1715 FLEET ARTIFACT

This Lead Shot (Musket Ball) was discovered on the shipwreck sites of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet, located from Ft. Pierce to Melborne, Florida. This type of Lead Shot was used for ammunition with the musket or pistol carried by the crew of many Spanish Galleons.

On July 24, 1715, a fleet of eleven Spanish ships and one French ship departed Havana harbor bound for Cadiz, Spain under the command of Captain Juan Esteban de Ubilla and don Antonio de Echeverez. On board these vessels were four years of accumulated treasure that was desperately needed by the Spanish treasury.

On July 29, 1715, the first signs of a hurricane appeared, but despite every effort made by the crews to save their ships, on the 31", the entire Spanish Fleet perished along Florida's east coast.