreck “theory:”
“Another legendary theory claims the famed pirate Black Beard, gifted a heard (sic) of horses to
one of his 14 wives, who lived on Assateague Island.”4
This statement has no basis in historical fact. Pirates almost always fought ship to ship. They did
not need nor carry horses. If ever a pirate needed horses it would have been Henry Morgan who
attacked the Spanish New World provinces of Porto Bello and Panama in the 17th century. He
had no horses.(Talty, 2007) There is enough written about Blackbeard, alias Edward Teach, to
prove that this statement is pure nonsense. As for having a wife on Assateague, this
misconception was probably born from a Hill Drummond, who received a patent for part of
Pope’s Island and Assateague in 1700. There is no evidence that Drummond occupied the land as
it appears that the patent conflicted with an earlier Maryland patent. Some unsupportable
accounts say that Drummond was Blackbeard’s real name, not Teach. Wikipedia notes that there
is no support for his name as Drummond.
3. NPS website http://www.nps.gov/asis/naturescience/horses.htm
4. USFWS Website http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/ponies.html. It should be recognized that pirate tales and
ghost stories were often told to amuse children, neither of which had any basis in fact.
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Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
In 1968, Edwin Bearss, a Park Service Historian and an expert in the Civil war, undertook to
research the basic history of Assateague Island. (Bearss 1968:18) In his final report he
documented that:
“A popular tradition is that the first settlers found large numbers of wild horses on the meadows
of Assateague and Chincoteague Islands, the parent stock having come ashore from a
shipwrecked Spanish galleon. There is no documentary foundation for this tale.” His conclusion
was reached from one referenced work only; that of Jennings Cropper Wise 1911, Bearss was
only addressing the legend as told in Misty of Chincoteague and in Footner that the legendary
shipwreck occurred 400 years earlier. He also relied on Wise’s belief that the horses were merely
the result of abandonment by the 17th century Colonists. But unlike Wise, he had knowledge of
the shipwreck of La Galga from three pages published in the Archives of Maryland. But then his
source and methods are questionable and his conclusions have proven unsupportable.5 He never
suggested in his report that La Galga might be the legendary galleon because he had already
dismissed the Spanish shipwreck theory.
There is direct evidence that the horses described by Bearss et. al. were destroyed in a
tremendous northeast storm in October of 1749. The Maryland Gazette of October 18, 1749,
reported that nearly all of the cattle and horses on Assateague were drowned. Seawater extended
two miles into the mainland and at Norfolk the tide rose fifteen feet. In the Ash Wednesday
Storm of 1962, a tide surge of only seven feet was recorded resulting in the loss of half of the
300 horses estimated to be on Assateague (Russel, 1967:425). Bearss and other historians never
looked at the estate inventories of the land owners of Assateague.
5. Bearss mentioned the Greyhound (La Galga) on page 34. He chose not to include his only reference to a Spanish
shipwreck with his analysis of the origin of the ponies (pp 18-24).He instead placed it in the chapter on the Life
Saving Service. He attributed his source for La Galga as “Archives of Maryland, 28, 493, 494.” His narrative found
on p. 34 was taken nearly verbatim from Marye (1940: 112-3). Marye cited the Archives of Maryland correctly as
“Archives of Maryland, [Volume] XXVIII, 493, 494”. It appears that Bearss failed to properly attribute Marye
which was his only source and most likely he didn’t read anything from Volume XXVIII of the Archives of
Maryland because he would have seen more valuable information about La Galga on pp. 481-483 which he did not
cite. He did recognize Marye as a source in his narrative on inlets in another chapter. In 1982, Barry MacIntosh of
the NPS History Division praised Bearss’ work as “comprehensive.” Although that may apply to the scope of his
research it did not apply to his research into the origin of the ponies, the number one attraction of Assateague Island.
MacIntosh made no mention of the origin of the horses and totally ignored the Spanish shipwreck legend but did say
that there was a Spanish shipwreck in the eighteenth century without stating its name. His source did not mention
the Archives of Maryland. Edwin Bears wrote the forward to MacIntosh’s report, Assateague Island National
Seashore: An Administrative History crediting his work as an “outstanding tool.”
http://www.nps.gov/asis/parkmgmt/upload/asisadminhistory.pdf. By 1982, La Galga was mentioned regularly by
historians as well as in tourist literature.
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County and State
These records going back to early 1700s give the number and description of the land owners’
horses. They were not forgotten, neglected, or abandoned.6 There is a suggestion found in the
names of some land tracts on Assateague in Maryland called Winter Quarter and Winter Pasture
that horses probably were only seasonally pastured on Assateague. And since the horses were
valuable for both labor and transportation, it is unlikely that any one horse might reside on
Assateague permanently without periodic trips to the mainland. Further evidence of the
husbandry of the horses is found in the will books of Accomack County, VA. In the 1696 will of
Maximilian Gore, who owned the entire Virginia portion of Assateague, there is mention of a
Thomas Milman who had a house on Assateague. By description he lived on Ragged Point.
Since he was not a land owner but resided on the island with permission, it can be safely
assumed he was there to care for the livestock. Milman is mentioned again in 1708. Caretakers of
livestock living on Assateague have been recorded into the 19th century.
When Mr. Bearss was researching his report he interviewed several individuals who grew up on
Chincoteague. From his report, it appears they were not asked about the shipwreck legend. Ralph
Beebe, the son of Clarence “Grandpa” Beebe was not consulted. Neither was Victoria Watson
Pruitt, a direct descendant of Jonathan Watson who owned land on Assateague in the late 18th
century very near the shipwreck site of La Galga. She was considered the local historian of
Chincoteague at the time and did not pass away until 1970.
6. 1719. In Virginia, Daniel Gore, son of Maximilian Gore, gave Little Neck, part of Assateague just below Ragged
Point to his son William as well as 1/3 part of 500 acres bought from his step brother John Smith. Daniel’s son
Selby got Great Neck above Ragged Point to Maryland line. Both sons had privileges to keep steers on Assateague.
Daniel left a detailed inventory of his personal possessions including livestock. Daniel Gore’s will 1715-29 pt. 1, p.
252, his inventory p. 438, 8-18-1722, ACC: 136 cattle, 40 horses, 130 sheep, and there were rams, ewes, weathers,
and barrows. Selby got 8 horses, 4 cows, 2 steers, 1 bull. No distinction of livestock on Assateague. Selby later died
intestate. Land on Assateague fell to his brother William. 1736. John Mercy owned land on the Maryland side on
Assateague about two miles above the line. His inventory April 5, 1736, Will Book 1729-37 pt. 1 p. 493, ACC. One
mare 10 years old, 1 mare 7 years old, 2 young horses, 16 cattle, and some outlying hogs. It does not specify
Assateague Island. 1744. William Marcey’s will stated that 325 acres of land on Assateague and stock to be sold for
best advantage of his heirs. Ten horses, 44 cattle, 23 sheep. 4 horses were identified separately, probably on
Assateague. Will Book 1743-1749 pp. 132, 331, ACC. 1753. William Gore’s inventory listed, cattle 48, 6 piggs and
hoggs, 24 shoats, 33 sheep, 1 horse, 1 mare, and 3 young mares. There was no mention of horses on the beach. Note
the very large decrease in horses from what the Gore family owned in 1719. Wills, 1752-1757 p. 188, ACC. 1757.
