Picket
readers’ abiding interest in shipwrecks and archaeology dominated the list of
the 10 most popular items reported and written in 2016. Thank you so much for
your support this past year. All the best to each of you in 2017!
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| (Picket photo) |
10. ‘SO MUCH
POTENTIAL’: County officials and
the friends group want a newly opened park in Resaca, Ga., to be an
educational, recreational and historic beacon for local residents, travelers
and Civil War buffs. The park (photo above) contains significant remnants of earthworks,
including an impressive length of trenches.
• Read more
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| CSS Georgia gun (USACE) |
9. HUNLEY, MONITOR,
CSS GEORGIA: Ahead of a
Columbus, Ga., symposium on shipwrecks, the Picket gleaned fascinating details
on conservation efforts related to these famous vessels. • Read more
8. ‘FOR EVER ENGLAND’: A
ceremony this past summer at Poplar Grove National Cemetery at the Petersburg,
Va., battlefield recalled the life and service of a British sergeant major who
trained young Americans at nearby Fort Lee during World War I. • Read more
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| Courtesy of John Gregory |
7. BLOCKADE RUNNER DIORAMAS: Endearingly
old school, four dioramas depicting scenes from Civil War blockade running – a
cargo auction, a daring Union raid, the boarding of a vessel and the drowning
of a Confederate spy – are on display in a North Carolina town for the first
time in nearly 35 years. Another (above) is at a nearby recreation area. • Read more
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| Georgia State Parks |
6. VANDALIZED HOWITZER ON DISPLAY: An
artillery piece is back at the Georgia battlefield where it is believed to have
been used in a deadly barrage on attacking Federal troops. The restored howitzer, which was spiked
and vandalized over the years, now sits on a reproduction carriage at Pickett's Mill Battlefield Historic Site near Atlanta (photo, left). • Read more
5. ‘SCENE AT THE RAVINE’: A burn
ban brought on by the summer’s drought brought postponement to candlelight
tours planned at Pickett’s Mill battlefield. • Read more
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| Georgia DNR |
4. FORT McALLISTER’s MYSTERY COFFIN: Rachel
Black, deputy state archaeologist in Georgia, has posed a question that
currently has no answer but offers a range of fascinating possibilities: Why
was a coffin placed in a marsh near a Civil War fort and who put it there. • Read more
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| Jim Jobling (USACE) |
3. TOUGH CHOICES: Each time
a scoop of CSS Georgia artifacts landed on the deck of a barge in the Savannah
River, Jim Jobling made a decision – conserve or put them back in the river. • Read more
2. CONSERVATION
SCORECARD: I asked three Civil
War shipwreck conservators (CSS Georgia, H.L. Hunley and USS Monitor) and a
historian at a symposium in Columbus, Ga., for a scorecard on where the work
stands and the biggest questions they hope additional research will reveal. • Read more
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| Courtesy of Michael Gregory |
1. CAMP DOUGLAS ARTIFACTS: About
4,000 Confederates died at the Chicago prison. An archaeologist and a foundation are
conducting further research on a corner of the site (above) in the Bronzeville neighborhood to determine the location
of key structures and learn more about prisoner life. "It has been one of the most interesting collections I have ever worked on," says archaeologist Michael Gregory. • Read more
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