It's a wrap: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially ends recovery of ironclad CSS Georgia's artifacts in Savannah

Exultant workers lift a piece of the CSS Georgia in November 2013 (USACE)

The recovery of the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad gunboat that saw no action but left thousands of fascinating artifacts in its wake, has been officially completed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Ga., recently announced the end to its archaeological data recovery.

“We were able to recover much of the vessel from 2015 to 2017 and have been working to conserve the historical artifacts we found since then,” said Andrea Farmer, Savannah District archaeologist, in a news release. “Removing the Georgia from the river was important, not only for preserving the archaeological record, but also to ensure its safety during the district’s Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.”

Most of the ironclad’s wreckage was removed a few years back as part of the Corps’ deepening of the Savannah River to make room for larger tankers. Thousands of artifacts have since undergone treatment at Texas A&M University.

Conserved artifacts have been transported over the years to Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) in Washington, D.C., where they are being stored and curated for possible museum display. (At left, a Dahlgren hauled up in 2015).

Post-Civil War salvage operations, dredging damage in more recent times and a dearth of historical records make it impossible to come up with firm conclusions on many aspects of the scuttled CSS Georgia, a floating battery that defended the entrance to Savannah’s port during the Civil War.

Archaeologists and historians pored over data that resulted from 2015 and 2017 recovery operations near Fort Jackson and from earlier dives. While they learned much about the underpowered ironclad, a report issued last year said the derisively nicknamed “Mud Tub” will continue to hold mysteries because some vital parts are missing or so disarticulated that it is impossible to come up with a complete picture of the vessel’s design and operation.

There were, however, some critical findings.

“The most specific information concerns the dimensions and construction details of the armored casemate with evidence indicating it was approximately 120 feet long by 44 feet wide,” Panamerican Consultants wrote in a report to the Corps.

Illustration of CSS Georgia near Fort Jackson (USACE)

The sheer number and array of artifacts -- which includes interlocking railroad iron used to for armor -- found in the river made up a large part of the massive report.

This month’s news release from the Corps said the project, which involved contractors and U.S. Navy divers, recovered more than 30,000 artifacts, including 241 pieces of ordnance, five cannons and two large casemate sections. The latter were documented and left in the water.

“Restoring historical artifacts, especially ones found underwater, is a lengthy and expensive process,” Farmer said in the news release. “The artifacts that were not chosen for restoration were placed in containers, transported upriver, and reburied where they will be safe and out of the way for many years to come.”

About 1,600 non-conserved artifacts were shipped to Savannah from Texas and reburied in a secure location in December, ending project data recovery and mitigation activities, said spokesperson Nathan Wilkes of the Corps' Savannah District. “These artifacts were individually inventoried, visually inspected and assessed as nonsignificant at Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Lab.”

Jim Jobling, lab manager at Texas A&M's Conservation Research Laboratory, told the Picket in an email that about 18,500 conserved artifacts have been sent to the NHCC. 

Jim Jobling with a 3D model of an artifact (Picket photo)

Jobling was on barges used in the CSS Georgia recovery and witnessed artifacts being brought up by divers or by machinery and helped catalog them. "It was a good project, with a lot of good people putting in many hours of hard work -- over and above the call of duty."

Locally built in 1862, the CSS Georgia was an integral element of the Confederate defenses that protected Savannah until the Union Army captured the city. In December 1864, the CSS Georgia was scuttled by Confederate forces to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Navy officials would like to see many of the items displayed but no museums have committed to such a project, given the expense and required environmental controls to protect the items.

Lt. Anthony Ivester, public affairs officer for the Naval History and Heritage Command, confirmed it has received all conserved artifacts from Texas A&M.