It started in late January with the echoing boom of the 1824 cannon atop Old Fort Jackson.
Minutes later, divers took to the chilly waters of the Savannah River to begin the first phase of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ $700 million project to deepen the river that serves the nation’s fourth-largest port.
The specially trained divers were there to begin recovery of the historic Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia, which had rested on the river’s bottom for 150 years.
Built in 1862, the ironclad was originally intended to be a gunboat but was too heavy to maneuver offensively against the Savannah River’s strong currents, according to Steve James of Panamerican Consultants, the Memphis firm conducting field work on the recovery.
So the Georgia was subsequently anchored in the river to help protect Fort Jackson and Savannah. She was intentionally scuttled by Confederate troops in 1864 rather than surrender her to the rapidly advancing forces of Union Gen. William T. Sherman.
The wreck was discovered during a 1968 dredging operation. A small-scale recovery effort in the 1980s removed two cannons, a few cannonballs and other artifacts. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The latest recovery work will remove the entire remains of the vessel to make way for the Corps to deepen in that area.
The contract to recover the Georgia was awarded to a joint venture between Dial Cordy and Associates and Gulf Engineers & Consultants, both of Jacksonville, Fla., and Panamerican.
Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory is working to curate the finds.
A little more than three months into the five-month first phase of the recovery efforts, divers have brought up a treasure trove of artifacts from the tumultuous Civil War era, artifacts that are painting a picture of the day-to-day hardships of life as a Confederate sailor, according to Corps public affairs specialist Jeremy Buddemeier.
Confederate forces were hamstrung by deficiencies in
production capacity and resources compared to their Union counterparts, Buddemeier reported, adding that the Georgia’s armor was comprised of makeshift alternating railroad rails.
Duty on the leaky, mosquito-infested ironclad was so undesirable that archaeologists like Jim Jobling, a project manager with the Texas A&M lab, speculate that leg irons, two sets of which have been found at the site, were used to restrict the mobility of sailors who might desert.
And it wasn’t just the boat itself that was substandard.
Archaeologists recently brought up a bayonet handle that came from a P.S. Justice rifle bayonet, model 1861, type II. Products made by this company had a reputation for lackluster performance.
One inspector wrote that the bayonets were “of such frail texture that they bend like lead, and many of them break off when going through the bayonet exercise,” Buddemeier reported, quoting a Civil War weapons expert.
No wonder the South lost the war.
MLET graduation set
If you’re in the logistics business and want to help ensure a steady stream of talented young people working in the industry, you might want to attend the MLET graduation ceremony from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Garden City Town Hall
The Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce will recognize students who completed their 2015 internship program and the participating companies who took on interns.
Students from Savannah-Chatham and Effingham County school systems completed the 10-week program, which included hands-on learning at logistics-based companies. Students were placed in assignments ranging from warehouse, terminal operations and manufacturing to freight forwarding and export bookings.
The 2015 graduating class marks the finale of the third year of the program, which has placed a number of newly skilled graduates in permanent logistics jobs.
MLET was formed in partnership with the Propeller Club-Port of Savannah, Savannah Traffic Club, Savannah Maritime Association, the Independent Freight Forwarders & Customs Brokers Association, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the Navy League Savannah Council.
MLET’s mission is to reach, educate and grow the current and future workforce of the logistics and maritime industry in Savannah and surrounding coastal areas. For more information on MLET and its programs, contact McLeod Rominger at mrominger@colonialenergy.com or David “Fish” Mihuta at davidm@freightlinerofsavannah.com.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT HANJIN MILANO Today
GCT MSC CAROLE Today
GCT MOL MAGNIFICENCE Today
GCT RHL FIDUCIA Today
GCT JONNI RITSCHER Today
GCT MAERSK ATLANTA Today
GCT MSC BUSAN Today
GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Today
GCT IBRAHIM DEDE Today
GCT HOUSTON EXPRESS Today
GCT CPO MIAMI Today
GCT HAPPY DYNAMIC Today
OT GRANDE BENIN Today
GCT MAERSK SOFIA Saturday
GCT GLEN CANYON BRIDGE Saturday
GCT CHEM VENUS Saturday
GCT DUBAI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT ITAL MELODIA Saturday
GCT CHARLES DICKENS Saturday
GCT EVER LIVEN Sunday
GCT DALLAS EXPRESS Sunday
GCT NYK ADONIS Sunday
OT BBC BUNDE Sunday
OT NORDIC STADE Sunday
GCT APL GARNET Monday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Monday
GCT CMA CGM BIANCA Monday
GCT MAERSK HARTFORD Monday
GCT CMA CGM RACINE Monday
GCT WASHINGTON EXPRESS Monday
GCT BERLIN EXPRESS Monday
OT TOMAR Monday
OT TULANE Monday
GCT NYK DEMETER Tuesday
GCT CORCOVADO Tuesday
GCT PORTUGAL Tuesday
GCT CMA CGM AUCKLAND Tuesday
GCT ZIM TEXAS Tuesday
GCT MOL ENCORE Tuesday
GCT MARE SICULUM Tuesday
GCT BULL HUNTER Tuesday
GCT HYUNDAI FORWARD Tuesday
OT BBC OHIO Tuesday
GCT SEALAND ILLINOIS Wednesday
GCT ARIAN Thursday
GCT NAVARINO Thursday
GCT ERNEST HEMINGWAY Thursday
GCT RHL AGILITAS Thursday
GCT EVER SUMMIT Thursday
GCT MSC BREMEN Thursday
GCT HYUNDAI INTEGRAL Thursday
GCT HANJIN MONTEVIDEO Thursday