In Virginia, on Nov 9, 1757, George Douglas who owned land north of the Maryland line, listed 2 heifers and 2
steers on Assateague and a 2 year old oxen was sent to Wallop’s Island. No horses mentioned on the island. 1765. In
Virginia, John Smith willed to sons John and James land on the island. Also, 29 cattle, 4 cattle on beach, 1 brown
horse, 1 sorrel horse, 1 brown mare two years old on beach, 1 black horse, 1 year old on beach. Deeds 1767-1772
#3, Wills p. 148, inventory pp. 333,336, May 30, 1765, ACC. 1821. Storm described in Scribner’s Monthly, April
1877. Also Norfolk and Portsmouth Herald September 3-11, 1821. Horses were lost. Tax records for Accomack
County 1820 indicate a total of 2,481 horses in the county, 1821 2,556, and 1822 2,433. A net loss of 127 horses. If
these were all on Assateague it would have been a huge loss. Personal Property Tax Lists Accomack County at VSL
microfilm. Inventory of Jonathan Watson who owned Little Neck opposite Ragged Point on Assateague described,
besides numerous cows, sheep, and oxen, 1 black mare, 1 grey, 1 sorrel, 1 sorrel mare, 1 black horse. They were
referred to as “island horses”. Will Book 1828-1830, p. 237, Accomack County Courthouse.
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We now know what she would have told Mr. Brearss about the subject had he asked:
“Some people tried to discredit the story of the Spanish shipwreck as a source [from] which the
ponies came. Others would like (now that the ponies are famous and have made Assateague and
Chincoteague the talk of the entire country for beautiful ponies) to claim the honor. But go where
you will, up and down the Atlantic Seaboard, from Maine to Florida you will not find the ponies.
In fact Assateague is home of their forefathers and its good enough for them.” (Pruitt)
What were Bearss’s conclusions in 1968 based on very limited research became the basis for the
current position of the National Park Service and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
presented to the public that “there are no records yet that confirm” the Spanish shipwreck legend.
However, in 1999, during the 4th Circuit appeal in Sea Hunt. the U.S., as an amicus for Spain,
stated that “According to local legend, the ship [La Galga] disgorged a number of wild horses the ancestors of the ponies that now range the coasts and woodlands of Assateague Island.”7
Historians who have written about the history of the Eastern Shore always mention the horses
and interject their own hypothesis that the horses are feral animals traced back to the first people
who owned Assateague; Daniel Jennifer and Maximilian Gore.8 These historians never
acknowledged the existence of La Galga probably because they knew nothing about her.
Historical documents prove that there were no horses roaming Assateague and Chincoteague
when the English first settled the Eastern shore. Horses were scarce and valuable in the early
years of the colony and would certainly have been mentioned if they were on the barrier islands.
When Henry Norwood was shipwrecked in 1649 at what is today Wallops Island he made no
mention of horses (Norwood, 1650). He did describe the presence of wolves which would have
been problematic for the survival of horses. Historians concluded that the Spanish legend had to
be untrue because the historical record before them contradicted the legend that said the horses
were there prior to English settlement. Therefore, they deduced incorrectly, that the horses could
not have come from a Spanish shipwreck.
Horses on Spanish Ships
There is direct evidence that the Spanish at times had horses aboard ship on the trip back home to
Spain. In Florida, numerous Spanish fleets have been lost. Treasure Salvors, Inc, discovered two
shipwrecks of the 1622 fleet, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and the Santa Margarita. From the
Margarita, a small horseshoe was recovered. In 1983, Amrhein met Dr. Eugene Lyon whose
archival research led to the successful discovery of these shipwrecks documented in The Search
for the Atocha. He said that there was no archival evidence of horses on board the ships but he
surmised that the soldiers documented as being on board the Margarita were permitted to bring
their horses back home with them.
7. Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting the Kingdom of Spain, November 23, 1999, Case # 992035, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, n1.
8. Daniel Jenifer first patent 1687, Patent Book #7, 563, Virginia State Library; then sold to Maximillian Gore, Wills
& Deeds 1676-1690, p507, Accomack County Courthouse.
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When he learned that La Galga had sixty soldiers on board he said that it would be no surprise to
him that some of them would have had horses with them.9
Another account can be found in the history of the 1715 fleet. Records indicated that some of the
survivors ate horse flesh in order to survive. (Woodward, 2007:109)
Genetic Studies
In 1991, the Journal of Wildlife Management published their findings on the genetic ties of the
Assateague ponies. The study’s conclusion was that there was a “close genetic resemblance
between the Assateague Island horses and the Paso Fino breed which descended from animals
brought to the New World by the Spanish” (Goodloe et al, 1991:417). This study also noted that
Shetlands had been introduced in the early 1900s. Other gentic dilutions were noted by (Wallace
1884:829) “A taint of inferior blood was introduced into the Chincoteague drove through some
farm-horses ferried across the bay from Maryland some years ago.” Early storms record the loss
of horses post 1750 (Amrhein 2007:440).
The early horses on Assateague were documented to be very small. Henry A. Wise, who was
born and raised in Accomack County and later became governor of Virginia (1856-1860),
described them as a “race of very small, compact, hardy horses, usually called beach horses,
“which were believed to have been on Assateague since long before the American Revolution.”
Wise also said that these horses were so small that a tall man might straddle one and “his toes
touch the ground on each side”(Skinner 1927). Russell, (1967:425), describes the introduction of
other horse breeds in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which resulted in increased size to the
ponies.
Today there are basically two theories as to the origin of the wild horses on Assateague. One is
that they descended from those neglected by the Colonists in the 17th century and the other is that
they were the result of a Spanish shipwreck centuries ago. The first theory is a direct result,
oddly enough, of the Spanish shipwreck theory.
9. Lyon (1979). Interview with Dr. Lyon took place in January of 1983. In February 1982 he wrote “Santa
Margarita: Treasure From the Ghost Galleon” for National Geographic where he describes seventy-three soldiers
having travelled aboard the Margarita. The evidence of horses aboard was found later that year. The fact that no
archival documentation on La Galga mentions horses was of no surprise to Dr. Lyon. He said that there was no
archival evidence for horses on the Santa Margarita. In all of the voluminous documentation on La Galga there is
virtually no reference to animals of any kind. Yet we know that there would have been. Captain Pumarejo of the
Nuestra Señora de los Godos reported having “livestock which died from the seas’ blows” thrown overboard.
Pumarejo to House of Trade, September 15, 1750, Norfolk, Virginia, AGI Mexico 2971. In the 1948 voyage of La
Galga to Vera Cruz, besides carrying 400 crew and hundreds of tons of cargo and supplies, Captain Barreda
personally registered 10 calves, 50 “mutton,” 12 pigs, 50 turkeys and 800 hens. AGI Contratacíon 1377-1382, 2918,
5155-6, Santo Domingo 387, Indiferente General 59, 1989, 2724, Arribadas 178B, Consulados 325, 796. For the
voyage home in 1750 there were only 200 crew.
