Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Search for the Griffon - Great Lakes oldest shipwreck

  With this latest news release from the Detroit Free Press , it appears that my friend, Steve Libert might get a very legitimate opportunity to explore and identify a shipwreck that many feel might be the lost LaSalle vessel named Griffon. Barring any other bureaucratic or governmental intervention, Mr.Libert and his Great Lakes Exploration Group will be working in coordination with Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History curator, Scott Demel, to explore the wreck site and provide clues into this old ship's identity. I commend Mr. Libert for working with the academic and nautical archaeology community for working on this expedition.

Since the Griffon has been such a personal interest of mine for almost 35 years, I would like to include a few pictures (courtesy of Kathleen Joyce) of the original monument at where the site of this historic ship was built at the apex of where Cayuga Creek runs into the Niagara River approximately six miles east of Niagara Falls. This marker was dedicated by the City of Niagara Falls NY in May 1902 and was placed adjacent to the city's boat launch opposite Cayuga Island and very near to the infamous Love Canal.  This section of Niagara Falls is called LaSalle and is dedicated to the memory of the brave explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de LaSalle and his significant role in the exploration of the Great Lakes.

Update on the Griffon - Things are Getting Ugly!

Bureaucracy is running crazy with the discovery of LaSalle's flagship Griffon. The officials from the State of Michigan, which claims all rights to any shipwreck along its waters, have filed suit against the Great Lakes Exploration Group to provide the state the rights to all information that the salvor has regarding the location and critical scientific information regarding the Griffon. This request has been bantered throughout the Federal Courts all summer and has prevented Great Lakes Exploration Group from doing any diving nor additional research on their find, in order to conclusively prove that this is LaSalle's ship.

In the meantime, the admiralty lawyers in this case are making a fortune as both sides have dug their heels in on the issues. From Great Lakes perspective, they have spent over 28 years and countless millions of dollars on the discovery, exploration and research of this famed vessel and then the State of Michigan wants to come in and take all this information for free - as well as taking over all rights to the ship. The salvors are not looking for fortune and treasure here. They just want to discover this famous ship and preserve it for all generations to see. They are working with nautical archaeologists from Chicago's renown Field Museum therefore this site will never be plundered.

Most recently, the French government have entered the fray with documents claiming that this ship was an official French vessel, commissioned by their government to do French business and exploration in this region. LaSalle's trips "were not merely a personal initiative of an intrinsically private nature but required a king's decree," the official French government memo states emphatically. Normally Nautical Research Group does not endorse salvage operations without the appropriate archaeological sciences; however, in this case, Great Lakes is acting as a proxy for true professional, nautical archaeologists to do their job. From this standpoint, we truly commend Steve Libert and Great Lakes for all their study, research and discovery. Unfortunately, the State of Michigan has withheld their permits to dive the wreck and this has prevented Great Lakes from proving the ship is LaSalle's Griffon. With France coming into the picture, it appears that any leverage that Michigan is currently wielding may be moot. Overall, the biggest losers are the American public and its historical heritage.

LaSalle's Griffon - Latest News and Developments

Last month, we ran a series of weblogs on legendary French explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de LaSalle's flagship Griffon, the first European vessel to sail the upper Great Lakes. The Griffon was intended to carry out lucrative fur-trading commerce which would support La Salle’s expedition in search of the mouth of the Mississippi.  Steve Libert has spent 28 years researching and studying the history of the Griffon and has publicly announce that he may have found the "Holy Grail" of the Great Lakes. Since 2001, Libert has worked to involve academic experts and government officials in taking steps to preserve this potentially unique find. With this goal in mind, Great Lakes Exploration was formed with the vision of finding and protecting this rare piece of North American history. Since that discovery Libert has worked steadily with the Field Museum, Chicago, IL, in conducting preliminary studies of the wreck in situ. Subsequently, Great Lakes Exploration Group filed an admiralty arrest in the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in the summer of 2004. Great Lakes hopes for and is working toward a truly cooperative public/private venture that will protect the scientific and historical value of the shipwreck. It is Great Lakes Exploration Group's contention that since the explorer was doing the work of the French government in discovering the new world that it is bound by claiming the ship as France's property. There is plenty of precedence that would totally validate this claim which will cite the State of Texas dealing with France on another LaSalle ship named LaBelle. The State of  Michigan claims it was a vessel privately owned by LaSalle himself therefore a private vessel.  Because it sank and now rests within Michigan's nautical territory they claim it under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1986. Steve and his group are working diligently with trying to obtain permits from Michigan to conduct an archaeological excavation.  The State of Michigan will not offer the permits unless Steve can positively prove its the "Griffon".  Since Steve cannot prove its the "Griffon" without the permits to excavate; this is creating a bureaucratic Catch-22.  Steve and Great Lakes can produce Carbon-14 tests and archaeological tests on what they believe to be the bow sprit.  After almost a year of failed negotiations with the State of Michigan, Great Lakes proceeded with legal action. Additionally, the U S Navy, the Smithsonian and Canada are involved with the findings from this shipwreck.

In order to engage the public on this potentially historic discovery, Great Lakes Exploration Group has created a LaSalle - Griffon Project website that will chronicle their ongoing exploration expedition.  This website was unveiled yesterday and I can honestly say that this site is one of the best shipwreck sites that I have ever seen. Great Lakes designed this web site to reach out to experts, academia, other explorers, and the public at large to further their mission of education. We have provided a permanent link on our blog for continuous following of the latest news and developments from this historic shipwreck expedition.

