Propeller from the CSS Georgia. US Army Corps of Engineers photo by Michael Jordan
Navy divers, working with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, are attempting to raise what is left of the 250′ long CSS Georgia, an ironclad warship from the Civil War, in preparation for dredging the Savannah River. The river is being dredged to allow for larger ships to call, following the widening of the Panama Canal.
The ship was also know as the Ladies’ Ram or the Ladies’ Gunboat as it was built with money raised by the Ladies’ Gunboat Association. Led by the women of Savannah, statewide fundraising resulted in over $115,000 in donations used to build the ship.
CSS Georgia, built in 1862, did not have a notable military career. Crudely built of timber strapped with railroad iron, the ship’s engines were not powerful enough to navigate against the current in the Savannah River. She was positioned as a floating battery to protect city of Savannah from attack by the water. She never fired a shot in battle as the Union General Sherman captured the city by land in 1864. The ships was scuttled by its crew to prevent it falling into Union hands.
As reported by MLive.com: Navy divers who began working in late June to recover cannons, unexploded shells and other artifacts from the riverbed finally started midweek on their last major task — retrieving an estimated 250,000 pounds of the Civil War ironclad’s armored siding…
Still classified as a captured enemy vessel by the Navy, the remains of the Confederate ironclad are being salvaged as part of a $703 million deepening of the Savannah harbor for cargo ships.
Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.
Recover unexploded shells ?
I thought they were still using powder, lead balls and a patch, cannons were powder and I guess iron ball?
1854, 7 years before the Civil War, Worthington Pump furnished Three reciprocating steam pumps to the City of Savannah. These pumps worked fine. However, after the war, the balance due remained unpaid, and this amount was written off.