Civil War ironclad enthralls Navy divers, archaeologists in Savannah

By Phil Gast, CNN
6 minute read
Updated 6:36 PM EDT, Thu July 23, 2015
This cannon that was on a Confederate ironclad in Savannah, Georgia, was above the surface for the first time in 150 years on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. It was being raised along with other artifacts as part of a channel deepening project.
This cannon that was on a Confederate ironclad in Savannah, Georgia, was above the surface for the first time in 150 years on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. It was being raised along with other artifacts as part of a channel deepening project.
US NAVY
Navy Diver 1st Class Spencer Puett prepares to dive as part of the CSS Georgia salvage operations. About 40 Navy personnel are taking part in the summer salvage operation. Divers have to deal with extremely low visibility.
Navy Diver 1st Class Spencer Puett prepares to dive as part of the CSS Georgia salvage operations. About 40 Navy personnel are taking part in the summer salvage operation. Divers have to deal with extremely low visibility.
US NAVY
The first of four cannons to be removed from the CSS Georgia by U.S. Navy divers is lifted to a barge in the Savannah River on July 15.
The first of four cannons to be removed from the CSS Georgia by U.S. Navy divers is lifted to a barge in the Savannah River on July 15.
US NAVY
This small cannon, known as a "six pounder," was probably placed at the top of the deck of the CSS Georgia. It would have been used to fire on small row boats sent into Savannah by Federal commanders. It never got a chance to fire on the enemy. Click through to see more fascinating items that have been retrieved.
This small cannon, known as a "six pounder," was probably placed at the top of the deck of the CSS Georgia. It would have been used to fire on small row boats sent into Savannah by Federal commanders. It never got a chance to fire on the enemy. Click through to see more fascinating items that have been retrieved.
US NAVY
This piece of nautical tackle was used to move objects topside on the Confederate ironclad. Teredo shipworms have consumed most of the vessel's wooden hull and components.
This piece of nautical tackle was used to move objects topside on the Confederate ironclad. Teredo shipworms have consumed most of the vessel's wooden hull and components.
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Parker Brooks, a conservator and graduate student at Texas A&M University, studies an elevator screw and firing mechanism from a CSS Georgia cannon.
Parker Brooks, a conservator and graduate student at Texas A&M University, studies an elevator screw and firing mechanism from a CSS Georgia cannon.
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
A glass top from what archaeologists believe was a condiment bottle.
A glass top from what archaeologists believe was a condiment bottle.
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
After seven months of dives, the wreckage of the CSS Georgia in the Savannah River has yielded 1,500 items, along with cannons and artillery rounds. This pair of leg irons used to hold a prisoner will undergo conservation at Texas A&M University for eventual display.
After seven months of dives, the wreckage of the CSS Georgia in the Savannah River has yielded 1,500 items, along with cannons and artillery rounds. This pair of leg irons used to hold a prisoner will undergo conservation at Texas A&M University for eventual display.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Confederate vessel actually had armor made of inverted pieces of railroad iron because of the scarcity of preferred rolled plate. This schematic shows one of the CSS Georgia's guns -- four of which will be recovered this summer -- and the gun carriage that held it. The next two photos provide details of the highlighted items that have been brought to the surface by hand.
The Confederate vessel actually had armor made of inverted pieces of railroad iron because of the scarcity of preferred rolled plate. This schematic shows one of the CSS Georgia's guns -- four of which will be recovered this summer -- and the gun carriage that held it. The next two photos provide details of the highlighted items that have been brought to the surface by hand.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
This piece of iron had eyes, or holes, that were used as part of the rope and wood assembly that allowed the ironclad's crew to move guns closer or farther from portholes and into firing position. The CSS Georgia was scuttled when Savannah fell to Federal forces in December 1864.
This piece of iron had eyes, or holes, that were used as part of the rope and wood assembly that allowed the ironclad's crew to move guns closer or farther from portholes and into firing position. The CSS Georgia was scuttled when Savannah fell to Federal forces in December 1864.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
This trunnion cap, which helped connect a piece of artillery to a gun carriage, is in pretty good shape. It's well-known that the South had difficulty in matching technology of Northern equipment during the Civil War. Whereas a Northern version of this piece would have slots, the maker of this Confederate vessel resorted to large holes.
This trunnion cap, which helped connect a piece of artillery to a gun carriage, is in pretty good shape. It's well-known that the South had difficulty in matching technology of Northern equipment during the Civil War. Whereas a Northern version of this piece would have slots, the maker of this Confederate vessel resorted to large holes.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
One of the two leg irons recovered from the CSS Georgia site. "Part of the iron is solid; some has eroded completely," said Jim Jobling of Texas A&M. Scientists will remove encrusted material and inject epoxy into the areas of deterioration. An exact replica will be made. Then the epoxy will be removed from the original item.
One of the two leg irons recovered from the CSS Georgia site. "Part of the iron is solid; some has eroded completely," said Jim Jobling of Texas A&M. Scientists will remove encrusted material and inject epoxy into the areas of deterioration. An exact replica will be made. Then the epoxy will be removed from the original item.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
An X-ray of the pair of leg irons showed some areas of corrosion and a good amount of integrity inside.
An X-ray of the pair of leg irons showed some areas of corrosion and a good amount of integrity inside.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The CSS Georgia's wooden lower hull apparently is no longer in existence. But there is some surviving wood among pieces of iron and brass. "The wood is very badly eaten and is more like sponge. As far as conservation, it is not worth doing," said Jobling. "It's too far gone."
The CSS Georgia's wooden lower hull apparently is no longer in existence. But there is some surviving wood among pieces of iron and brass. "The wood is very badly eaten and is more like sponge. As far as conservation, it is not worth doing," said Jobling. "It's too far gone."
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
One of the enduring mysteries of the CSS Georgia is the whereabouts of the only known photo of the ironclad. A gentlemen in the foreground gazes at the vessel in the background. Someone took a photo of the grainy photo at a yard sale in southern Georgia a couple decades ago. Now officials are asking the public in <a href="http://www.gpb.org/news/2015/01/29/wanted-photo-of-confederate-battleship" target="_blank" target="_blank">helping them find the original photo</a>. Researchers hope that one day public outreach such as this effort might lead to a diary or something else that could help tell the story of the crew.
One of the enduring mysteries of the CSS Georgia is the whereabouts of the only known photo of the ironclad. A gentlemen in the foreground gazes at the vessel in the background. Someone took a photo of the grainy photo at a yard sale in southern Georgia a couple decades ago. Now officials are asking the public in helping them find the original photo. Researchers hope that one day public outreach such as this effort might lead to a diary or something else that could help tell the story of the crew.
Georgia Historical Society
Artifacts, cannon retrieved from Civil War ship

