HMS Endeavour Scuttled in 1778 Somewhere in Newport Harbor?

The HMS Endeavour, which was used in the 1700s to sail to Australia and claim it for Britain, is believed to be somewhere in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island after being scuttled during the American Revolution.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project was expected to reveal on Wednesday details of its research on whether the Endeavor, later known as the Lord Sandwich, was one of 13 ships sunk in the harbor in 1778, according to the project's website.

Researchers believe there is an 80 to 100 percent chance the Endeavour is in the harbor, said NPR. The ships were scuttled in the days leading up to the Battle of Rhode Island in Portsmouth.

In 2014, Kathy Abbass, founder of the project, signed an agreement with the Australian National Maritime Museum in an effort to find the Endeavour, noted Australia's News.com.

"Today, schoolchildren in Australia learn about the Endeavour's historic 1768-71 voyage," said News.com. "But few people give a second thought to what ultimately happened to the ship."

The Independent said the Endeavor was used to claim Australia for Britain. The ship then had several owners before it was renamed the Lord Sandwich and came to America during the revolutionary war.

"Lord Sandwich was the first lord of the admiralty at the time so the name makes sense – a nod by its private owner," Abbass told CNN. "We know from its size, dimension and these records that the Sandwich was the Endeavour."

Related Stories:

• Civil War Shipwreck Off Oak Island a Rebel Blockade Runner?
  
• Ancient Funerary Boat at Abusir Pyramids Found Buried in Sand