C.S.S. Georgia Archival Study

CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad constructed in Savannah in 1862 and scuttled in the Savannah River two years later, was virtually forgotten for over a hundred years. It was " rediscovered" in 1968, when a pipeline dredge working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers struck the remains of the vessel in 20 Feet of water north of Fort Jackson (Lawson 1978a, Pt. 2: 13; Garrison et al. 1980:4) . The wreck site, located three miles below Savannah and 11 miles above the mouth of the river, is adjacent to the main navigation channel of the Savannah River (Design Memorandum 1983:1-1). Now listed on the Notional Register of Historic Places, CSS Georgia is identified as possibly one of the 10 most significant wreck sites in U.S. waters. The significance of the site has led to discussions about stabilizing the wreck, and possibly raising it, as well as planning for mitigation of adverse impacts to the wreck that may result from future dredge activities.

Archaeological mitigation at Georgia site would have the potential to answer some basic questions about life on a Confederate ironclad. Unlike other ironclads of the Savannah Squadron, Georgia was not blown up or burned prior to sinking. As a result, the potential for the recovery of material possessions on board the vessel is great. Such a project would offer unique challenges as well. Compared to many other ironclads from the Civil War, relatively little is known about Georgia (Figure l; Garrison et al. 1980: front; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, c. 1985; Design Memorandum 1983). It is one of the few ironclads for which plans have not been found, and are not likely to be found (Babits 1993 :30). Although it was constructed in Savannah virtually by committee, the size of the vessel is in dispute, with lengths ranging from 260 to 150 feet, and beam widths ranging from 50 to 60 feet (Garrison et al. 1980:24). Modern sounding equipment tends to support a length closer to the 150-foot range, but the measurements of the wreck are simply not known Wudy Wood, personal communication, 2002). There are three Civil War era engravings of Georgia, and no two agree as to its size and appearance. The only surviving photograph is of poor quality and questionable attribution. All of which suggests that relatively little is known about a wreck site identified as one of the most significant in the nation.

To help pull together information on Georgia, New South Associates of Stone Mountain, Georgia, has conducted an archival study of the vessel for the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Together with materials gathered over the past 35 years, New South has gathered additional data from the U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the University of Texas at Austin. Other locations visited as part of this archival investigation included the National Archives in College Park, Maryland; the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond; the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Tulane University in New Orleans; the Dun & Bradstreet Collection at the Baker Library, Harvard University; and the University of Texas at Austin. Also included were historical resources in the city of Savannah itself: the Georgia Historical Society and the Coastal Heritage Society, including Old Fort Jackson. From these sources, the project historians gathered a wide range of materials on many aspects of the vessel. Research was conducted by Mark Swanson of New South Associates and Robert Holcombe of the National Civil War Naval Museum under the direction of Mary Beth Reed of New South Associates.