Quick hits: National Civil War Naval Museum director Brandon Gilland explains work on ironclad CSS Jackson's fantail in four 30-second videos. Check 'em out!

Museum chief Brandon Gilland looks over pieces of the Jackson's fantail armor (Picket photo)

Longtime followers of this blog know I have a fascination with a component of the Confederate ironclad CSS Jackson, which was raised from the Chattahoochee River near Columbus, Ga., in the early 1960s.

As I wrote last month, the National Civil War Naval Museum is reassembling 28 heavy pieces of iron that made up the fantail of the Jackson.

The precisely built curved rear deck that protected the vessel’s rudder and propellers had sat outside the Columbus venue for decades, waiting for new life. But a 2020 arson fire that raced through a pole barn dashed hopes of conserving the fantail in its original form. While the armor was scorched, it survived. The timbers holding them together were ruined.

I recently paid a visit to the museum and shot videos of director Brandon Gilland explaining the project (please watch them in order as placed below). He and volunteers arranged the iron in the shape of a half moon, in preparation for flipping and placing the pieces onto a cedar base attached to blocks.

When the project is completed in a few months, visitors will be able to get an idea of how the armor built at the stern was constructed and protected the ironclad. (Note: The armor originally was placed above the wood on the Jackson; the videos show the iron pieces upside down; they will be at top in the exhibit.

The project is timed to the museum’s 25^th year in a large building situated on Victory Drive and a hundred or so yards from the river. Officials had originally hoped to build a full recreation of the fantail, showing its fascinating contours, but the idea was deemed too expensive and ambitious.

The Jackson (originally named the Muscogee) was designed to protect Columbus – a critically important industrial center for the Confederacy -- from Union navy marauders and blockaders. Construction on the Jackson began in early 1863. The underpowered vessel never became fully operational. (Picket photo at left; click to enlarge)

Remains of the Jackson and the twin-screw wooden ship CSS Chattahoochee are the star exhibits of the museum.

Both were lost in April 1865 at war’s end -- the Jackson set afire by Federal captors and the Chattahoochee scuttled by its own crew. Neither vessel saw action.