Chesapeake Bay Shipwreck Map

In the waters surrounding the Delmarva Peninsula, shipwrecks have become an ever-present hazard to mariners. Yet, the loss of galleons and frigates, pirates and privateers, sea raiders and merchantmen alike, have played an important role in shaping local and national history, maritime lore, and literature. Shipping losses in these waters have influenced laws,the course of countless wars, and the commerce of empires and nations. Since the first European explorations of the mid-Atlantic seaboard, more than 4,000 vessels of every description have come to grief on the shoals and in the depths of these fabled waters. Whether caused by foul weather, mortal combat, bloody mutiny, treacherous bars, collisions, mechanical failure, human error, or myriad combination of all, most maritime disasters ended as only statistics. But in many ways, shipwrecksalso represent humankind’s will to struggle against all odds, and to prevail or perish in the effort. Indeed, for Everyman, they form the very fabric of history and high seas adventure that is without equal in any other environment. Published by National Geographic Society.