E. Lee Spence
Encyclopedia
Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology
who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure
. He is also a published editor
and author
of non-fiction
reference books; a magazine editor (Diving World, Atlantic Coastal Diver, Treasure, Treasure Diver, and Treasure Quest), and magazine publisher (ShipWrecks, Wreck Diver); and a published photographer. Spence was twelve years old when he found his first five shipwrecks.
Dr. Spence's past work has been funded by such institutions as the Savannah Ships of the Sea Museum, the College of Charleston
, the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities
. In 1991 and 1992, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archeology for San Andres y Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile Colombia
n owned archipelago
in the western Caribbean
. He has worked on the wrecks of Spanish galleons, pirate ships, Great Lakes freighters
, modern luxury liners (cruise ships), Civil War
blockade runners and submarines.
Spence first reported the discovery of the Civil War
submarine
Hunley
in 1970. Spence mapped and reported its location to numerous government agencies. The July 2007 cover story in U.S. News & World Report
noted that the Hunley "disappeared without a trace" until 1970 when it was found by "underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence." That report made no mention of novelist Clive Cussler, whose organization later (August 2008) dropped a lawsuit in federal district court against Spence in which it had claimed that they and not Spence had discovered the wreck in 1995. Both sides still claim that they and not the other discovered the wreck.
On September 13, 1976, the National Park Service submitted Sea Research Society's (Spence's) location for H.L. Hunley for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places
. Spence's location for Hunley became a matter of public record when H.L. Hunley's placement on that list was officially approved on December 29, 1978.
Spence's book Treasures of the Confederate Coast, which had a chapter on his discovery of Hunley and included a map complete with an "X" showing the wreck's location was published in January 1995.
In 1995 the discovery was independently verified by a combined South Carolina Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology
(SCIAA) and National Underwater and Marine Agency
(NUMA
) expedition directed by SCIAA underwater archaeologist Dr. Mark M. Newell and funded in part by novelist Clive Cussler
. Later the same year, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell (chairman), of the State of South Carolina Hunley Commission, Spence donated all of his rights to the wreck
to the State.
The Hunley discovery was described by Dr. William Dudley, Director of Naval History at the Naval Historical Center
as probably the most important (underwater archaeological) find of the (20th) century." The tiny sub
and its contents have been valued at over $40,000,000 making the discovery
and donation
one of the most significant and valuable contributions ever made to the State of South Carolina.
In addition to the Hunley, Spence has discovered several historically significant shipwrecks, including the (said to have been the most powerful cruiser
built by the Confederate States of America
).
South Carolina's law protecting both the State's and the salvors' interests in shipwrecks was passed following Spence's discovery of the Georgiana and his company Shipwrecks Inc. was granted South Carolina State Salvage License #1.
Spence states he has salvaged over $50,000,000 in valuable artifacts and has been responsible, through his archival research, for the location of the wrecks of the side-paddle-wheel steamers Republic
and Central America
from which over one billion dollars in treasure has been recovered.
On April 4, 1989, Spence announced his discovery that Margaret Mitchell
, who had claimed her Pulitzer Prize
winning novel Gone with the Wind
was pure fiction, had actually taken much of her compelling story of love, greed and war from real life and that Mitchell had actually based Rhett Butler
on the life of George Alfred Trenholm, a tall, handsome, shipping magnate
from Charleston, South Carolina, who had made millions of dollars from blockade running and was accused of making off with much of the Confederate treasury and had been thrown in prison after the Civil War. Spence's literary discovery that had its roots in his prior discoveries of some of Trenholm's wrecked blockade runners made international news.
The Encyclopedia Of Civil War Shipwrecks by W. Craig Gaines additionally credits Spence with the discoveries of the following Civil War wrecks: the Constance (lost 1864, found 1967); (lost 1864, found 1970); Keokuk (lost 1863, found 1971); Minho (lost 1862, found 1965); Presto (lost 1864, found 1967); Ruby (lost 1863, found 1966); Stonewall Jackson (lost 1863, found 1965). Spence's own books, as well as numerous third party books, newspaper and magazine accounts, and archaeological reports describe his discoveries of the blockade runners Mary Bowers and Norseman and dozens of other ships of all types and nations in waters all over the world spanning a time period of over two thousand years.
and conformant) maps and charts dealing with historical events, archaeology, shipwrecks and treasure.
, Dr. Spence is a past member of both the Board of Directors of the American Military Museum and Board of Directors of the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the Medical University of South Carolina
in Charleston. He is a lifetime member of Mensa International
and a former member of Intertel. Spence has an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserves and has served as Commander and Vice Commander for Post #10 of the veteran
's organization American Legion
.
in 1976, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an academic concentration in marine archaeology and won the Donald O. Bushman Award in cartography
. His doctorate
is a Doctor of Marine Histories (DMH) from Sea Research Society
's College of Marine Arts
.
Underwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure
Sunken treasure
Sunken treasure may refer to:*Goods , treasure and/or other artifacts lost in a shipwreck, some of which is sought after and/or found by marine salvors, divers, underwater archaeologists, and/or treasure hunters during marine salvage*Sunken Treasure , a Milton Bradley game*"Sunken Treasure," a...
. He is also a published editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
reference books; a magazine editor (Diving World, Atlantic Coastal Diver, Treasure, Treasure Diver, and Treasure Quest), and magazine publisher (ShipWrecks, Wreck Diver); and a published photographer. Spence was twelve years old when he found his first five shipwrecks.
Dr. Spence's past work has been funded by such institutions as the Savannah Ships of the Sea Museum, the College of Charleston
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...
, the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
. In 1991 and 1992, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archeology for San Andres y Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n owned archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in the western Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. He has worked on the wrecks of Spanish galleons, pirate ships, Great Lakes freighters
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
, modern luxury liners (cruise ships), Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
blockade runners and submarines.
H. L. Hunley
Spence first reported the discovery of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
Hunley
H. L. Hunley (submarine)
H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
in 1970. Spence mapped and reported its location to numerous government agencies. The July 2007 cover story in U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
noted that the Hunley "disappeared without a trace" until 1970 when it was found by "underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence." That report made no mention of novelist Clive Cussler, whose organization later (August 2008) dropped a lawsuit in federal district court against Spence in which it had claimed that they and not Spence had discovered the wreck in 1995. Both sides still claim that they and not the other discovered the wreck.
On September 13, 1976, the National Park Service submitted Sea Research Society's (Spence's) location for H.L. Hunley for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Spence's location for Hunley became a matter of public record when H.L. Hunley's placement on that list was officially approved on December 29, 1978.
Spence's book Treasures of the Confederate Coast, which had a chapter on his discovery of Hunley and included a map complete with an "X" showing the wreck's location was published in January 1995.
In 1995 the discovery was independently verified by a combined South Carolina Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology
South Carolina Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology
The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology was established in 1963 as a University of South Carolina research institute and a state cultural resource management agency....
(SCIAA) and National Underwater and Marine Agency
National Underwater and Marine Agency
The National Underwater and Marine Agency , originally an organization within the fiction of author Clive Cussler, is a private non-profit organization in the United States...
(NUMA
Numa
Numa may refer to:* Numa Pompilius, legendary second king of Rome* Numa Morikazu, Meiji era Japanese politician* Numa, Iowa, U.S. town* The Numa Numa Internet meme* The Northern Paiute people...
) expedition directed by SCIAA underwater archaeologist Dr. Mark M. Newell and funded in part by novelist Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
. Later the same year, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell (chairman), of the State of South Carolina Hunley Commission, Spence donated all of his rights to the wreck
Wreck
Wreck may refer to:* Wreck, a ceremony of initiation into the 40 et 8 club* Wreck , an American indie rock band* A collision of an automobile, aircraft or other vehicle* Shipwreck, the remains of a ship after a crisis at sea...
to the State.
The Hunley discovery was described by Dr. William Dudley, Director of Naval History at the Naval Historical Center
Naval Historical Center
The Naval History & Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy and is located at the historic Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia.-Mission :...
as probably the most important (underwater archaeological) find of the (20th) century." The tiny sub
Sub
Sub may refer to:* Submarine* Submarine sandwich* Subscription* Substitute * Substitute teacher* Subtitle * Bottom , also called "sub" * Subwoofer loudspeaker* Sub...
and its contents have been valued at over $40,000,000 making the discovery
Discovery (observation)
Discovery is the act of detecting something new, or something "old" that had been unknown. With reference to science and academic disciplines, discovery is the observation of new phenomena, new actions, or new events and providing new reasoning to explain the knowledge gathered through such...
and donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
one of the most significant and valuable contributions ever made to the State of South Carolina.
Other discoveries
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
built by the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
).
South Carolina's law protecting both the State's and the salvors' interests in shipwrecks was passed following Spence's discovery of the Georgiana and his company Shipwrecks Inc. was granted South Carolina State Salvage License #1.
Spence states he has salvaged over $50,000,000 in valuable artifacts and has been responsible, through his archival research, for the location of the wrecks of the side-paddle-wheel steamers Republic
SS Republic (1853)
SS Republic was a sidewheel steamship, originally named Tennessee , lost in a hurricane off the coast of Georgia in October 1865, en route to New Orleans....
and Central America
SS Central America
SS Central America, sometimes called the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the eastern coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after Mr. George Law of New York...
from which over one billion dollars in treasure has been recovered.
