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Hell Gate
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The swirling tides of the
East River were famed for
bedeviling sailors, starting
with the Dutch explorer
Adriaen Block in 1614. He
gave the East River's midway
point the name Helegat,
meaning "bright passage."
But as a place of whirlpools
and dangerous rocks, the
Anglicization that stuck was
Hell Gate.
The Hell Gate contains the
remains of countless ships.
Most will forever remain
nameless, while some have
become legendary.
The H.M.S. Hussar Disaster
The H.M.S. Hussar was one
such vessel. The Hussar was
a British frigate of War,
part of a fleet of
privateers. It had left
Charles Town carrying
soldiers, slaves, rations
and a vast fortune of Gold
and Silver -- payroll for
the British forces stationed
in the colonies. On her way
she attacked two ships,
confiscating their treasure
and sinking the. Then she
met two sister ships. Both
had been commissioned into
battle so unloaded their
cargoes onto her. As you can
imagine, the Hussar was now
heavily overloaded, and
became easy prey for the the
jaws of Hell Gate. Weighed
down, she was unable to
maneuver around the currents
and smashed her bow into Pot
Rock. She went down on
November 23rd 1780 with 150
men and $15 000 000 worth of
gold on board. Some believe
the treasure still lies on
the river bed today. A
treasure, is now estimated
to be worth up to $1.5
billion.
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