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Having satisfied themselves that the shipwreck legend was untrue past historians set out to find
out why the Colonists would use Assateague as pasturage. They concluded that tax evasion and
fencing laws was the motivation to sequester horses and cattle on Assateague.
The first horse to arrive on the Eastern Shore was purchased by Colonel Argoll Yeardley in
1642. In 1648 a tax was imposed on horses and cattle that replaced the poll tax. It was repealed
in 1648. In 1662, a tax was imposed on horses and they were required to be fenced in between
July 20th and October 20th. This law proved ineffective and unnecessary and was repealed in
1668 (Bruce, 1896). Taxes were not regularly imposed until 1782 in Accomack County. Records
show that taxes were paid by owners of horses on Assateague.10 It is clear that the reason the
horses and cattle were pastured at Assateague was the availability of food and the economics of
not erecting fences, although there are some record of “neck” fences on Assateague in the 18th
century.
In 1982, Amrhein interviewed Mr. Nat Steelman who was considered the local historian on
Chincoteague at the time. His father was a surfman at the Pope Island Life Saving Station in the
1890s. As a child, his father took him to a location near the north end of what is known today as
Old Field’s Pond before it was flooded and pointed out wooden timbers sticking from the marsh
that he described as coming from the Spanish ship that brought the horses to Assateague. See
Fig. 7-1. In 1983, Amrhein located a square wooden beam approximately 6x6 inches beneath the
shallow water and protruding from the sand. It was very near the area indicated by Steelman,
Fig. 7-1. In the spring of 1983, Amrhein interviewed Ronnie Beebe of Snow Hill, MD, who was
born and raised on Chincoteague and was a land surveyor who was familiar with changes on
Assateague. Beebe was also the great nephew of Clarence “Grandpa” Beebe of Chincoteague
who was made famous in Misty of Chincoteague. Beebe not only recounted the legend of the
Spanish shipwreck but indicated that a Spanish pistol and some Spanish coins were found around
#5, Fig. 7-1. The legend as he recalled it: “The Spanish ship entered an inlet which caused it to
sand in within two weeks time. It was the Indians who discovered the Spaniards and took them to
the mainland.” Beebe pointed to the inlet as it was remembered by his ancestors. That feature did
not appear on maps until after 1859.That area proved to be a feature related to a much later
washover. (Amrhein, 2007:355) The area of #1, Fig. 7-1 is the remnant of the old inlet
recognized by Krantz as an unidentified inlet. (Krantz 2009:226). In 1983, Amrhein located
magnetic anomalies in the area of #2, Fig. 7-1 adjoining the old inlet. Also in1983, Richard
Cook, a former partner with Amrhein, interviewed an old fisherman that told him that artifacts
that looked like old medical instruments were tonged up in the creek that is now enclosed by the
dam. See #6, Fig. 7-1. Cook refused to accept that the shipwreck was contained within the
Refuge however. He insisted that the artifacts came from their now submerged campsite.
Dr. Reginald V. Truitt, (Truitt 1971:13; 1977:69) connects this inlet with the Spanish shipwreck
legend. He refers to a “Spanish Point” and “Spanish Bar.” “Going through Pope Ditch into Pope
Bay, on the far side and a little to the right is a sand bar long-time and commonly known as
Spanish Bar, and running from that point toward the ocean is still evidence of a creek always
10. Accomack County Tax lists Virginia State Library
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said to be the remains of a one-time inlet through which, it was understood, the ship that was
wrecked sought refuge.” Truitt’s sources included Rev. Paul Watson, a direct descendant of
David Watson, first keeper of Assateague Light in 1833. Paul Watson was the grandson of Peter
Watson who lived on nearby Pope Island 1873-1884. Corroboration came from the sons of
Captains Alva Powell (born 1857) and Frank Mumford (born ca 1854) living in 1971. Dr. Truitt
quotes Rev. Paul Watson again: “He felt that the ponies survived the foundering of the
Greyhound [La Galga] near Pope Island. (Truitt 1983).
Applicable National Register Criteria
Criterion A: The property must be associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
LITERATURE: In 1945, Marguerite Henry received a letter that told her about the wild ponies
of Assateague and the annual Pony Penning.11 What intrigued her was that the ponies origin was
attributed to a wrecked Spanish Galleon that had occurred centuries ago. The following year, she
travelled to Chincoteague to see the ponies and the annual pony penning festival. She met
Clarence and Ida Beebe who related to her the Spanish shipwreck legend. She incorporated the
Beebe’s and their recounting of the legend in her book, Misty of Chincoteague, which was
published in 1947, and became a huge success. In 1961, 20th Century Fox released Misty which
was based on her book and featured portrayals of the Beebe family. Millions of copies of her
book have been sold and today it is required reading in many schools.
The Assateague ponies have been part of a culture of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland
for centuries. It has been documented to at least the very early 1800s (Holmes 1835) that
roundups of these horses have taken place annually where the horses are swum across the
channel to Chincoteague and auctioned off. Today, the auction benefits the Chincoteague
Volunteer Fire Department who presently own the herd. Visitors come from all over the United
States and Canada to see the swim and pony auction each July. News of the annual pony swim is
published on both sides of the Atlantic.
On the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland there are numerous tourist stops that sell wild
pony memorabilia like prints, t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, jewelry, etc. The ponies are the
number one tourist attraction on the Eastern Shore. But none of this would be going on today
without Marguerite Henry or, for that matter, the shipwreck of La Galga.
La Galga played a role in the making of another literary classic. The delayed departure of the
fleet that left Havana, Cuba, on August 18, 1750, is directly attributed to the fleet’s devastation
in the hurricane and the delays experienced by La Galga in Havana.This resulted in the Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe, under command of Captain Juan Manuel Bonilla, to be driven to
Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. Captain Bonilla sent a letter to Captain Huony of La Galga
when he arrived in Norfolk requesting assistance in preserving his million dollar cargo which
was being threatened by the Outer Bankers. On October 20, 1750, Captain Owen Lloyd and his
peg-legged brother, John, sailed away with two sloops loaded with the Guadalupe’s treasure.
Most of the treasure was buried on November 13, 1750, at Norman Island in the British Virgin
11. Misty of Chincoteague Foundation. http://www.mistyofchincoteague.org/author.html
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Islands. Had Huony’s sergeant arrived at Ocracoke as planned, the piracy would have been
prevented. This event would later inspire Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island, a
story of returning to a deserted Caribbean Island to recover a treasure buried in 1750. (Amrhein
2011). Two classics in children’s literature are tied to the shipwreck of La Galga buried on
Assateague Island.
LAW: La Galga was the subject of what is considered a landmark case in Admiralty Law that
carried international significance.
