The Lost Ship of Lake George

A history and diving details for the Land Tortoise; one of the most interesting underwater sites in Lake George.

Story by Amanda Thompson

You might be surprised to know that the oldest intact warship in all of North America, the Land Tortoise, lies at the bottom of Lake George. A relic of the French and Indian War, the Land Tortoise was constructed in 1758 as a part of a fleet of gun batteries. It would be over 200 years until the lost ship was rediscovered.

After the loss of Fort William Henry and Fort Ticonderoga in 1757 and 1758, respectively, the radeaus were necessary to police the waters of Lake George and Lake Champlain. Often referred to as the Lost Radeau (French for raft), it was 52 ft long, propelled by 26 oars, and had 7 cannon ports. The ship was built by American Provincial officer Henry Champion under the orders of General Abercrombie.

The ship itself was never fully completed and lacked only finishing touches including a mast and cannons. The Land Tortoise was to be a powerful ship that specialized in assaulting troops on land. It would have been able to come close to shore and rain artillery on unsuspecting French troops.

According to DEC archeologist Chuck Vandrei, once Fort William Henry had fallen to the French there was no way to leave a garrison in the area. Troops would be unable to protect boats and weapons from being destroyed by the French during the winter months. For this reason troops decided to scuttle, or intentionally sink, many of their vessels. In 1758 it is believed that over 250 boats were scuttled and hidden under the winter ice. One of these ships was the Land Tortoise.

The Land Tortoise, however, did not go down easy. Champion kept a journal that chronicles this event. Champion noted that the outer planks of the boat were pine, making the vessel more buoyant. After troops spent a grueling night of placing rocks in the boat, it “rocketed back to the surface”.

On a second attempt the Land Tortoise sank much deeper than expected, which Vandrei hypothesized is probably because over the course of the night the boat had drifted several hundred yards from its intended resting place in shallower waters. In the spring, the vessel was lying over 100 feet below the surface and was unable to be recovered.

For something of such historic value, the Land Tortoise is relatively unknown to locals and tourists? One explanation is that it was discovered fairly recently. In 1990 a group of independent divers discovered the sunken ship through use of SONAR. Soon after the Land Tortoise became a National Historic Landmark.

Vandrei remarked that he “doesn’t know why the Land Tortoise isn’t more widely known” as it appears on several websites but also says that “there isn’t unfortunately a lot of tourism promotion for that kind of thing” in Lake George. It may not be “as famous as the USS Constitution but is a real and important piece American history.”

As the DEC agency historic preservation officer, Vandrei is also aware of the monetary commitment and “people-time” that are necessary. “Buoys, chains, websites, booklets, that all takes money.” You also “have to be able to have people to check on the site and maintain it.”

Currently the vessel remains approximately 105 feet below the surface of the lake. It has been very well preserved due to the fresh water and the almost constant 40 degree temperature at that depth. It is like the tortoise has “been put in a jar of water in a refrigerator” joked Vandrei and “so long as humans don’t disturb it is will theoretically be there for a long, long time.”

The human impact is the only imminent danger. Vandrei said that a common practice of divers is to drop anchor and drag it along the bottom until it hits something. This could do great damage to a boat made of wooden planks over the years. Today the site is clearly marked with DEC buoys and even has lines where divers can hook up their boats to prevent such damage.

Vandrei also commented that there is a perceived difference between landmarks that lie on the bottom of the water “as opposed to something in a state park.” Unfortunately people often think that shipwrecks and their contents are free for the taking. Vandrei also said that just like “you wouldn’t go to a state park and take a picnic table” you shouldn’t disturb the sunken remains.

Kurt Riley, a diving instructor for Rich Morin’s Professional Scuba Centers in Glens Falls NY, has gone on dives to the Land Tortoise over ten times in just the past year. He said that at this site “Every time you dive it is a little bit different”, the main factor being visibility. Depending on the day there can be anywhere from “Fifty to five feet” of visibility. September is the best month to go because with less tourists there is much less water traffic that lessens visibility.

Although many consider the Land Tortoise to be a challenging dive Riley, whose business takes divers on trips to this site, said there “…are guidelines set and you basically just follow the lines.” He also commented that the “most challenging part is the planning.” Riley said that the dive can be done with standard SCUBA equipment however an extra air tank is preferred.

Previously Riley has gone on dives with all kinds of divers including student groups. Contrary to the idea that many people don’t know about the site, Riley said that a large percentage people interested in diving the Land Tortoise come from New Jersey and other north eastern states.

The Land Tortoise may not be “as famous as the USS Constitution but is a real and important piece of American history.” DEC archeologist Chuck Vandrei

The Land Tortoise is a part of the NYDEC Submerged Heritage Preserves. The idea behind the preserves is not only to invite people to dive at them but also to educate people to leave them as they are so that people in the future can also enjoy these underwater attractions.

If you would like to read more about the history of the Land Tortoise as well about other shipwrecks in both Lake George and Lake Champlain Vandrei suggests you should check out Sails and Steam in the Mountains by Russ Bellico. It is a thorough maritime history of both of these beautiful Adirondack Lakes.

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