On April 4, 1989, Spence announced his discovery that Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, who had claimed her Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning novel Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
was pure fiction, had actually taken much of her compelling story of love, greed and war from real life and that Mitchell had actually based Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
on the life of George Alfred Trenholm, a tall, handsome, shipping magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
from Charleston, South Carolina, who had made millions of dollars from blockade running and was accused of making off with much of the Confederate treasury and had been thrown in prison after the Civil War. Spence's literary discovery that had its roots in his prior discoveries of some of Trenholm's wrecked blockade runners made international news.
The Encyclopedia Of Civil War Shipwrecks by W. Craig Gaines additionally credits Spence with the discoveries of the following Civil War wrecks: the Constance (lost 1864, found 1967); (lost 1864, found 1970); Keokuk (lost 1863, found 1971); Minho (lost 1862, found 1965); Presto (lost 1864, found 1967); Ruby (lost 1863, found 1966); Stonewall Jackson (lost 1863, found 1965). Spence's own books, as well as numerous third party books, newspaper and magazine accounts, and archaeological reports describe his discoveries of the blockade runners Mary Bowers and Norseman and dozens of other ships of all types and nations in waters all over the world spanning a time period of over two thousand years.
Cartography
Spence is also a cartographer and has published a number of popular and archaeological (proximal, contourContour line
A contour line of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level...
and conformant) maps and charts dealing with historical events, archaeology, shipwrecks and treasure.
- Shipwrecks of Hilton Head & Vicinity chart by Lee Spence, (Shipwreck Press, Sullivan's Island, S.C., 1980) OCLC: 15281285
- Shipwrecks of Wreck Valley : [New York City and Long Island regions] chart by E. Lee Spence (Shipwreck Press, Sullivan's Island, SC, 1990) OCLC: 40228884
- Shipwrecks of the Civil War : Charleston, South Carolina, 1861-1865 map by E. Lee Spence, (Shipwreck Press, Sullivan's Island, S.C., 1984) OCLC: 11214217
- Spence's Chart of Shipwrecks of Charleston, S.C.: over 250 wrecks map by E. Lee Spence (Shipwreck Press, Sullivan's Island, S.C., 1980) OCLC: 40228884
- Gold Bug: Treasure Chart, Edgar A. Poe by E. Lee Spence, (Sullivan's Island, SC: E. Lee Spence, 1981) OCLC: 49829303
- South Carolina Shipwrecks, 1520-1776 by E. Lee Spence (Charleston, S.C. : E. Lee Spence, 1976) OCLC: 6270298
International Diving Institute
Dr. Spence is a founder, owner and Vice President of the International Diving Institute, one of fewer than a dozen schools in North America that teaches and certifies commercial deep sea divers.Credentials and affiliations
Current President and Chairman of the Board of the Sea Research SocietySea Research Society
The Sea Research Society is a non-profit educational research organization founded in 1972. Its general purpose is to promote scientific and educational endeavors in any of the marine sciences or marine histories with the goal of obtaining knowledge for the ultimate benefit to mankind...
, Dr. Spence is a past member of both the Board of Directors of the American Military Museum and Board of Directors of the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the Medical University of South Carolina
Medical University of South Carolina
The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. It is one of the oldest continually operating school of medicine in the United States and the oldest in the Deep South...
in Charleston. He is a lifetime member of Mensa International
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
and a former member of Intertel. Spence has an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserves and has served as Commander and Vice Commander for Post #10 of the veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
's organization American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
.
Education
Spence graduated cum laude from the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
in 1976, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an academic concentration in marine archaeology and won the Donald O. Bushman Award in cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
. His doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
is a Doctor of Marine Histories (DMH) from Sea Research Society
Sea Research Society
The Sea Research Society is a non-profit educational research organization founded in 1972. Its general purpose is to promote scientific and educational endeavors in any of the marine sciences or marine histories with the goal of obtaining knowledge for the ultimate benefit to mankind...
's College of Marine Arts
College of Marine Arts
The College of Marine Arts was operated as the Sea Research Society's formal higher education wing from 1972 until 1978. It was initially located in Columbia, South Carolina and later moved to Mount Pleasant, outside of Charleston where it was housed in the former Berkeley County courthouse...
.
Certifications
- Sidescan Sonar Operator - Klein Associates - 1989;
- Shipwreck Consultant - Sea Research Society - 1972;
- Open Water Diver - Professional Association of Diving InstructorsProfessional Association of Diving InstructorsThe Professional Association of Diving Instructors is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson...
(PADIPadiPadi or PADI may refer to:* Padi, Chennai, India* Padi , a musical group* Paddy field, a type of cultivated land * Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a scuba organization...
) - 1969; - Scuba Instructor - NASDS - 1967;
- Commercial Diver (surface supplied air) - Palmetto Diving Association - 1966;
- Scuba Diver - Florida Safety Council - 1963