In the years 1768-1771, British sailor Captain James Cook used the Endeavour to sail the Pacific Ocean, map New Zealand and survey the eastern coast of Australia.  Captain Cook discovered New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia and claimed both for Britain. He was also the first person to circumnavigate the world in both directions. His ship was HMS Endeavour.  Endeavour eventually ended up becoming part of the British fleet used during the Revolutionary War.

HMS Endeavour was intentionally sunk by the British in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island in 1778 to keep French ships from landing to aid the Americans' drive for independence. The American/French rebellion against the British failed.

Four ships from a British fleet used during the U.S. Revolutionary War have been found off Rhode Island, and one may be the vessel 18th century explorer Captain James Cook sailed on his epic voyage to Australia, archaeologists said today.

Researchers with the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project said they believe the four ships, and two others previously discovered, are part of a 13-vessel transport fleet intentionally sunk by the British in Newport Harbor in 1778 to keep French ships from landing to aid the Americans' drive for independence.

The archaeologists say one of the 13 ships in the sunken British fleet was the Lord Sandwich, which records show was once the Endeavour but Archaeologists say it is unclear which ship could be the Endeavour.  Seven of the ships in the British fleet have not been found but the archaeologists say the latest find raises the chances that one of the discovered ships is the Endeavour.

According to the executive director of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project there is a 47 per cent chance that we have our hands on the Endeavour.  It may take years to fully investigate the shipwrecks.

Using historical materials and sonar, the archaeologists discovered the ships in Narragansett Bay, about a kilometer off Newport.  They also found at least one cannon, an anchor with a five-meter shank and a cream-colored fragment of an 18th century British ceramic teapot.

Historically, the finding is significant because it helps tell the story of the siege of Newport, marking France's first attempt to aid the American insurrection against the British.

The shipwrecks are Rhode Island property and there are no plans to raise them.

Officials estimate more than two dozen ships from the Revolutionary War period lie beneath Rhode Island's waters.  They include British Royal Navy frigates, vessels from the Continental Navy and a French ship.