Loss of the 1715 Spanish Fleet - Sebastian Inlet, Florida, USA.
N 27° 50.034 W 080° 26.055
17R E 555711 N 3078931
A Historic Marker near the location of the loss of the Spanish Plate fleet in 1715. Artefacts from the wrecks are now preserved at McLarty Treasure Museum located on this National Historic Landmark, Sebastian Inlet National Park, Florida.
Waymark Code: WMMKM7
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2014
Views: 3
This historical memorial marker plaque, dedicated in memory to the ill fated 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet, a dozen ships were lost to the Sea & Sands, due to a storm on that fateful night. The marker plaque is located near the entrance to the Maritime Treasure Museum.
The McLarty Treasure Museum, is also situated on the historic site of the survivors’ camp from the ill fated 1715 Spanish Fleet, the museum features, gold & silver artefacts, and displays, associated with the treasures these ships, lost to the waves, and beaches. A must visit attraction for anyone visiting the area.
The plaque reads:
SITE OF SURVIVORS' AND SALVAGERS' CAMP THE 1715 FLEET
"Late in July, 1715, a hurricane destroyed a fleet of eleven or possibly twelve homeward bound merchant ships carrying cargoes of gold and silver coinage and other valuable items from the American colonies to Spain. About 1500 men, women, and children who survived the disaster and reached the shore made their camp along the barrier island near the place where the fleet's flagship had sunk. Governor General Corcoles sent a relief party composed chiefly of Indian auxiliaries from St. Augustine to provide subsistence for the survivors. These auxiliaries also gave protection and aid to the salvagers who used the campsite while working to recover the valuable cargo from the sunken vessels. Archaeological work at the site revealed that the salvagers seem to have erected some temporary structures for use as storehouses for the recovered gold and silver. While the salvage operation was in process, Henry Jennings, an English pirate, sailed to the site, drove off the guards and seized a large quantity of the recovered coins which he carried away to Port Royal, Jamaica. But the great majority of the treasure was safely regained and moved to Havana by the Spanish salvagers."
McLarty Treasure Museum:
"On a National Historic Landmark site on the southern boundary of Sebastian Inlet State Park, this museum underscores the credo: "Wherever gold glitters or silver beckons, man will move mountains." It has displays of coins, weapons, and tools salvaged from the fleet of Spanish treasure ships that sank here in the 1715 storm, leaving some 1,500 survivors struggling to shore between Sebastian and Fort Pierce. The museum sits on the site of the survivors' camp. The museum's last video showing of "The Queen's Jewels and the 1715 Fleet" begins at 3:15." Text Source: (
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