In 1998, a company called Sea Hunt, Inc., filed a claim in the Eastern District of Virginia in
Norfolk based on evidence provided by a Richard Cook to the president of Sea Hunt about the
location of a known shipwreck that Cook believed was La Galga. Cook had been drawn to this
location in 1980 by fraudulent statements made by Donald Stewart who was a convincing and
calculating con man. Stewart had founded Subaqueous Exploration and Archaeology, Ltd. in
1980 for the express purpose of locating La Galga. Some of those representations are
documented in the Maryland Coast Press of May 16, 1980. This account said that La Galga was
carrying treasure said to be worth 30-40 million at the time. Her actual register, however, cited
treasure valued at less than 6,000 pesos.12 The article also depicted the shipwreck of La Galga
lodged against a large sand bar. Stewart later said that this sand bar was just south of the
Maryland-Virginia line. Stewart also exhibited coins and artifacts he claimed to have discovered
in shallow water near this wreck site to potential investors.(Stewart also fabricated a story about
the “San Lorenzo de Escorial” said to be wrecked on Assateague in 1820 and that the ponies
originated from this shipwreck. (See San Lorenzo below) Stewart led Cook to believe that the
unidentified wreck site located about eighty yards from shore and about a half mile south of the
Virginia border was La Galga.
When the Sea Hunt complaint was filed by attorney Peter Hess, he told the court that Sea Hunt
may or may not have found La Galga, but that his client believed that he had.13
12. Contratacíon 2476, Archivo General de Indias
13. Statement of Peter Hess, court transcript, March 11, 1998, Susan V. Ashe, official reporter, page 5, “At this
point in time, we can’t say conclusively that it’s even the Juno or La Galga…” After the 4th Circuit judgment, Sea
Hunt told the court that “The judgment of this Court was based upon surmise, conjecture, and a huge assumption
that Sea Hunt had, indeed located the remains of the Juno and the La Galga.”Docket entry #160, November 17,
2000, p.12. Hess, a personal friend of Amrhein, had received a copy of Amrhein’s report in 1986 and was fully
aware of the findings related to the boundary line that would point to the wreck. Benson was aware as well (Benson,
1997) but Benson rejected the clearly documented findings of Amrhein and stated that the boundary line could be
“just about anywhere over a three mile area.” His report also credited Richard Cook: “no one has done a better or
more detailed and thorough search of the archival records than Rick Cook.” Benson also included references to
documents that were fabrications made up by the conman, Donald Stewart. By 1996, the location of La Galga as
being within the Refuge was in the public discourse. “Amrhein handed over [to the government] the Galga on a
silver platter,”(Gentile, 1990:85): (Trupp, 1986:146); NOAA’s AWOIS database of shipwrecks Record #3245 said
that the shipwreck was within the Refuge. Sea Hunt’s claim of discovery of La Galga was made with a reckless
indifference to the truth.
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That unfounded belief would become the reason the Kingdom of Spain filed its own claim. The
court was ultimately shown several Spanish coins found miles away from the suggested site of
La Galga leading the court to believe La Galga had in fact been found. The coins came from the
site that Sea Hunt wanted to believe was the Juno. The court was never told that Spanish coins
could come from any shipwreck well up to the Civil War.14
Shortly thereafter, the Kingdom of Spain entered the litigation and filed a claim, first represented
by the U.S. Justice Department and later by private counsel. The Justice Department would later
file its own briefs as amicus curiae in support of Spain. This was the first time that Spain had
entered a shipwreck treasure case. The Commonwealth of Virginia entered the litigation in order
to protect its rights to its submerged lands. In 1999, the District Court awarded La Galga to Sea
Hunt and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The award was reversed by the 4th Circuit in 2000.
This award did not consider that the remains of La Galga lay buried within the Chincoteague
National Wildlife Refuge and had been owned by the Department of the Interior since 1943
when Assateague was acquired through condemnation proceedings. Recorded in Deed Book
#168, p. 380 at the Accomack County Courthouse is the recordation of title:
“It further appearing to the Court that the United States of America, the petitioner herein, has
filed in this case in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Acts of Congress approved
August 1, 1888 (25 Stat. 357, USC sec 257); February 18, 1929 (45 Stat. 1222) and February 26,
1931 (46 Stat. 1421; 40 U.S.C 288a), a Declaration of Taking signed by the Honorable Oscar L.
Chapman, Assistant Secretary of the Interior has been duly authorized and empowered to acquire
for the United States of America the lands described in the petition, and that the said Declaration
of Taking shows that the said lands, interests and estates therein are to be taken by the United
States of America for public use…It is further ADJUDGED, ORDERED and DECREED that the
said United States of America, petitioner herein, shall have the right and power to take
possession of the lands condemned, and all fixtures, buildings and improvements thereon, or any
part thereof, as of this date, and all persons in possession and control of any part or any of the
said lands, buildings and improvements thereon, or any part thereof, shall immediately upon said
date surrender the same to the United States of America…” This would include any shipwrecks
buried above the high water mark.
14. Spanish coins were legal currency in U.S. until 1857. http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=011/llsl011.db&recNum=184. Court testimony of March 11, 1998, shows that
the artifacts presented to the court were several Spanish coins and some gun flints. The inventory of artifacts
presented to the court shows that none of these artifacts came from the site believed to be La Galga. Annual Report
on Target Verification Activities within Virginia Marine Resource Commission Permit Areas #97-00163 and #970498, James R. Reedy, Jr., R2 Underwater Consultants. Moorehead City, North Carolina, December 15, 1998 filed
in Sea Hunt Docket Entry #160, November 17, 2000.
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In 2000, when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered its decision in Sea Hunt, it considered
the ramifications of the Treaty of Friendship of 1763 between England and Spain. In this treaty,
the cession of state property in Article XX to Great Britain by Spain was limited to all that Spain
possessed "on the continent of North America." The plain meaning of this is that Spain ceded to
Great Britain only what was located on land. Spain did not cede possessions in the sea or seabed.
The district court overlooked the "on the continent" limitation because it was never told that La
Galga was buried in the refuge. The Treaty of 1763 was an express abandonment of La Galga
because the wreck was situated on the continent. The 1902 Treaty of Friendship and General
Relations would not undue the 1763 treaty. As owner of the land, the federal government should
have been a party to the case. Whatever rights the U.S. taxpayer had to this historic shipwreck
prior to Sea Hunt were not represented in the litigation.
Legal precedent says that La Galga belongs to the federal government. In the court case of Klein
v. The Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, 758 F.2d 1511 (1985), Klein laid claim to
the British warship, HMS Fowey, that had sunk in 1748 in what is now the Biscayne National
Park. The court ultimately ruled that Klein was precluded from any reward or finder’s fee
because the shipwreck belonged to the United States because it was imbedded in the lands of the
United States. Being a British sovereign vessel did not stop the U.S. from claiming the Fowey.
