Portion of CSS Georgia retrieved from Savannah River

When Savannah, Georgia fell to Federal forces in December 1864, the CSS Georgia was among the warships scuttled by the retreating Confederates.  The ironclad, really little more than a floating battery due to propulsion problems, has remained in the Savannah River ever since.  Over the years salvage operations, channel dredging, and other activities have disturbed the ironclad's site.  Some of the ship's guns and other artifacts were recovered as part of archeological investigations starting in 1979.  But with plans to enlarge the river channel, the remains were at risk.  The Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, which is responsible for maintaining the ship channel, has long looked for ways to preserve the remains of the Georgia.  On Tuesday, November 12, 2013, those efforts brought a 2 1/2 ton portion of the ironclad to the surface.  From the US Army website:

Army Corps, U.S. Navy retrieve piece of Civil War ironclad from Savannah River 

Savannah, Ga. (Nov. 13, 2013) -- Archeologists working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, aided by divers and salvage operations teams from the U.S. Navy, retrieved a 64-square-foot section of a Civil War ironclad warship from the bottom of the Savannah River here, the evening of Nov. 12.

The divers worked in strong currents with near-zero visibility during the past week to assess the possibility of lifting a small piece of the Confederate ship's casemate for archeological testing.

A crane lifted it onto a barge anchored near historic Old Fort Jackson on the eastern edge of Savannah. Experts estimate the piece weighs more than 5,000 pounds.

The Confederate navy scuttled the CSS Georgia in 1864, as Union troops approached Savannah. The iron-covered ship remained on the river bottom until 1969, when a dredge removing sediment from the shipping channel struck a portion of the ship, according to Julie Morgan, staff archeologist for the Corps' Savannah District. A brief recovery effort in the late 1980s removed two cannons, various types of munitions and other artifacts.

"This retrieval will play a major role in creating a research design to effectively remove the CSS Georgia before expanding the shipping channel along this stretch of the Savannah River," said Morgan. "It took a dedicated team working in some very tough conditions to bring this piece to the surface."

Over time, the ship's casemate, the iron-covered upper portion of the warship, came apart. The small portion removed Nov. 12 will give archeologists the ability to assess the condition of the remainder of the ship, according to Morgan, and ensure the team follows protocols from the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, or SHEP, includes removal and preservation of CSS Georgia, which sits immediately adjacent to the shipping channel. The SHEP will deepen Savannah's harbor from its current 42-foot depth to 47 feet, greatly expanding its capability to handle larger cargo vessels. (Original article.)

The Savannah District Flickr page has a few photographs from the recovery operation already posted.  The first shows the barge and rig used to recover the armored casemate section:




The next shows recovery well under way:

Lastly, the section is shown on the barge:

Hopefully, more of the ship will come to the surface before long and go through the conservation process for eventual display. The "science" behind recovery of Civil War ironclads has come a long way since the USS Cairo and CSS Neuse were brought up.  

Upcoming Events for the CWN 150

Wow.  A new year for all of us.  For the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, it is the follow up to the most cataclysmic series of events which led to the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Confederacy.

2011 (1861) was an excellent start to the events and activities surrounding the role of the Navy's during the war.  2012 promises to be an important year, if not the most important one, for the CWN 150. There are tons of events planned and scheduled for this commemorative year, so stay tuned.  In the near future, however, there are two that are directly on the radar for January (not to mention the CWN 150 Watercolor Contest and LEGO shipbuilding program!).

2012 SNA Conference in Crystal City, VA
The CWN 150 will have a booth in the exhibitors room at the 2012 Surface Navy Association at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City.  The conference will be held from Tuesday, January 10th to Thurs, January 12th.  Come stop by and get a FREE copy of the CWN 150 Special Edition Daybook or have a chat with me about anything related to the exciting Civil War Navy commemoration this upcoming year.  I will also have some prize drawings to win a copy of the Civil War at Sea DVD which just came out in coordination with Bob Rositzke and Bill Erickson of the Surface Navy Association. 

It will also be the debut of the new CWN 150 traveling exhibit panel which highlights the history and heritage of the Civil War navies, noting how the war itself was the beginning of the creation of a modern surface navy.  Come check it out. 

See the full list of exhibitors, events, and speakers for the SNA Conference HERE.

 Lecture at Ashantilly Center in Darien, GA (January 22, 3:00 pm) 
I will also be speaking next Saturday at the Ashantilly Center in GA.  The fine folks at Coastal Georgia University helped to put together this event, which also includes lectures from several of our friends at the National Civil War Naval Museum im Columbus.  According to the Ashantilly Center's website, the description is as follows:

"Matt Eng, Deputy Educator at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and an expert on American Naval History, will discuss the importance of commemorating the Civil War’s Sesquicentennial, focusing much of his presentation on the Navy during that period."

Flattering as the description is, I will be discussing the overall scope of the CWN 150 and its role in the ongoing narrative of memory during the war.  For more information on the event, please go to the full link/details HERE or the Mcintosh County Homepage HERE.

I look forward to an excellent year for the CWN 150 and the Civil War Sesquicentennial.  Let's make it the best one yet!  Stay tuned for more info on the March 2012 Battle of Hampton Roads events at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the Mariners' Museum. 

Full Speed Ahead,

Matthew T. Eng

The Confederate Cruiser That Got Lost in the Mail

During the Civil War, there were two naval vessels called the CSS Georgia. But did you know there was almost a third?



In 1864, the Confederate Navy commissioned the building of a warship in France. However, by the time it was finished it was embargoed by the French government and wound up as a Peruvian warship called America. The America wound up washed ashore in 1868 thanks to a nasty tidal wave.