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| Dahlgren gun recovered in 2015 from CSS Georgia (USACE) |
Being involved
in underwater archaeology and the conservation of artifacts isn’t for the faint
of heart, or without its setbacks – but the rewards can be amazing.
Conservators working
on three famous vessels – the H.L. Hunley, USS Monitor and the CSS Georgia, will
give talks and take part in a panel discussion on July 30 at the “Wrecks,
Recovery and Conservation” symposium open to the public at the National Civil
War Naval Museum in Columbus, Ga.
The symposium
comes as conservators continue to make remarkable finds and ensure the long-term
survival of artifacts and components of vessels that were lost during the Civil
War:
CSS Georgia: Conservation of artifacts at Texas A&M University’s
Conservation Research Laboratory continues. As of early June, nearly 100% of
the 15,500 artifacts recovered thus far had been inventoried. Recovery of
the remaining casemate sections of the Confederate ironclad is scheduled for
summer 2017.
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| (Friends of the Hunley) |
USS Monitor: By the end of this week, conservators will finish the draining
of the ironclad’s signature gun turret. They have been removing layers of
marine concretion loosened from the turret’s surface. Some 110 items found in
the turret have been added to the collection of artifacts from the Monitor,
famous for its famous battle against the CSS Virginia in March 1862. It sank in a storm on Dec. 31, 1862, off North Carolina. Its wreckage was discovered in 1973.
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| Concretion removal on Hunley a couple years ago (Friends of the Hunley) |
At the symposium, the experts will detail the planning,
logistics, teamwork and funding needs on projects that take decades to complete,
said Jeff Seymour, director of history and education at the Columbus museum.
“It is a
better understanding of what it takes to preserve something like this for the
future,” he said. “With the (CSS) Georgia, it is the beginning part of a major
project … the other two, what are things like going toward the middle or end of
the project, or a lot closer to it.”
Presenters
are:
-- Michael Jordan, a filmmaker who has researched the CSS Georgia’s history and early
archaeology.
-- Jim Jobling, chief conservator on the
CSS Georgia and research associate at Texas A&M University’s Conservation
Research Laboratory.
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| Will Hoffman |
-- Will Hoffman, conservation project
manager and senior conservator with the USS Monitor Collection, based at
Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va.
-- Paul Mardikian, chief conservator for
the H.L. Hunley Project, working at Clemson University’s Warren Lasch
Conservation Center in North Charleston, S.C.
“Through a series of informative lectures,
symposium attendees will be briefed on the challenging, complex and costly
aspect of locating shipwrecks, as well as the amount of time and effort
required to actually recover them properly and record and stabilize the items
found on them,” the Columbus museum says.
Here are a
few more details gleaned this week by the Picket during inquiries on the status of the conservation efforts:
CSS Georgia
Russell Wicke, spokesman
for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah district, said Jobling “will be
discussing the challenges the artifacts presented and field methods developed
to overcome them.”
Most of the recovered
artifacts came up in 2015 during the recovery of the CSS Georgia during the
current river deepening project in the Savannah River. Contract and Navy divers
brought up thousands of large and small items, including artillery, from the
scuttled vessel. But they had to leave a lot more down on the river bottom.
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| Jim Jobling with rear gun sight for cannon (USACE) |
“Recovery of the remaining
casemate sections is scheduled for summer 2017, Wicke said. “The team will
utilize methods that will result in an intact-as-possible recovery of the
sections. The plan is still being worked out, but methods will be similar to
those used in 2015.”
There’s been no
determination on where the signature artifacts from the CSS Georgia will be
displayed, but Savannah is probably the best bet.
Seymour, of the National Civil
War Naval Museum, said the venue would be interested in showcasing some items
from the CSS Georgia.
“First and
foremost, crew material. What is the day-to-day existence of the sailor? Second-tier
stuff would be construction. How is this thing built?”
Experts are
trying to learn more about construction, power train and design of the CSS
Georgia, which was built in Savannah. There are no surviving blueprints.
