Wreck of French steamship that sunk in 1856 discovered off New England coast

A marine salvage firm has found the wreck of a long lost French steamship about 200 miles off New Bedford, Massachusetts. Atlantic Wreck Salvage of New Jersey found the wreck of Le Lyonnais in late August. The French steamship, a marvel for its time, was feared lost forever when a maritime disaster in 1856 sent her to the bottom of the ocean off Massachusetts. The next steps are to document the wreck site, map it and determine what artifacts can be brought to the surface. Members of the salvage crew called the ship an early example of a steam engine at a time when ships were transitioning from sail to steam.