AH-WR-0565

La Belle

Frigate (Small) · France · Lost 1686 · Texas & the Western Gulf

The last ship of La Salle's ill-fated French colonial expedition, wrecked in Matagorda Bay in 1686 and excavated inside a dry cofferdam in the 1990s.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

La Belle was a small French naval frigate carrying supplies for La Salle's 1684-1687 expedition intended to found a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Navigational error brought the expedition instead to Matagorda Bay, Texas, where La Belle, the last of the four expedition ships still afloat, ran aground and was lost in a storm in the winter of 1686. Discovered in 1995 by the Texas Historical Commission, she was excavated inside a specially built cofferdam, yielding an intact hull and nearly two million colonial artifacts.

Vessel

Built: 1684
Builder: Not established
Yard: France
Material: Wood
Length: 54.5 ft
Beam: 14 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Kingdom of France (La Salle expedition)

Loss

Date: January 1, 1686
Cause: Storm
Location: Matagorda Bay, Texas
Water: Matagorda Bay
Voyage: La Rochelle, France → Mouth of the Mississippi River (missed; landed in Matagorda Bay)
Cargo: Colonial supplies including tools, weapons, trade goods, and cannons
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Some crew and colonists reportedly drowned; precise casualty figures are not established.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 12 ft
Condition: Hull and nearly two million artifacts recovered via a coffer dam excavation in 1996-97; hull now conserved and on exhibit.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1995
Protection: Excavated by the Texas Historical Commission; artifacts held in state museum collections.

Position

Coordinates: 28.57° N 96.21° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Matagorda Bay, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of Matagorda Bay, the named body of water recorded as the loss location for this vessel, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)

Texas Historical Commission, La Salle Archeology Projects
Excavation history, artifact recovery, exhibit locations.
Texas A&M Nautical Archaeology Program, La Belle
Expedition background, site discovery, hull conservation.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Matagorda Bay
coordinate of the named place of loss