Savannah dredging operations brought up numerous Civil War and Revolutionary War cannons and artifacts. How did the projects and weapons compare?

CSS Georgia Dahlgren pulled up from river in 2015; one of the Revolutionary War cannons in 2021 and this week's unveiling of conserved artillery pieces at the Savannah History Museum (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photos)

A stunning collection of Revolutionary War cannon recovered off Old Fort Jackson in Savannah, Ga., is now on public display, the culmination of an extensive archaeological and conservation effort.

A contractor dredging the Savannah River in 2021 came across the first of the 19 artillery pieces, which some thought might belong to CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad that was scuttled nearby by its crew in December 1864. But it soon became apparent they dated to the American Revolution and the British siege of the city in 1779. They were on ships scuttled by the British to prevent French support of the colonists.

The surprise discovery of the Revolutionary War weapons came following the 2015-2017 recovery of items associated with the Civil War ironclad.

That U.S. Army Corps of Engineers harbor deepening project, which involved contractors and U.S. Navy divers, recovered more than 30,000 CSS Georgia artifacts, including 241 pieces of ordnance, five cannons and two large casemate sections. The latter were documented and left in the water.

A section of the CSS Georgia's casemate in 2017 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The Corps of Engineers worked with Texas A&M University to conserve the CSS Georgia material and then 17 of the cannons associated with the Revolutionary War. The Savannah History Museum this week opened “Loyalists and Liberty: Savannah in the American Revolution.”

Chris Dostal, director of the conservation lab at Texas A&M, told the Civil War Picket:

“From a conservation standpoint, both projects involved large, concreted iron artillery from a marine or riverine environment, but the Savannah River cannon presented a particularly unusual opportunity because so many guns were recovered together, several with associated bore contents preserved.”

Some CSS Georgia artifacts are on display at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Ga. (At left, one of its propellers, Picket photo).

That venue "is the only institution with CSS Georgia artifacts on loan from our office," said Kate Morrand, a conservator with the Naval History and Heritage Command. "The remainder of the CSS Georgia collection includes over 5,100 artifacts and is curated by the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch, based at the Washington Navy Yard."

The command was involved in the CSS Georgia project but the Revolutionary War cannons were not under its purview.

The Picket recently asked Corps officials to provide some context to how both archaeological projects dovetailed or differed.

The following responses came from Francis “Franky” Stankiewicz with Chronical Heritage, Andrea Farmer, archaeologist with the Savannah district of the Army Corps, and Cheri Pritchard, media relations chief with that office. The responses have been edited for brevity and context.

Q1: Are you any closer to knowing precisely which British ships these Revolutionary War cannon belonged to? I know the HMS Rose was ruled out.

A: We have learned a great deal since the cannon were conserved, but I would not say we can assign individual guns to specific vessels with certainty. The strongest current interpretation is that the assemblage most likely originated from the armed ship Savannah, formerly the American privateer General Arnold, and the British transport Venus, both of which were associated with the 1779 Siege of Savannah. Current research suggests that domestic colonial production is the most likely origin for the guns attributed to the General Arnold/Savannah. However, manufacture in Britain, France (particularly Bordeaux), or Spain (particularly Bilbao) cannot be ruled out. Within the realm of domestic production, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania presently appear to be the most probable manufacturing centers.

Andrea Farmer with two reenactors at the Savannah History Museum (USACE photos)

Q: There was early speculation these 19 cannons might date to the Revolutionary War era but might have been placed on the CSS Georgia or fortifications. What led you to determine they dated to the Revolution?

A: The Revolutionary War interpretation rests on several lines of evidence. Typologically, the guns are mid-to-late 18th-century 6-pounders, including examples exhibiting Armstrong-pattern characteristics as well as related short-gun variants. Historically, British and French accounts document the burning and scuttling of armed vessels in this section of the Savannah River during the 1779 Siege of Savannah, consistent with the location of the recovery area. Archaeologically, many of the cannon were recovered in a loaded condition, containing tampions, wadding, shot, powder cartridges, fuse remains, and powder residue, indicating that they were likely prepared for immediate use rather than discarded at a later date. Taken together, the age, location, and loaded condition of the guns strongly support their association with the Revolutionary War-era scuttling events in the Savannah River.