LaSalle and the Voyage of the Griffon Part III - The Griffon is "Found"???

Last summer, a Great Lakes treasure hunter named Steve Libert claimed that he had found the Griffon between Escanaba and the St. Martin Islands, near Wisconsin. During his procedure to arrest the wreck for salvage claims, his permit was rejected by the State of Michigan who claimed that the wreck was theirs. According to their state mandate, all ships found in waters that border their state are Michigan's property.  Michigan moved to block Libert's claim in federal court, arguing that state law and the federal Abandoned Shipwreck Act give it ownership of sunken boats of historical significance.

A huge court battle ensued between Libert and the State of Michigan over the rights to the wreck and ownership. Illinois state archaeologists through Chicago's Field Museum have been investigating the wreck site but have been very tight-lipped about their results. Most scientists and researchers feel very dubious of the claim that this ship is the legendary Griffon. Mr. Libert's attorney claim that Libert is "committed to preserving the site" and wants to work with Michigan officials. However, it appears that Mr. Libert has spent enough time, money and energy trying to negotiate with the State of Michigan.

Just this past week, Libert trumped Michigan's claim to the wreck by working with the French government to impose France's claim to the ship. Since the Griffon was commissioned as a French vessel on officially-sanctioned French business, then France's right to the Griffon supercedes that of the State of Michigan. In a somewhat ironic twist, France wants to exert its right to the ship and has commissioned Mr. Libert and his Great Lakes Exploration Group to go forward with their work on the wreck. WOW!

Right now the courts are trying to find out what to do next. No one has worked the wreck site yet this year. U.S. Chief District Judge Robert Holmes Bell told Mr. Libert's attorney to get more details to the state scientists within the next two weeks. Once the details are received, the state will check the site and report back its ruling in July. In the meantime, the story of the Griffon is still shrouded by mystery and now international litigation. We will report more on this story as the the plot thickens.....
Dedicated to LaSalle Senior High School Class of 1965.

LaSalle and the Voyage of the Griffon Part II - The Search for the Griffon

By  mid-September of 1679, LaSalle has needed a new ship. While establishing an encampment in Wisconsin, LaSalle decided that he need another vessel to accompanying him on his journeys. On September 18th, he ordered the Griffon and a skeleton crew of six back to Niagara Falls for the requisition of the supplies necessary for him to build this new ship. Additionally, he had the Griffon filled with furs and other precious items that he wanted to bring back to the Falls for trade to get the required shipbuilding supplies. That was the last time anyone had seen the Griffon or her six man crew. The ship had mysteriously vanished!

The pursuit of trying to find the Griffon has been described as the "Holy Grail" of the Great Lakes. With current diving and scanning technologies, the hunt for the elusive ship has taken on a frenzied atmosphere. With so many rumors about the integrity and navigational skills of the officer in charge, a Danish man known as Luc, anywhere along the Great Lakes and associated tributaries were fair game for the search. In the mid-1950's quite a stir was made that the Griffon was found in Canada, in the vicinity of the Russell Island region of Georgian Bay. The theory was that the navigator, Luc, had inadvertently steered the vessel into the Bay and got lost. Other accounts had the ship and crew plundered by the Indians after a failed deal by Luc to steal the furs and cargo. Up until the mid-1970's this theory was very plausible and the find was thought to be the Griffon through anecdotal evidence. The advent of nautical archaeology was in its infancy and several leading authorities from Texas A&M had conclusively proven that the ship remains found in Georgian Bay were NOT the Griffon. So the search for the lost ship and our story ( Part III ) continue ......
Dedicated to LaSalle Senior High School Class of 1965.

LaSalle and the Voyage of the Griffon Part I - Construction at Niagara Falls

I was doing some work up in Canada last week and thought that I would come back and visit my old hometown of Niagara Falls, NY on the way back to New Jersey. I have many fond memories of my growing up in this city and my home was less than a mile from the Canadian border. I attended one of the city's high school named LaSalle Senior, our mascot was called Explorers and our school's newspaper was called the Griffon. Little did I know about the historic legacy that Niagara Falls had with the French Explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle and the vessel named Griffon.

In 1678, LaSalle was introduced to Father Louis Hennepin who is best remembered for the earliest writings about Niagara Falls. Hennepin would accompany LaSalle on his explorations and would keep copious accounts of their travels and adventures. If it was not for Hennepin, much of the details of LaSalle's work would be lost today. In January of 1679, the Griffon's building party arrived at the mouth of Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River (about a mile from my high school)  where the ship would be built. The exact place where the Griffon was constructed is marked by a boulder and historical plaque at 9317 Buffalo Avenue, just north of the city marina. The Plaque reads:

          Hereabout, in May, 1679
          Robert Cavelier De La Salle
          Built the GRIFFON of Sixty
          Tons burthen. The first Vessel
          To Sail the Upper Lakes
          May 1902

The Keel was laid on January 26th and by August 7th, the ship was launched into Cayuga Creek and moved to Lake Erie and immediately began its long journey toward Green Bay, Wisconsin. The voyage to Wisconsin was very arduous and LaSalle realized that he needed another ship. Once in Green Bay and in the face of mounting pressures, LaSalle ordered six of his men to sail back to Niagara on Sept 18th and then return with the iron works needed for the second ship. By December the Griffon had not returned and runners brought LaSalle a message that the ship had never reached Niagara Falls. LaSalle must now accept the fact that the Griffon was lost.

This series of weblogs are dedicated to LaSalle Senior High School Class of 1965. Happy 40th Anniversary!