USS Monitor
Senior
conservator Will Hoffman wrote this update, which has been edited:
“Starting in the first
week of May, Monitor Center staff began a major documentation and conservation treatment regime on the
turret. Work began with the removal of the electrolytic reduction (ER) system. An
assessment of the condition of the artifact was conducted to identify how
effective the electrochemical process has been in loosing corrosion products
and freeing concreted artifacts. After the assessment, the staff conducted a
widespread cleaning campaign on the interior and exterior of the turret. This
work culminated in the removal of all remaining nut guards and associated
fasteners on the interior of the turret along with several other artifacts.
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| Cannonball dents are evident in turret (Library of Congress) |
“Since the cleaning work began, 110 new objects
have been accessioned into the collection. Contemporaneously with the treatment
work, Monitor Center
staff coordinated gallery, lab, and turret tours to cultivate donor support and
generate interest in the project. Additionally, the turret was photographed
from multiple angles to create updated panoramic photos of the interior and
exterior of the artifact. This information along with the other photos will be
used to create a 3-D model of the turret using photogrammetry software. In
addition, a company named Automated Precision completed a laser scan of
the turret to also create a 3-D model. Both models will be used to aid in
the structural condition assessment of the artifact as well as to be a resource
to conduct an archaeological investigation of the cannonball dents in the
turret's surface.
“This week, we are installing a
new electrolytic reduction system to optimize the corrosion and chloride
removal process. We will get back into the tank next summer.
“Both the Mariners' Museum and NOAA
are committed to the conservation effort. In the fall, we will be conducting
a major cleaning effort on the engine room bulkhead components as well as
a large assortment of copper piping.
“We have at the museum almost 1/5 of the Monitor, consisting of the
majority of the engine room and turret. For the engine room, we have five of
the vessel's engines, including the main engine, ventilation engines and two
direct-acting Worthington pumps. We also have cast diamond plate flooring,
steps, railings, engine room bulkheads, gauges, the main steam line from the
boilers, condenser, propeller shaft, propeller and support skeg. To our
knowledge, we have one of the oldest mid-19th century engine rooms in
existence.”
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| Most of the Monitor remains on ocean floor (NOAA) |
Hoffman said at this point there are no plans to recover additional artifacts from the wreck site off Cape Hatteras, N.C. NOAA does continue to monitor its condition.
H.L. Hunley
This summary
is from conservator Johanna Rivera-Diaz:
“Hunley
tank: The interior deconcretion of the submarine began early this year.
Features such as the crank, flywheel and bulkheads are currently being
uncovered.
“This
year, several rope artifacts have been conserved. The biggest rope artifact
from the submarine was found in the aft compartment surrounded by sediment and
around the aft section of the crank. The rope was removed in 12 sections, each
of them ranging from 30 to 90 cm long. The rope has gone through and extensive
cleaning to remove sediment, concretion as well chemical cleaning to remove
iron corrosion products. They have also gone through consolidation in
preparation for the drying process.
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| Paul Mardikian at work (Friends of the Hunley) |
“Dozens
of gaskets are currently being conserved and dry. Gaskets were found in the
viewing ports, pumps and machinery from the submarine. The gaskets are made of
vulcanized rubber lined with cotton. They have also gone through chemical and
mechanical cleaning as well as controlled air drying in a humidity chamber.
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| Forward ballast pump (Friends of the Hunley) |
“Recently, conservators also completed the deconcretion and disassembly of H.L. Hunley’s forward ballast tank pump. The disassembled parts include the pump body, the lower inflow housing, the outflow valve and pipe, copper alloy valves, cast iron valve lids, rubber gaskets, a cotton sealing ring from the piston, along with bolts, nuts, and washers. All parts of this artifact are currently under conservation treatment.”
“The “Wrecks, Recovery and
Conservation" symposium is scheduled for Saturday, July 30, at the National
Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, Ga. It
lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost, including lunch, is $50 for the public, $40
for members and $25 for students. Click here for more information or call 706-327-9798.
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