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, Public Law 100-298; 43 U.S.C. 2101-2106 Section
2105(d) says “Any abandoned shipwreck in or on the public lands of the United States is the
property of the United States Government. La Galga is considered abandoned by virtue of the
Treaty of Friendship of 1763 and also by the express statement of abandonment given by Don
Daniel Huony at the shipwreck in 1750 when he said the “owner of the land owned the
wreck.”(Brown, 1908:482) His actions were reviewed during his court martial in 1751 after
returning to Spain. Captain Huony was absolved of any wrongdoing. (Huony 1751)
The federal government has suggested that The Sunken Military Craft Act of 200515 gives La
Galga to Spain. This act does not apply here because the act only covers craft located in United
States waters. It also contradicts the Treaty of 1763. La Galga’s location was not contemplated
by the act. It does not address shipwrecks that were previously considered property of the United
States.
What had been found by Sea Hunt was most likely the Sunbeam which grounded in a storm in
this immediate area of Sea Hunt’s “find” on March 15, 1852. (New York Observer and
Chronicle, April 1, 1852. The location was described as seven miles above Assateague Light.)
The Juno
The Spanish historian, Fernandez Duro, documented that the Juno disappeared over two hundred
miles from Assateague on October 27, 1802. His sources were the testimony of a Lt. Clemente
15. Letter from Jorge Sobredo (Spanish Embassy) to John Wilson (USFWS), September 30, 2008
.
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who was on board the American schooner Favorite which was standing by to assist the Juno.
(Duro 1857). Duro relied on documents found in the Archivo General de Marina Alvaro de
Bazan. The Virginia Department of Historical Resources has a site form (44AC0402) which
mentions the Juno: “Was thought to be the location of the Spanish shipwreck, Juno. There is no
evidence that the site is Juno.” What was awarded Spain was not the Juno
According to Section 110(a) of the NHPA, cultural properties need only be under the
“jurisdiction and control” of the related agency. La Galga’s eligibility and nomination to the
Register is not impeded by any conflict in the determination of ownership.
The San Lorenzo de Escorial
On July 24, 1977, Donald F. Stewart published “Assateague Ponies: A New Look” in the
Baltimore Sun. Before it was published, Stewart alerted National Park Service personnel at the
Assateague Island National Seashore that it was forthcoming. After they read it, they asked for
documentary proof of his elaborate story about a treasure ship called the San Lorenzo de
Escorial that wrecked on Assateague in 1820. He claimed that this ship was carrying small
horses when she wrecked. Stewart handed over a lot of material without any archival references.
The Park Service accepted it and published his account in the Assateague Island Handbook in
1980. The NPS also erected a wayside exhibit at the Visitor Center that featured the San Lorenzo
and the pony story. Stewart’s entire story was a fabrication which could be easily refuted.
Documentation of the fraud was presented to Edwin Bearss, National Park Service Historian, in
1984 by John Amrhein, Jr. In his letter to Amrhein, Bearss said he was aware of Stewart’s
deficiencies and all references to the San Lorenzo would be removed. It was too late, however,
because many writers relied on the Handbook and repeated the fraudulent representation. Stewart
formed Subaqueous Exploration and Archaeology, Ltd. in 1980 for the express purpose of
locating La Galga.(Amrhein 2007:79-84, 210-12, 233-4) His misrepresentations about La Galga
would mislead Richard Cook of Alpha Quest to not only represent to his investors that he had
found La Galga where Stewart told him to look but he would lead Ben Benson of Sea Hunt, Inc.
to this misinterpreted site. Without Stewart’s involvement there probably would never have been
a Sea Hunt case.
MILITARY
La Galga de Andalucía alias SANTO DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA, 1731-1750.
1731. Built at Cádiz by Juan Cassanova and in service as of October 29, 1731. AGS, Secretaría
de Guerra, Suplementos 564. 56 cannons, keel 109.4 ft., length 120.7 ft, beam 33.5 ft., depth of
hold, 16 ft. and rated at 632 1/10 toneladas. Archivo General de Simancas. Secretaria de Guerra:
Suplementos – 564.
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1732. Careened at Cádiz (Carraca), Secretaría de Marina, 303, AAB Cádiz, 8176.
1733. Secretaría de Marina, 252, AGS, mentions repairs.
1734. Armed with 54 cannon in Mediterranean. 22 twelve-pounders, 24 eight-pounders, 8 fourpounders. AGS Secretaría de Marina, 660.
1736. Part of expedition to Buenos Aires under command of Nicolas Geráldino. Secretaría de
Marina, 393 ff. 482-535. AGS Secretaría de Marina, 397-1 f. 342.
1739. Anchored in Cádiz awaiting gunpowder. AGS Secretaría de Marina, 661.
1740. La Galga was at El Ferrol, Spain and had been ordered to leave on a privateering mission
with Daniel O’Leary against the English on the coast of Guinea, Africa. She had permission to
carry 400 to 450 men. Conde de Vega Florida was named captain by the King. The project was
called off in 1741 by the King for a more important mission. Conde de la Vega Florida would
later sit on the tribunal at Captain Huony’s court martial. Secretaría de Marina, 398-2, 434 – 1,
AGS.
On May 21, 1740, Admiral Pensadoes sailed from Ferrol for Cádiz with a large fleet of warships
which included the St. Philip and La Galga. June 4, 1741, 14 ships from Ferrol came in last
summer at Havana. AGS, Secretaría de Marina, 398, f. 561,726. Diario formado en Cartagena
de Indias desde 13 marzo hasta 21 mayo 1741. Boston News Letter, September 24, 1741; Boston
News Letter, October 29, 1741; Pennsylvania Gazette, May 7, and 14, 1741.
1741. Graña, Spain. La Galga’s officers and crew total 444. AGS, Secretaría de Marina, 398-2, f.
456.
1744. At Toulon, France, La Galga is listed as having 50 cannon. AGS Secretaría de Marina
315. She did not engage the English fleet.
1745. La Galga was part of a squadron of 17 ships under the Marqués de la Victoria and was in
the port of Cartagena, Spain. Her captain was Don Augustín de Idiaquez.
1747. La Galga is anchored at Cartagena, Spain. AGS, Secretaría de Marina 315.
1748. La Galga readies for Veracruz. AGS, Secretaría de Marina 315.
1749 La Galga departs Veracruz for Havana and unloads her treasure that was put on boart the
fleet of which returned to Spain 1750. She was in such disrepair that the Minister of the Navy
wanted to sell her to merchants in Havana but there were no takers.
1750. She underwent an extensive refit in Havana and was assigned to escort six other ships
back to Spain departing on August 18. She ran ashore on Assateague Island on September 5,
1750.
AGB Archivo General de Marina Alvaro Bazan, Viso del Marques, Cuidad Real
AGI Archivo General de Indias, Seville
AGS Archivo General de Simancas, Simancas
Criterion B: The property must be associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
Marguerite Henry, April 13, 1902 – November 26, 1997 See Literature Criterion supra.
Captain Daniel Huony. 1683 – 1771
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Daniel Huony. Besides being captain of La Galga on her last voyage in 1750, Don Daniel Huony
had been captain of the sixty gun, El Africa, in 1733 when the treasure fleet wrecked in the
Florida Keys. His ship was the only one to survive the hurricane. He would later carry salvaged
treasure back to Spain. Some of the shipwrecks of the 1733 fleet are on our National Register of
Historic Places.16 His last service in the Spanish navy was as admiral.
