<P> In 1697, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville sailed for France and was chosen by the Minister of Marine to lead an expedition to rediscover the mouth of the Mississippi River and to colonize Louisiana which the English coveted . Iberville's fleet sailed from Brest on October 24, 1698 . On January 25, 1699, Iberville reached Santa Rosa Island in front of Pensacola founded by the Spanish; he sailed from there to Mobile Bay and explored Massacre Island, later renamed Dauphin Island . He cast anchor between Cat Island and Ship Island; and on February 13, 1699, he went to the mainland, Biloxi, with his brother Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville . On May 1, 1699, he completed a fort on the north - east side of the Bay of Biloxi, a little to the rear of what is now Ocean Springs, Mississippi . This fort was known as Fort Maurepas or Old Biloxi . A few days later, on May 4, Pierre Le Moyne sailed for France leaving his teenage brother, Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne, as second in command to the French commandant . </P> <P> The Mardi Gras shipwreck around the early - 19th century about 35 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,000 feet (1220 meters) of water . She is believed to have been a privateer or trader . The shipwreck, whose real identity remains a mystery, lay forgotten at the bottom of the sea until it was discovered in 2002 by an oilfield inspection crew working for the Okeanos Gas Gathering Company (OGGC). In May 2007, an expedition, led by Texas A&M University and funded by OGGC under an agreement with the Minerals Management Service (now BOEM), was launched to undertake the deepest scientific archaeological excavation ever attempted at that time to study the site on the seafloor and recover artifacts for eventual public display in the Louisiana State Museum . As part of the project educational outreach Nautilus Productions in partnership with BOEM, Texas A&M University, the Florida Public Archaeology Network and Veolia Environmental produced a one - hour HD documentary about the project, short videos for public viewing and provided video updates during the expedition . Video footage from the ROV was an integral part of this outreach and used extensively in the Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck documentary . </P> <P> On July 30, 1942 the Robert E. Lee, captained by William C. Heath, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-166 . She was sailing southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi River when the explosion destroyed the #3 hold, vented through the B and C decks and damaged the engines, the radio compartment and the steering gear . After the attack she was under escort by the USS PC - 566, captained by LCDR Herbert G. Claudius, en route to New Orleans . The USS PC - 566 began dropping depth charges on a sonar contact, sinking the U-166 . The badly damaged Robert E. Lee first listed to port then to starboard and finally sank within about 15 minutes of the attack . One officer, nine crewmen and 15 passengers were lost . Ironically the passengers aboard the Robert E. Lee were primarily survivors of previous torpedo attacks by German U-boats . The wreck's precise location was discovered during the C & C Marine survey that located the U-166 . </P> <P> The German submarine U-166 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II . The submarine was laid down on December 6, 1940 at the Seebeckwerft (part of Deutsche Schiff - und Maschinenbau AG, Deschimag) at Wesermünde (modern Bremerhaven) as yard number 705, launched on November 1, 1941 and commissioned on March 23, 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans - Günther Kuhlmann . After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-166 was transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front - line service on June 1, 1942 . The U-boat sailed on only two war patrols and sank four ships totalling 7,593 gross register tons (GRT). She was sunk on July 30, 1942 in Gulf of Mexico . </P>

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