Q: From an archaeological and conservation viewpoint, how different are these cannons vs. those found at CSS Georgia site?

A: From a conservation standpoint, these cannons were unusually rich in sealed contexts. Most were heavily concreted and contaminated cast iron, but many still held preserved bore contents. That meant conservation was also excavation: tampions, hemp junk wads, shot, cartridges, and residues had to be removed and documented in sequence. CSS Georgia material, by contrast, is Civil War ironclad wreckage and ordnance context: later, more industrial, and tied to an armored floating battery. The Savannah cannon assemblage is earlier, Revolutionary War-era muzzle-loading artillery, and its research value comes heavily from the combination of gun form, loading evidence (i.e., material within), and scuttling context. (See link for more photos)

Q. I know the investigation into CSS Georgia concluded a few years back. Have you learned anything more about the site or vessel since then?

A: The CSS Georgia investigation itself concluded earlier, and the current investigations do not indicate a major new interpretation of the vessel since that work. What they do add is a broader landscape context: the cannon cluster site lies near, but is not part of, the CSS Georgia site, and prior mapping work around CSS Georgia actually helped identify the Revolutionary War cannon concentration.

Q: Do you have a schematic/map or illustration showing their precise location in the Savannah River? And do you have anything similar showing the CSS Georgia cannon location -- or both put together?

A: To help preserve and protect these cultural resources long-term, we are not publicly disclosing their precise locations. While the locations are known to a limited number of researchers and resource managers, there is broad agreement that this information should remain restricted for now. Limiting access helps protect the sites from disturbance while supporting future research and analysis that may provide additional insights. Researchers continue to use a variety of mapping products, including sonar and multi-beam imagery of the Cannon Cluster Site near Fort Jackson. Specific details about the exact locations of these resources and their relationship to one another are also being withheld to support ongoing stewardship and future study. In addition, the Savannah Harbor shipping channel is heavily trafficked by large commercial vessels. Restricting site locations helps discourage unauthorized diving activity and reduces potential safety risks. (At left, anchor from one of the 18th century vessels, USACE)

Q: Finally, what is your long-term perspective on both CSS Georgia and these 19 cannons -- What do they tell us about their chapters in American history?

A: Although separated by nearly a century, CSS Georgia and the Revolutionary War cannon cluster represent two distinct chapters in Savannah's long history as a strategically important river port. CSS Georgia represents the Civil War effort to hold the river with improvised Confederate naval technology, including an ironclad that functioned more as a floating battery than an effective maneuvering warship. The cannon cluster reaches back to the Revolution when British forces deliberately used vessels and their armament to obstruct the river and help stop the French fleet during the Siege of Savannah. Together, they show that control of the Savannah River was repeatedly central to military strategy, commerce and the fate of the city.

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Postscript: Gordon Watts' perspective on the RevWar cannons

Archaeologist Gordon Watts, who dived and studied the CSS Georgia wreck site for decades, was present for the recovery of artifacts and helped write a final report on the project. I asked him for his perspective on the Revolutionary War cannons.

Gordon Watts studies CSS Georgia casemate section in 2017 (Civil War Picket photos)

Q. Were you surprised that British cannons were found near Old Fort Jackson?
A.  No surprise. If familiar with the Revolutionary War in Savannah, Fort Jackson did not even exist at that time. Construction on that fortification did not begin until 1808.

Q. Any reaction to their discovery? Also, what do you think of the combination of Civil War and RevWar artillery in the same area?
A. Initial reaction was with the lack of associated Revolutionary War vessel remains with the ordnance.  Savannah was the site of considerable Revolutionary War military and naval activity. Likewise, Savannah was the site of considerable military and naval activity during the War Between the Confederate States and the United States. The presence of sunken vessel remains and artifacts in the Savannah River in the proximity of the city is not unusual.

Q. Have you learned anything more about the site or vessel since then?
A: Conservation and analysis of the ordnance, casemate structure and cultural material from the CSS Georgia has shed considerable light on one of the earliest Confederate Ironclads. The CSS Georgia underwater archaeological investigations was, and remains, one of the most comprehensive undertaken to date and has resulted in extensive historical research and publication.