Daniel Huony was born about 1683 in Tullamore, Clarke County, Ireland. **
1713. Served in British Navy aboard HMS Success serving as an A.B., then coxswain, and then
midshipman.*
1714. Left British Navy and joined the Spanish Navy on August 25 as Piloto Principal.*
1715. January 8, 1715 Alférez de navío.*
1717. June 1, Teniente de fragata.*
1719. At the Battle of Scicily he was captured and put into a hospital where he would later say it
“cost him his youth.”**
1720. Made his first trip across the Atlantic and returned to Cádiz with General Baltasar de
Guevara with a treasure fleet in September.*
1727. January 8, Teniente navío. He sailed to the Indies with General Lopez Pintado returning to
Cádiz in 1729.*
1730. Served on La Potencia. Sailed to the Indies with the Marqués de Mary.*
1731. February 10, Capitán de fragata El Fuerte.*
1732 Shipwrecked in the Bay of Mostagen.**
1733. Was with the 1733 treasure Fleet of Admiral Rodrigo Torres. He was captain of the 60 gun
El Africa. The entire fleet was lost except for the ship commanded by Huony. He would
later convey salvaged treasure back to Spain.
1737. Huony was commander of the warships León and Lanfranco which sailed to
Veracruz with azogue and merchandise.*
1739. The Almiranta de azoques (mercury) Nuestra Señora de Pilar alias Lanfranco,
Capitán de Fragata don Daniel de Huony sailed to Veracruz from Cádiz arriving
in March, 1738. The Capitana was the León. It is most likely that Huony sailed
aboard the León. On February 2, 1739, and after numerous delays, the following
ships set sail from Veracruz on the return journey to Spain: 2 navios de azoque:
the Capitana, León, and the Almiranta, Lanfranco, escorted by the squadron under
Don Joseph Pizzaro; Guipuzcoa, Castilla, Incendio, Esperanza, and also by the
San Juan of the Windward Fleet.*
1740. August 28, Capitán de navío of the San Felipe.*
1741. At the Battle of Cartagena, wounded April 3. Commanded the San Felipe. Later
that year, Commander of the Galleons. Returned to Spain in the San Felipe.*
1744- 1749 Capitán of El Fuerte in the squadron of General Andrés de Reggio patrolling off the
coasts of Cuba.*
1749- Capitán of La Galga.*
1750. Shipwrecked on the coast of Virginia where he ”wonderfully escaped with his life much
bruised and maltreated.”** His ship created the legend surounding the wld horses on
Assateague Island.
16. http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/129shipwrecks/
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1752. May 29, Huony took command of Princesa and Galicia, both of seventy-four
guns. His first mission was to escort two merchant vessels en route to the Indies
out beyond St. Vincent, Portugal.*
1755. May 30, Jefe de Escuadra. Commander of Ferrol.*
1760. July 13, Teniente General of the Spanish Navy.*
1771. June 14, died and buried at Isla de León, Cádiz. Archivo Catedralicio Histórico
de Cádiz.
*Cuerpo General, 561 -620 Archivo Alvaro de Bazan, Viso del Marqués. Galeria Biografica de los Generales
de Marina, 1700 a 1868. Vice almirante D. Francisco de Paula Pavia, Madrid, 1873.
** Daniel Huony, “Admiral of the Royal Navy of Spain Navy 1683 – 1771,” Rev. Francis J. Litton, Dal gCais,
The Magazine of Clare, its people and Culture, number 5 Miltown Malby, (1979)
Criterion C: The Property must embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or
method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic
values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack
individual distinction.
La Galga, was a three-masted frigate built for the Spanish Navy. She launched on October 27,
1731 at the Carraca shipyard in Cádiz, Spain. Her builder was Juan Cassanova. Her construction
followed the English design and was built to carry a total of fifty-six cannon. She was built of
wood, most likely oak, and fastened with iron. There were twelve pounders on the gun deck and
eight pounders on her weather deck all made of iron. Her construction would differ from that of a
merchant ship adding to her uniqueness. There are no other Spanish shipwrecks in this state of
preservation of this period in North America.
Criterion D: The property must have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in
prehistory or history.
La Galga ran ashore in or next to an inlet. The inlet immediately began to close and by the time
the Spanish left three days later her hull was covered with sand. The locals salvaged everything
they could in good weather and cut the hull to the water line in the hopes of finding treasure. Her
mahogany cargo remained locked in the hold until a later storm broke the gun deck loose and
freed the mahogany which washed ashore and was recovered. Captain Huony reported in
November of 1750 that the locals got everything worth taking (Brown 1908:493). But, it should
be noted that Huony did not want to return to the wreck.17 Because of the accumulation of sand
around the hull and the weight of the ballast, it can be safely assumed that a great deal of the
lower third of the ship’s hull would have survived nearly intact. There also would be a great deal
of artifacts from personal belongings, weapons, and even tools lost by the wreckers would be
found in and around the area of the hull. Records show that two hundred crew inhabited the
17. ( Huony 1751). In his testimony at court martial Huony stated: “Having consulted with intelligent sources over
the possibility of salvaging the wood (mahogany) which remained in the hold of La Galga and the rest of the lost
cargo, I have been advised that even if, in time, this washes up on the shore, the cost of salvage will exceed the
value, irrespective of the difficulty of finding anyone brave enough to risk their lives on such a wild beach without
exorbitant compensation.”
Section 87 page 230
33
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
beach opposite the wreck for several days. Their personal belongings washed ashore even after
they departed. Captain Huony’s testimony also mentioned the “wreck of another boat” on the
beach. Testimony from locals in 1982 and 1983 document Spanish artifacts were found opposite
or near the wreck site.18 Cultural material is expected to be found near the surface in the area
which was once the ocean front beach.
In the area of the hull it is expected that the keel could be about twenty feet from the surface
since the depth of hold was at sixteen feet. A great deal of archaeological evidence is expected in
this area. This immediate entire area comprises about 450 square yards.
On January 4, 1984, S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, reviewed
Amrhein’s 1983 Report on Discovery and commented on La Galga’s significance: “Although the
documentation indicates that the La Galga wreck was extensively salvaged in the eighteenth
century, its site, when effectively established, may yield significant artifacts illustrative of mid18th century military and maritime technology. Several offices in our National Museum of
American history, including the Divisions of Naval History, Transportation and Community
(Hispanic) Life, will be interested in the further development of your project. Initiative for future
surveys and possible archaeological investigations appropriately rests with cognizant bureaus of
the Department of Interior, including the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park
Service, with whom our staff would be prepared to cooperate.”19
Unlike shipwrecks from the 1715 and 1733 fleets that were heavily salvaged by the Spaniards
and modern treasure hunters, La Galga presents a unique opportunity to study an 18th century
Spanish military vessel. Many of the Spanish ships from the 1715 and 1733 fleets are on our
National Register and considered nationally significant even though there is little more than a
ballast pile remaining today. The NPS describes these ships as “time capsules from a bygone era
and can reveal much about the history of the mighty maritime system that helped shape the
Americas.”20
Because of the expected remains of La Galga would exceed those found on the 1733 shipwrecks,
La Galga is certainly deserving of NPS recognition and should be made part of the lesson plans
developed by the NPS.21
18. Discussed under Investigations
19. This letter can be found in the files the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
20. http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/129shipwrecks/
21. In the Sea Hunt case, Larry Murphy, archaeologist for the NPS, testified that there is “very, very little
information on eighteenth century Spanish maritime culture.” Docket #74 CA 2:98cv281 September 15, 1998, p.
