2 million artifacts later, Jim Jobling, conservator of CSS Georgia and other Civil War vessels, retires from Texas A&M lab

Jim Jobling, in 2017 at CSS Georgia recovery site, with 3D propeller model (Picket photo)

Jim Jobling, who was on deck when amazing artifacts from the CSS Georgia were brought to the surface in Savannah, Ga., and later tended to them during conservation, has retired from the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University.

The South Africa native was a familiar figure during the 2015 and 2017 recovery of the scuttled Confederate floating battery from the Savannah River. Beneath a hard hat, he was usually dressed in a blue shirt and white pants, helping to bring items onto the barge, where he and others cleaned and sorted them for transport from Savannah, Ga., to College Station.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah District was in charge of removing the wreckage of the ironclad as part of a harbor deepening project. Among the contractors was Texas A&M, renowned for its nautical archaeology program.

Jobling retired on Jan. 7 after 37 years with the university. He served as lab manager.

I have done numerous posts on the CSS Georgia, and visited the recovery operations twice. Jobling, the chief conservator, was always very accessible and helpful. He and the TAMU team sent more than 18,000 artifacts to the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command after they were conserved.

Of the CSS Georgia, Jobling said: “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.”

During Jobling's tenure, the CRL took on 203 individual projects, conserving over 2 million artifacts, officials said. "His background is pretty incredible; between his years as a soldier in South Africa to working as a technical diver in Antarctica, he's pretty much seen it all, and as such, he was always clear-eyed and steady-handed at the lab," lab director Chris Dostal told the Picket.

The archaeologist learned to scuba dive as a young man and explored shipwrecks in his native country before moving to the US. At Texas A&M he was involved in both land and nautical projects, among them the La Belle in Matagorda Bay, Texas, CSS Alabama (1864), Heroine (1838), USS Westfield (1863), and treatment of cannons from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, and Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Fla.

The Conservation Research Lab recently posted a Facebook tribute to “the one and only” Jobling.

“Jim has been many things to everyone who works at or visits the lab. He's an endless font of information -- and stories -- with a true love of history. He's a jokester. He's a problem solver - usually solving problems by cobbling together some clever device. He's there to remind us of what's important when we're feeling down or frustrated, usually with a few ‘Jim-isms’ thrown in (‘What you need to do and that is...’). He's a friend."

Gordon Watts, an underwater archaeologist who has worked on numerous shipwrecks or debris sites, including the CSS Georgia, worked with Jobling in Savannah and said he thinks the archaeologist will keep in touch with the lab in some capacity.

“He and Dr. (Donny) Hamilton made the conservation program at TAMU the best in the US,” Watts told the Picket in an email. “No one better.”

Dostal said Jobling was a great networker and was one call away from reaching someone who could help solve a problem or answer a question.

"I have no idea how many of our former students he has helped over the years, but there are quite a few of us that are forever grateful for his mentorship and friendship. It's a hard-earned and well-deserved retirement, but he is always going to be a major part of the lab, and we already miss him."

Jobling apparently hasn't slowed down since retirement. He is assisting in the study of Revolutionary War-era cannon recently raised from the Savannah River.

Influential Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania chief historian John Hennessy is hanging up his hat after a 40-year NPS career

John J. Hennessy, who says his role was to reflect the evolution of thought on key events in the American story, is retiring this month as chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia.

Tuesday (Sept. 1) was his last day of work at the site.

Hennessy last month announced on Facebook the upcoming conclusion of his 40-year service with the agency, which started as a seasonal employee at Manassas National Battlefield Park and continued at Fredericksburg, where he held his position for two decades.

The Delmar, N.Y., native said he hopes to do more historic interpretation and writing. He is the author of several Civil War books, including “Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas.” He has contributed to “Mysteries and Conundrums,” the park’s blog, and maintains his own website “Remembering.”

“The world has changed incredibly in 40 years, and our business of public history has changed along with it,” Hennessy wrote on Facebook. “I cannot imagine a better time and place to be a public historian. Never has our work as public historians been more important to our nation.”

After he announced his retirement, hundreds of followers thanked Hennessy for his service at Manassas and Fredericksburg, including leading tours and speaking at events.

One wrote, “You were the historian working the Manassas Battlefield when my Mom and Dad drove down from Massachusetts in the ‘80s for a visit. My Great Grandfather had fought for the 44^th New York at ... Manassas, and you spent the time explaining where he fought, pointing to the ridge/fields. We will always be grateful for you, John.”

Hennessy was of help to the Picket over the years, including articles over the death of a Georgia general at Fredericksburg and the search for a burial site for Federal soldiers who died in the battle.

Fredericksburg Superintendent Kirsten Talken-Spaulding told the Picket that Hennessy’s “contributions are extensive and ongoing.  While he is retiring from the NPS, he will still be contributing to the annals of scholarship of history.  For that we should all be grateful.”

Civil War historians Brooks Simpson and Kevin Levin have extolled Hennessy for pushing the boundaries of interpretation of battlefields and factors contributing to the war and their legacy today, including the Confederate battle flag. They say Hennessy faced criticism from some, but stood firm.

“The chief historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park combines the talents of a skilled military historian with an ability to reflect upon the broader issues of war and peace, slavery and emancipation, and history and memory,” Simpson wrote in 2015.

In 2011, the historian spoke with the Daily Gazette in his native New York about his interest in the Civil War.

“My dad took me to Antietam in the fourth grade, but I don’t remember too much about the trip. I do remember that in the fifth grade I wrote a book about the Civil War that was 87 pages long. I can’t imagine what I said, but ever since then I’ve read a lot and was always interested in history.” He told the newspaper he considers Antietam to be the most compelling Civil War battle site.

Hennessy has said he originally expected to pursue a business career and his time at Manassas would be a brief break between college after graduating in 1980 and joining the “real world.” It turned into a four-decade career with the NPS.

Before joining the staff at Fredericksburg in 1995, Hennessy worked at the New York State Historic Preservation Office and Harpers Ferry Center.

Of working at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Hennessy told the Daily Gazette: “What’s unique about us here is that our story illustrates vividly how the war touched all kinds of different people, not just the soldiers. Traditionally, our story has been told through the soldiers’ eyes, but here we talk about civilians and slaves, and how this community was just consumed by the war. The surrounding landscape was devastated by the two opposing armies for almost two years, and it’s a story with a lot of texture and richness, and it reverberates throughout the American landscape. The story here is told in all sorts of ways: politically, socially and militarily.”

Hennessy wrote last year on his personal blog that while the NPS should not be an agent of social change, public historians have an important role to play in the process of change.

“Using the best scholarship available and thoughtful and dynamic presentation, we need to illuminate brightly the path that brought us to where we are, and then hope that our programs prompt listeners and readers use that information (and, perhaps, inspiration) thoughtfully as they engage in the ongoing quest to improve our nation.”

The park paid tribute to the historian in a Facebook post on Sept. 10.

“He wrote many of our visitor center exhibits and interpretive signs and established many popular park programs such as the History at Sunset series. Over the years, John's efforts have made the history on the ground come alive.”