The archaeological investigation has produced an extensive collection of ordnance, vessel structure and cultural material that supports informative displays.

Q. Anything else?
A.  Very pleased to see the levels of interest in and support for documentation and exhibition of material associated with both of the Savannah River underwater archaeological sites. Hopefully, that level of interest will inspire similar investigation of other underwater archaeological sites in the Savannah and back rivers and other sites in waterways farther away but closely associated with Savannah and Georgia's history.

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.

CSS Georgia: As artifact conservation continues, public will soon be able to read detailed report on this unique Savannah ironclad

Valve assembly has dozens of parts (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Historians and archaeologists don’t know whether the builders of the CSS Georgia, an ironclad that guarded the Savannah River in the city of same name, worked from blueprints. None have been found in the years since the Civil War.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to describe the Confederate vessel’s propulsion, the angle and construction of protective casemate or to estimate the vessel’s width and length.

Dahlgren recovered in Sept. 2015 (USACE)

Between 2013 and 2017, machinery and divers working at the CSS Georgia’s resting place a few miles from downtown Savannah recovered thousands of artifacts. The project was necessary before a major harbor deepening project began: The boat’s remains lie in the main shipping channel.

An upcoming report from the Savannah office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide a general analysis about the artifacts and an overview of the project. The finds included nearly a half dozen cannon, a propeller and large pieces of the casemate, fashioned from – of all things – interlocking sections of railroad iron.

Officials believe the artifacts will answer a lot of questions about the vessel.

Divers, working in visibility that one likened to chocolate pudding, slipped beneath the surface of the Savannah River and down to the disarticulated remains of the vessel that was scuttled by its crew in December 1864 when the Yankees arrived at the seaport’s front door.

The Corps recovered a significant portion of the CSS Georgia, which served as what’s called a floating battery. In the years since, items large and small have been cleaned at Texas A&M University's Conservation Research Laboratory. (The lab's operations have been affected by the recent coronavirus pandemic.)

“Conservation continues,” says Julie Morgan, district archaeologist for the Corps. “The conservation process is slowing down considerably as the artifacts that are now in conservation are more complex -- they have more individual components and are comprised of multiple metals -- so the number of artifacts finishing completion is slowing.”

Morgan and experts brought in for the project have been especially fascinated by the ironclad’s propulsion system and engines. It’s known the one-off CSS Georgia – built not far from where it sank -- was underpowered.

Locals derisively called it the “Mud Tub” because it was unable to leave the city and attack Federal ships that had bottled up Savannah’s river entrance. But they may have gotten something better. The CSS Georgia became a strong element of extensive water defenses. It never fired upon the enemy, because the enemy decided to probe vulnerabilities elsewhere.

Julie Morgan has researched the CSS Georgia for years (USACE)

Morgan provided two examples to the Picket of the complexity of some items.

The Conservation Research Laboratory had to separate seven sections of a valve assembly. They removed rubber gaskets and about 52 nuts and bolts.

And two engine cylinders, each about 48 inches long, must be carefully moved with a forklift. And conservators must precisely cut to reach the cylinders’ interior.

It’s important to note the wreck site of the CSS Georgia was not undisturbed. 

Dredging hits and scars, along with salvage attempts not long after the Civil War, made the site a jumble of rotting wood, chunks of casemate and loose rail and machinery.

Still, the trove of artifacts, have an important story to tell of innovation when builders had access to less-than-ideal armor and technology.

The CSS Georgia belongs to the U.S. Navy, under the auspices of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Carefully packed shipment or ordnance (USACE)

“To date, the conservation lab has made two shipments of artifacts to the Naval History and Heritage Command,” said Morgan. “Packing the artifacts is very time consuming as everything must be wrapped and packed in archival quality materials.”

The items are being stored at the Washington Navy Yard, where officials are cataloging and storing them in hopes that a museum will eventually come forward with a plan to exhibit the artifacts and tell the CSS Georgia’s story.

The public will have an opportunity to read all about it in Morgan’s report.

“The Corps is currently reviewing the revised draft and the final version will be printed in late April,” she said. “Once that document has been accepted by the government it will be made available to the public through the district’s website.”