Story highlights

NEW: U.S. Navy brings up fourth cannon

Civil War ironclad must be moved so the shipping channel can be deepened

Divers have brought up 1,500 artifacts so far

CNN  — 

The wreckage of a Civil War vessel that is being removed piece by piece near Savannah’s famous River Street continues to impress – and even surprise – divers and archaeologists.

Officials initially thought they might recover five to 10 artillery rounds belonging to the CSS Georgia, which was scuttled by its Confederate crew right before the city fell to Union forces in December 1864.

But they’ve found more nearly everywhere they turn, with about 145 shells and projectiles recovered, and counting.

But the biggest surprise may have come Tuesday afternoon. U.S. Navy divers, who had already brought up two cannons, were bringing up a third, believing from archaeological research that it was an 8-inch cannon.

“The second it broke out of the water, I looked at Parker (Brooks, a graduate student), and said, ‘It’s a Dahlgren,’” said Jim Jobling, a project manager with Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory.

Because the 9-inch Dahlgren weighs about 1,500 pounds more than the 8-inch gun, the divers put it back on the Savannah River bottom, with plans to rig it again for the lift to a waiting barge. “These guys are extremely professional,” said Jobling.

The Navy team successfully raised the gun at sunset Tuesday.

Jobling, who is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said even with 1,500 artifacts found thus far, officials “have only scratched the surface.”

The $15 million removal of the CSS Georgia is necessary for a state and federal harbor deepening project, which will see the channel go from 42 feet to a uniform 47 feet so massive cargo container ships can use the port without relying on the tide.

The large number of artillery shells and the discovery of the Dahlgren, a large defensive weapon that had a crew of 16 and a powder monkey (a boy who carried gunpowder to cannons), have added to the mystique of the CSS Georgia.

Researchers have no blueprints or proven photos of the ironclad – and they aren’t sure how it was put together or even its size. These are some of the mysteries they are hoping to solve in the months and years ahead.

First time above the surface in 150 years

Over the past six months, divers working with the Army Corps of Engineers brought up hundreds of items by hand. Then the Navy was brought in to help with heavy lifting.

Virginia-based Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group Two has been in the water for nearly a month, tasked with salvaging the cannons, artillery rounds, the propeller, engine components and the casemate, which are the sloped, armor-coated structures that housed the CSS Georgia’s guns. It can be dangerous duty.

They expect to complete work by September 11.

The ironclad was significantly damaged by dredges clearing the channel, most recently in the early 1980s.

They left behind dredge marks amid the remains of the CSS Georgia, which rests on a slope.

“They are like grooves,” said Russell Wicke, a spokesman for the Savannah district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Wicke and Lt. Liza Dougherty, public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy group, said Navy divers kept finding artillery rounds that had rolled into the deep grooves.

“The divers would come down, pull up a cannonball and there would be two beneath it,” said Dougherty. The Navy is posting updates on its operations on a Facebook page.

The CSS Georgia didn’t have enough power to maneuver and effectively trade artillery rounds with any enemy vessels that might approach from the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, the vessel became a stationary floating battery, bristling with artillery pieces. The wreckage rests a couple of miles east of downtown.

The Confederate ship may have had as many as 10 guns, but a few may have been removed before the city fell to forces under Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman.

Two were recovered years ago and are at Old Fort Jackson, a fortification very near the CSS Georgia wreck site.

The first of four remaining cannon, a small gun, was raised last week.

“It fires a shell that is about 3 inches in diameter,” said Jobling. “It could have been used as case shot, or shrapnel, on ongoing soldiers or sailors in rowboats.”

A second gun brought up Tuesday morning is a larger Brooke rifle, similar to one at Old Fort Jackson.

“It’s a wonderful piece of the history for the Navy guys to know that once a week (the CSS Georgia crew) did their practice rounds (with the gu