138, Susanne V. Ash, reporter. For more on anticipated significance:
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/monroe/state.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shipwrecks_on_the_National_Register_of_Historic_Places
http://www.flheritage.com/archaeology/underwater/galleontrail/fleetOf1733.cfm
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/Assateague_Island_National_Seashore.html
Section 87 page 234
31
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
One of the ships that travelled with La Galga and wrecked in North Carolina was El Salvador.
This shipwreck has been the subject of a number of treasure hunts over the past thirty-five years
which have resulted in several legal proceedings but no success in discovery. Of the 134 permits
issued by North Carolina’s Department of Cultural Resources since 1981, twelve have been
issued to groups to search for El Salvador. In 1995, Gordon P. Watts, Jr. archaeologist with East
Carolina University, led an expedition to locate the ship. His mission statement said that “Due to
the conditions of its wrecking, El Salvador may represent one of the few instances in which
virtually the entire archaeological record of a Spanish Plate Fleet vessel survives intact. As such,
it may provide important clues to eighteenth century ship construction and shipboard life. Watts
failed to locate El Salvador. La Galga would probably yield far more cultural material.22
22. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/maritime/Tubby.cfm
Section 78 page 232
35
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
______________________________________________________________________________
9. Major Bibliographical References
Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.)
Ames, Susies M.
1940
Studies of the Virginia Eastern Shore in the Seventeenth Century, Dietz Press
Richmond, VA,
Amrhein, John L. Jr.
1983 Report on the Discovery of an Historic Spanish Shipwreck Chincoteague National
Wildlife Refuge Assateague Island, Virginia, by John L. Amrhein, Jr filed with
USFWS and the NPS in December of 1983. Unpublished.
2007
The Hidden Galleon, New Maritima Press, Kitty Hawk, NC.
2011 Treasure Island: The Untold Story, New Maritima Press, Kitty Hawk, NC
Bearss, Edwin C,
1968 General Background Study and Historical Base Map: Assateague Island National
Seashore Maryland-Virginia, Division of History, Office of Archaeology and
Historic Preservation, National Park Service.
Benson, Ben
1997 The King’s Frigate “La Galga”and the 1750 Treasure Fleet, Box 13, No. 24,
Eastern Shore Public Library
Brown, William H., ed.
1908
Archives of Maryland, Volume XVIII, Proceedings of the Council 1732 – 1753,
Maryland Historical Society
Bruce, Philip Alexander
1896 Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century, McMillan and Co. New
York, 1896.
Henry, Marguerite,
1947
Misty of Chincoteague, illus, by Wesley Dennis. Rand McNally, Chicago.
Duro, Cesáreo Fernández
1867
Nafragios de la Armada Espanola, Madrid.
Footner, Hulbert
1942
Maryland Main and the Easter Shore. Illus. by Louis Ruhl, D. Appleton- Century,
Inc., New York
Sections 9-end page 33
36
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Griffith, Dennis
1794-5 Map of the State of Maryland…, Valance, J., Philadelphia, 1795.
Lee, Thomas,
1860
Southern Boundary of Maryland, Commissioner on Boundary with Virginia.
Gentile, Gary
1990
Shipwrecks of Delaware and Maryland, Gary Gentil Productions, Philadelphia.
Goodloe, et al.
1991
“Genetic Variation and Its Management Applications in Eastern U.S. Feral
Horses,” Journal of Wildlife Management 55(3) 1991.
Holmes, Dr. Thompson
1835
“Some Account of Wild Horses of the Sea Islands of Virginia and Maryland,”
Farmer’s Register, Petersburg, Virginia.
Langley, Dr. Susan E.
2002
Archaeological Overview and Assessment of Maritime Resources in Assateague
Island Seashore Worcester County, Maryland, and Accomack County, Virginia,
This report was sponsored by the National Park Service.
Lyon, Eugene,
1999
The Search for the Atocha, Harper Rowe, New York
Krantz, David E., et al
2009
Shifting Sands: Environmental and Cultural Change in Maryland’s Coastal Bays,
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. IAN Press.
Marye, William B.
1940
“The Seacoast of Maryland,” in the Maryland Historical Magazine Vol. 40,
Margolin, Samuel G., et. al
1994
An assessment of Virginia’s Underwater Cultural Resources, Virginia
Department of Historic Resources, College of William and Mary, 1994.
Mears, James Egbert
n.d.
Mears’ Scrapbooks, Eastern Shore Public Library, Accomack, VA.
McIntosh, Barry,
1982
Assateague Island National Seashore: An Administrative History, History
Division, National Park Service, Department of Interior, Washington, DC
37
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Mitchell, Samuel A.
1846
New Map Of Maryland and Delaware… Philadelphia
1980
Assateague Island Handbook 106, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, DC
Norwood, Henry
1650
Forces Collection of Historical Tracts, “A Voyage to Virginia” Vol. III, No. 10, p
3.
Owen, David,
1985
“Some Legal Troubles with Treasure: Jurisdiction and Salvage,” 16 J. Mar. L. &
Com, April 1985,
Pruitt, Victoria Watson
n.d.
Pruitt Papers, Eastern Shore Public Library, “Doubters of the Shipwreck &
Storm.”
Pyle, Howard
1877
Scribner’s Monthly. “Chincoteague: The Island of Ponies.” Vol. XIII, April 1877.
No. 6, Charles Scribner’s & Sons, New York.
Russell, George B.
1967
Hoof Prints in Time, A.S. Barnes, South Brunswick, N.J.
Skinner, J. S.
1843
American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, Baltimore, MD. J.S. Skinner, ed
Talty, Stephen,
2007
Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan’s Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for
the Americas, and the Catastrophe that ended the Outlaw’s Bloody Reign, Crown
Publishers, New York
Truitt, Reginald, V.
1971. Assateague a Place Across, Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies,
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Truitt, Reginald, V.
1977 Worcester County: Maryland’s Arcadia, Truitt, Dr. Reginald V., and Les
Callette, Dr. Millard G., Worcester County Historical Society, Snow Hill, MD.
Truitt, Reginald, V
1983
Beachers: The Ponies of Assateague Island, Worcester County Historical
Society.
38
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Trupp, Phillip Z.
1986
Tracking Treasure: Romance and Fortune Beneath the Sea and How to Find
It!, Acropolis Books, Ltd. Washington, DC..