Conservators, students working to unlock mysteries of the Rebel ironclad CSS Georgia

Large piece of CSS Georgia casemate (USACE Savannah)

It’s been about three months since cranes, barges, divers and support crew pulled away from a spot on the Savannah River where they had removed the last of the jumbled remains of the Confederate ironclad CSS Georgia.

With the final recovery of the vessel complete (there was another operation in 2015), those involved had a brief moment to catch their breaths.

“I think we are all really relieved it is over. It is bittersweet -- we have worked so many years,” said Julie Morgan-Ryan, archaeologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which worked with contractors to recover the CSS Georgia as part of a harbor deepening project in Savannah, Ga.

Now the real work of solving the mysteries of the ironclad is underway – through student research, ongoing conservation of thousands of artifacts, and the study of those items and historical records to answer some of the nagging questions about the CSS Georgia.

For decades, archaeologists have speculated on the size and weight of the vessel, why it was so underpowered and where its components were made.

Artifacts that were not left in the river (namely the casemate) for possible future removal are undergoing conservation and analysis at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Morgan-Ryan surveys casemate (USACE)

“We found that some pieces from a cannon or a gun carriage were made from different metals. Was it because of the blockade?” the archaeologist recently told the Picket. “I think we are going to find what restrictions the South was under.”

The conservation of three cannons, a propeller and four crates of artifacts has been completed.

“We still have two cannon that are in conservation vats right now,” said Morgan-Ryan. “We are finding ordnance shoved down them.” Officials at the lab are trying to figure out how to safely dislodge them.

It’s likely the crew of the CSS Georgia sabotaged the barrels when they were forced to scuttle the ironclad off Old Fort Jackson as Federal forces neared Savannah in December 1864.

As is customary with such projects, the Army Corps will write a report on the recovery, completing it in late 2018 or in 2019.

“We have always known Georgia was underpowered. … now we’ll be able to do some estimates on how underpowered she was, whether artifacts were manufactured strictly for the Georgia, or taken from other vessels. We are trying to figure why they used the components that they do,” Morgan-Ryan said.

Buckle recovered in 2015 (USACE Savannah)

It’s known that the CSS Georgia was salvaged by a private contractor shortly after the war’s end. Archaeologists may never answer all their questions, because they don’t know how many recovered items were melted down or reused or were dumped haphazardly back on the site in a tiff over salvage payment.

Morgan-Ryan said she and others want to know more about these previous salvage attempts.

She is excited about research that students at Texas A&M are doing, including a master’s thesis on the ironclad’s gun sights, appropriate artifact conservation technology and conservation of waterlogged textiles.

“What I am looking forward to is how much new information from beyond the vessel will we learn from this project?” Morgan-Ryan said. “What technological advantages or disadvantages did the South have?”

The Corps is continuing its outreach to the public as the U.S. Navy engages with a half dozen museums about a possible permanent home for CSS Georgia artifacts. A documentary by Michael Jordan about the vessel’s history, its use as a floating battery to defend Savannah, and dives and recovery of the CSS Georgia over the decades should be released to schools and libraries by the end of the year.

Raising the CSS Georgia (update): Artifacts recovery by the numbers

9,000-pound Dahlgren recovered i n 2015 (USACE)

As first reported by the Associated Press, CSS Georgia conservators are treating fewer than half of the 29,716 artifacts recovered from the scuttled Confederate ironclad’s watery grave in Savannah, Ga.

Russell Wicke, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district’ office, told the Picket that 165 tons (13,019 artifacts) went to a Texas A&M University laboratory for conservation, while 134 tons (16,697 items) were reburied in the river.

Why more artifacts reburied, while weighing less? That’s because the more mundane bolts, washers, nails and smaller items were not considered “unique,” according to the AP report. They were documented and placed in underwater storage containers.

Among the larger items being conserved are several heavy artillery pieces and sections of the armor casemate.

The Army Corps of Engineers has supervised the $14 million removal of the one-off CSS Georgia as part of a major harbor deepening project in Savannah. Research will continue for years on the vessel and its huge load of artifacts.

Wicke told the Picket his office is working with Texas A&M on obtaining a list of all artifacts and a progress report on conservation.