Cheval-de-frise from the Revolutionary War - Independence Seaport Museum

Revolutionary War Artifact
from the Depths of the Delaware River

Iron tip of the Revolutionary War weapon »

Curator inspects Revolutionary War artifact »

Measuring the newly found cheval-de-frise »

Loading the cheval-de-frise
for transport to Seaport Museum »

Curator debuts cheval-de-frise to media »

Diorama of 1775 Revolutionary War
underwater defense system called
chevaux-de-frise in Delaware River »

For more than 200 years a strange object lurked undisturbed in the murky depths at the bottom of the Delaware River, until last summer, when a contractor charged with keeping Sunoco's Delaware River piers clear of debris, discovered its presence.

Using sonar techniques at Sunoco Logistics' Fort Mifflin Terminal, inspectors from S.T. Hudson Engineers Inc. of Camden, NJ, knew something was buried in the muck 40 feet below the water surface, they just didn't know what. In November 2007, Hudson sent divers to the river bottom, winched up the unknown object, and brought it to the Sunoco terminal.

They took photographs, emailed them to Lee Cox, director of Dolan Research, Inc., Maritime Archaeology Underwater Survey in Newtown Square, who shared the photographs with Craig Bruns, Curator at Independence Seaport Museum, and both men confirmed the mysterious object was a cheval-de-frise from the Revolutionary War.

The cheval-de-frise, which looks like a telephone pole with an iron point, was designed to keep supply ships from reaching British troops occupying Philadelphia in 1775. A series of chevaux-de-frise were sunk in the Delaware six feet below the surface, waiting to puncture the hulls of enemy ships.

After the war the chevaux-de-frise were removed to allow river traffic to resume unimpeded but somehow this one was missed. It is in remarkably good condition because the water and mud created an anaerobic environment that prevented the wood from rotting and the iron tip from rusting over the last 200 years.

This is the first cheval-de-frise found in the Delaware since the 1940s. One other is known to exist, located at the Camden County Historical Society. Sunoco graciously donated this important historic find to the Seaport Museum to ensure it received proper preservation care and to make it available for viewing to as large an audience as possible.

"It felt like the right thing to do," says John C. Legge Jr., operations manager for Sunoco Logistics. "It's such a significant part of the Revolutionary War history of our city and nation. We wanted to share it with the public."

View additional photos with interactive notes and a slideshow featuring highlights of the Seaport Museum's retrieval of the cheval-de-frise »

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