Tubby, Raymond,
2000
Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the 1750 Spanish Plate Fleet
Vessel El Salvador, East Carolina University, unpublished.
Turman, Nora Miller
1964
The Eastern Shore of Virginia, 1603-1964, Onancock, Va., Eastern Shore News,
Onancock, VA, 1964
Wise, Jennings Cropper,
1911
Ye kingdome of Accawmacke, or, The Eastern Shore of Virginia in the
Seventeenth Century , Bell Book & Stationery Co., Richmond, VA
Wallace, John H.
1884
Wallace’s Monthly Volume 10 John Hankins Wallace “Chasing Wild Horses,”
February 1884, New York. Also New York Times, October 26, 1884.
Woodward, Colin,
2007
The Republic of Pirates, Harcourt, Inc., New York.
___________________________________________________________________________
Previous documentation on file (NPS):
____ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested
____ previously listed in the National Register
____ previously determined eligible by the National Register
____ designated a National Historic Landmark
____ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________
____ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________
____ recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________
Primary location of additional data:
__X State Historic Preservation Office (Amrhein, 2007)
____ Other State agency
__X_ Federal agency USFWS(Amrhein 1983, 2007)
____ Local government
39
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
____ University
____ Other
Name of repository: _____________________________________
Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): ________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of Property ___168____________
Use either the UTM system or latitude/longitude coordinates
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates
Datum if other than WGS84:__________
(enter coordinates to 6 decimal places)
1. Latitude:
Longitude:
2. Latitude:
Longitude:
3. Latitude:
Longitude:
4. Latitude:
Longitude:
See Map #1
Or
UTM References
Datum (indicated on USGS map):
NAD 1927
or
NAD 1983
1. Zone:
Easting:
Northing:
2. Zone:
Easting:
Northing:
3. Zone:
Easting:
Northing:
4. Zone:
Easting :
Northing:
40
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.)
The site is located on Assateague Island, the north bounds are situated approximately two
miles south of the Maryland-Virginia boundary. The north and south boundary lines are
parallel east-west lines separated by approximately 2,500 feet. The western boundary adjoins
the woods separating the site from Ragged Point Marshes. The eastern boundary runs parallel
to the western boundary and is situated approximately 2,400 feet from the ocean front
Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.)
These boundaries were dictated by the combination of reported artifact finds documented in
Fig. 7-1, magnetic anomalies, and the documented changes between what was the former
inlet and today as well as projected tidal flows between the incoming and outgoing tides of
1750.
______________________________________________________________________________
11. Form Prepared By
name/title: ____John L. Amrhein, Jr., Historian____________________________
organization: __Self______________________________________________________
street & number: __117 Clipper Ct.______________________________________
city or town: __Kill Devil Hills_________ state: NC__ zip code: 27948___________
[email protected]_____________________________
telephone:___252-202-5118________________
date:________February 11, 2014____________
___________________________________________________________________________
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
•
Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's
location.
•
Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous
resources. Key all photographs to this map.
41
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
•
Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.)
Photographs
Submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels
(minimum), 3000x2000 preferred, at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger. Key all photographs
to the sketch map. Each photograph must be numbered and that number must correspond to
the photograph number on the photo log. For simplicity, the name of the photographer,
photo date, etc. may be listed once on the photograph log and doesn’t need to be labeled on
every photograph.
Photo Log
Name of Property: La Galga Shipwreck Site
City or Vicinity: Chincoteague
County:
Accomack
State: VA
Photo #1. View of woods that border the wreck site on the west side. View is south taken
from access road. Photo by John Amrhein, Jr. 2004
CAPTION: Pine Forest adjoins Old Field’s Pond to the west. The Spanish crew camped in
this area prior to leaving Assateague. 1 of 4
Photo #2. View of Old Field’s Pond which covers the majority of the shipwreck site and the
former inlet. Picture taken from access road as it crosses the dam and the water control valve.
Photo taken by John Amrhein, Jr. 2007.
CAPTION: View south from control valve and dam looking over Old Field’s Pond. #2 of 4
Photo #3. Photo of the model of La Galga built by Wilson M. Bane 2005-2007. Photo taken
by Shooters Gallery, Kitty Hawk, NC. 2013. #3 of 4.
CAPTION: Model of the Spanish warship La Galga. Built by Wilson M. Bane. Photo
by Shooters Gallery, Kitty Hawk, NC.
Photo #4. Oral tradition says that the wild horses on Assateague descended from those that
swam ashore from the shipwreck of La Galga. Marguerite Henry made these horses world
famous when she published Misty of Chincoteague in 1947.
CAPTION: Wild ponies on Assateague Island. Centuries old oral traditions say that these
ponies descended from the horses that swam ashore from the shipwreck of La Galga.
42
NPS Form 10-900
OMB No. 1024-0018
Accomack, VA
Name of Property
County and State
Photo #5. Photo #5. Photo of Norman Island, British Virgin Islands. It was here that Owen
Lloyd buried treasure stolen from the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe which had been escorted
by La Galga in 1750. This event inspired Robert Louis Stevenson when he wrote Treasure
Island. Had the fleet not been delayed by La Galga, there probably would not have been a
Treasure Island for Robert Louis Stevenson. Photo by John Amrhein, Jr. 2011. #5 of 5.
CAPTION: On November 13, 1750, treasure stolen from the 1750 fleet was buried here on
Norman Island, British Virgin Islands, by Owen Lloyd of Hampton, Virginia. This event
would later inspire Robert Louis Stevenson when he wrote Treasure Island.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic
Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response
to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460
et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including
time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding
this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior,
1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC.
43
La Galga Shipwreck Site Map #1
A. 38.004786,-75.277505
B. 37.998057,-75.265274
C. 38.004685,-75269136
D. 37.997984,-75.273342
BLOCK “E” 476007, 4206681; 475886, 4206348; 476154, 4206677; 476052, 4206355
E
C
A
38°
B
D
Boxiron 1980
Chincoteague East 1999
NOTE: These quadrangles provide more detail than current issues
Page 4444ofof
5050
La Galga Shipwreck site Map #2 Photo Locator
#1
#2
Page 45 of 50
.
Photo #1
Pine forest adjoins Old Field’s Pond to the west. The Spanish crew
camped in this area prior to leaving Assateague
Page 46 of 50
Photo #2
View south from control valve and dam looking over Old Field’s Pond
Page 47 of 50
La Galga Shipwreck
Photo #3
Model of the Spanish warship La Galga. Built by Wilson M. Bane. Photo
by Shooters Gallery, Kitty Hawk, NC.
48 of 50
Photo #4
Wild ponies on Assateague Island. Centuries old oral traditions say that these ponies
descended from the horses that swam ashore from the shipwreck of La Galga.
Page 49 of 50
Photo #5
On November 13, 1750, treasure stolen from the 1750 fleet was buried here on Norman
Island,British Virgin Islands, by Owen Lloyd of Hampton, Virginia. This event would later
inspire Robert Louis Stevenson when he wrote Treasure Island.
Page 50 of 50

George Law Firm LLC - Maritime Law Group

Transcription

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