Cooper’s Floating Battery (1813)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Cooper's Floating Battery
• Type: Floating artillery battery
• Year Built: 1813
• Builder: William Cooper
• Dimensions: Length X ft (Y m); Beam; Depth of hold
• Registered Tonnage:
• Location: Offshore Sandy Creek, Mexico Bay, Lake Ontario
• Original Owners: William Cooper, Cooperstown, NY

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Unique early-19th-century floating artillery battery, constructed as an octagonal wood-planked platform vessel capable of mounting 16 guns, though it is documented to have carried only 2 at the time of loss. Intended as a defensive floating fortress during the War of 1812, specifically for protection of strategic Sackets Harbor.

Description

• Hull Material: Wood
• Shape/Form: Octagon-shaped raft-like floating platform
• Function: Defensive structure, similar in purpose to a naval pontoon battery or riverine fortification
• Armament: Designed for 16 cannons; only 2 known to be aboard at time of loss

History

• 1813 (Spring–Summer): Constructed amid rising threats during the War of 1812 to enhance local naval defences on Lake Ontario.
• 6 July 1813: While en route from Oswego to Sackets Harbor, the battery was caught in a severe Lake Ontario storm.
  • Sank approximately 5–6 miles offshore near Sandy Creek (Mexico Bay).
  • The lightly armed structure broke apart and foundered. No known recoveries.

Final Disposition

Destroyed by storm. Never recovered. No evidence of salvage or reuse. No known loss of life, but historical military shipping records are sparse.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Not located. No confirmed archaeological survey or sonar identification exists of the wreckage. Presumed fully broken up or buried.

Resources & Links

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Cooper’s Floating Battery was an early example of defensive maritime engineering, hastily constructed for strategic harbour defence in a wartime emergency. Its loss on Lake Ontario curtailed its brief service during the War of 1812. As an ad hoc floating artillery platform, it represents an innovative but fragile adaptation to wartime threat in the Great Lakes theatre.