Scientists probe shipwreck off RI coast

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) - Researchers from the U.S. Navy and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are looking for clues to the identity of a 200-year-old shipwreck lying just off the Rhode Island coast.

The two recreational divers who found the wreck are confident that the ship is the USS Revenge, commanded by navy hero Oliver Hazard Perry.

The Revenge sank in 1811 after striking a reef.

Researchers are using a torpedo-shaped robot to survey the wreck. They hope to use the data to locate artifacts that could confirm the ship's identity.

Rhode Island native Perry was cleared of responsibility for the loss of the Revenge. But his career stalled until he was sent to the Great Lakes, where he commanded U.S. forces to victory over the British navy in the War of 1812.