AH-WR-0972

HMS Fowey

Frigate · United Kingdom · Lost October 1781, during the Siege of Yorktown · Chesapeake Bay

An aging Royal Navy frigate lost in the York River anchorage during the final days of the Siege of Yorktown.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

HMS Fowey was a 24-gun sixth-rate frigate built in 1749 and still in Royal Navy service by 1781. She was present in the York River supporting Lord Cornwallis's besieged army at Yorktown. She was lost in the anchorage during the siege's closing days, part of the wider destruction of the British fleet there. Her remains are counted among the Yorktown shipwreck cluster.

Vessel

Built: 1749
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Royal Navy

Loss

Date: October 1781, during the Siege of Yorktown
Cause: Enemy action
Location: York River off Yorktown, Virginia
Water: York River
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Site investigated among the Yorktown shipwreck cluster
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1970s-1980s
Protection: Studied under Virginia state archaeological programs

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Yorktown, Virginia
Region: Chesapeake Bay

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

Exact cause of loss, wreck position, and present condition are not established in the sources reviewed.

National Park Service, Colonial National Historical Park
Presence and loss of British vessels at Yorktown in 1781.