Carolyn Kennedy

Research Interests

My research focuses on the maritime history and archaeology of northeast North America, specifically looking at ship construction and adaptations that occurred throughout the post-medieval era. In addition to ship construction, my interests include archaeological artifact conservation, public archaeology, and analytical archaeology. 

I am currently the director of the Gaspé Maritime Archaeology Project, launched in 2019, which seeks to study the maritime heritage and nautical archaeology of early European colonization and subsistence activities of eastern Québec and Canada. This ambitious, long-term project intends to catalog and categorize ships and shipwrecks of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence surrounding eastern Canada to examine the changing nautical technologies employed by European explorers and colonizers. The project has thus far consisted of two field projects in Gaspé, beginning with a remote-sensing survey in 2019, followed by a shipwreck excavation and remote-sensing field project in 2022. In the 2022 field season, the crew and I examined an as-yet unidentified shipwreck beached on a small cove facing the opening of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. The shipwreck timbers were determined to be part of a large, ocean-going vessel based on its heavy and closely-space timbers, double-planked hull, and extensive fasteners. Research into the origins of the wreck is ongoing. My team also conducted a remote-sensing survey of Gaspé Bay and Malbay, pinpointing several anomalies worthy of further investigation (Archéologiques 2023).  This ongoing research will continue to examine ways in which North American exploration and settler-Indigenous relationships influenced nautical technologies, providing novel research opportunities for students, and offering the potential for collaboration with faculty. 

I am also co-directing the Philadelphia Gunboat Research Initiative (with Dr. Chris Dostal), a project begun in 2024 with the intent of revisiting the famed Battle of Valcour submerged battlefield site in Lake Champlain. One of the earliest battles of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Valcour Bay took place in October 1776 and saw the clash of British forces versus the American Navy in its infancy under command of Benedict Arnold. Though the American forces lost the battle, historians believe the Battle of Valcour Bay delayed the superior British forces long enough to allow the Americans to recoup and ultimately win the war, having strengthened and fortified their troops and strongholds throughout the winter following the battle. Philadelphia, one of the gunboats sunk during the battle, was recovered in the 1930s by Colonel Lorenzo Hagglund and now resides in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. In light of the approaching 250th anniversary of the battle, the site is being revisited to attempt to answer unanswered questions about the battle as well as the raising of the gunboat. The project hopes to recover and properly conserve important pieces of our collective heritage linking us to this monumental historic event and reunite them with Philadelphia. 

Since 2019, I have been part of a team working on the interpretation and analysis of four 18th- and 19th-century shipwrecks found along the waterfront of Alexandria, Virginia (USA). These wrecks provide a wealth of information on ship construction practices of early European-North American tradition. 

In addition to these more recent projects, since 2014 I have co-directed research on the Shelburne Shipyard Steamboat Graveyard (with Dr. Kevin Crisman), examining early steamboat hull design and engine technology. My research into early steam both in the lakes and throughout North America continues in various forms, including iconography, further research into engine mechanics and operations, and the historical impact of steamboats on our continent.