Tidewater Time Capsule

Only a decade ago few people understood the value of the submerged cultural resources beneath the waters of the Chesapeake region. Recently, the search for the region's underwater heritage has been validated, and has initiated an intensified attempt to study and preserve the priceless resources in the waters of the Bay and its tributaries.This is the story of one such effort. The Patuxent Project was the first underwater archaeological survey of an entire river system. In this multiphase investigation, archaeologists sought such diverse resources as inundated aboriginal and historic sites, harbor facilities, military establishments, battle sites, shipwrecks, and, in particular, the final resting place of Joshua Barney's famed Chesapeake Flotilla from the War of 1812.