Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 16

Table Glass from the Wreck of the Machault

by Paul McNally

Introduction

The frigate Machault was the flagship of a small French relief fleet en route to Montreal in the spring of 1760 with munitions and supplies. The fleet took shelter in the mouth of the Restigouche River at the head of Chaleur Bay on learning that a British fleet had preceded it up the St. Lawrence. A group of British ships sought out the French with the result that in July the Machault. along with several other ships, was blown up — with most of its cargo on board — to prevent its capture (Beattie 1968).

Walter Zacharchuk of the National Historic Parks and Sites Branch conducted the underwater excavation of the wreck. This report deals with the table glass recovered during the 1969, 1970 and 1971 seasons.