The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, is re-initiating investigations of the wreck of the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Georgia, a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the national level for its architecture and engineering, association with historical events, association with significant individuals, and for its archaeological research potential. Savannah District conducted a number of investigations of the wreck site during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The work included some archival research, remote sensing surveys, and limited diver investigations. The purpose of the research was to positively identify the wreck site, gather information for preparation of the National Register nomination, determine the effect of past, present, and future harbor operation and maintenance activities upon the site, and develop mitigation alternatives. The studies resulted in the nomination of the wreck site to the National Register of Historic Places and the preparation of a Five-Phase Plan for recovery, study, and conservation of the vessel remains. The plan was not implemented. During the 1980s and 1990s Savannah District altered its dredging practices in the site vicinity to avoid impacts to the site and continued to periodically monitor the condition of the site using hydrographic, side scan sonar, and magnetometer surveys.
Although direct dredge cutter head impacts to the wreck site were eliminated in 1983, remote sensing studies conducted over the past several years have shown that the main wreck mass is deteriorating at an increasing rate. In addition, Savannah District, in cooperation with the Georgia Ports Authority, is studying the effect of deepening the Savannah Harbor navigation channel. The new studies of the C.S.S. Georgia are being designed to address both the O&M project and the proposed channel deepening project. The studies will determine the effect of past, present, and future operation and maintenance (O&M) of the existing Savannah Harbor Navigation Project upon the wreck site and to identify and evaluate alternatives to mitigate identified O&M effects. The studies will also determine the effect of various deepening scenarios upon the wreck site and identify and evaluate alternatives to mitigate identified effects.
Previous archival research has revealed little about the design, construction, operation, sinking, and early salvage efforts for the C.S.S. Georgia. Previous research has also revealed that there is no central repository for surviving historical documents concerning the C.S.S. Georgia. No construction plans, detailed descriptions, or reliable images have been located. The present level of knowledge about the vessel is inadequate to support field investigation and interpretation of the vessel and its contents. The present study is designed to locate and collect new information, add it to the existing information, and evaluate and synthesize all of the information into a scholarly research document that creates an historic context for the vessel, provides a detailed description of its planning, construction, operation, sinking, and early salvage, and can be used in designing field investigations, identifying research hypotheses to be addressed during fieldwork, identifying artifacts and vessel components, and interpreting the results of the fieldwork. The work will also identify other research avenues and topics that need to be investigated.
The Contractor shall conduct background archival and literature research and informant interviews to develop an historical context for the C.S.S. Georgia and create an historical overview of the vessel. Information shall be obtained from, but shall not be limited to, the following sources:
- published and unpublished reports and documents such as books, journals, diaries, ship's logs, maps, theses, aerial and land-based photographs, dissertations, deeds, newspapers, and manuscripts;
- files and data contained in local, state, and Federal agencies and repositories including, but not limited to,
a.National Archives (Washington), particularly "Captured and Abandoned Property Records";
b.Virginia Historical Society, particularly the Minor Papers and Mitchell Collection;
c.U.S. Navy, Naval Historical Center;
d.Tulane University, particularly the Savannah Squadron Papers (W.W. Hunter Papers);
e.University of Texas (Austin), particularly the W.W. Hunter Savannah Squadron Papers;
f. University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), particularly the Anderson Papers;
g.Coastal Heritage Society (Savannah), particularly the Savannah History Museum;
h.Georgia Historical Society (Savannah);
i. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District;
j. Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum (Columbus, Ga.); and,
k.other historical societies and museums.
- consultations with any qualified professionals having knowledge of cultural resources in the area; and,
- consultations with amateur historians, genealogists, and individuals knowledgeable in Civil War naval history and local history.
All data shall be processed, described, and analyzed. The purpose of the data analyses will be to evaluate and synthesize the information obtained as a result of the archival research to produce a quality research report. The major goals of the analyses shall be to create a scholarly research document that defines an historic context for the vessel, provides a detailed description of its planning, construction, operation, sinking, and early salvage, and can be used in designing field investigations, identifying research hypotheses to be addressed during fieldwork, identifying artifacts and vessel components, and interpreting the results of the fieldwork. The work will also identify other research avenues and topics that need to be investigated.
The work shall include activities leading up to the placement of the notes, documents, photographs, drawings, maps, and other materials created or collected as a part of this research effort into a permanent repository. A duplicate set of all documentation shall be produced on acid-free paper. Archival and working sets of slides and prints shall be produced. All photographic materials shall be stored in archivally stable containers or holders. A photographic catalog listing materials by film type (e.g. roll film, sheet film, 35 mm, slides, prints, video media) and in chronological order shall be included with the material remains.
The information gathered as a result of this work effort shall be integrated into a graphically illustrated, scientifically acceptable report. Minimally, the report shall contain the following elements: abstract; introduction; detailed description of archival techniques; historic context; description of the vessel's planning, construction, outfitting, manning, operation, sinking, and early salvage, references cited, and, appendices, as follows:
- The report shall contain a detailed discussion of how the archival investigations were conducted and the results of these investigations, with recommendations for additional research including a listing of remote repositories and collections that may contain additional information.
- The report shall contain an historic context for the C.S.S. Georgia. The context shall include a description of local and national events and conditions that led up to the construction of the vessel, affected her construction design and timing, affected her manning, outfitting, operation, management, and maintenance, caused her to be scuttled, and affected the need for and type of salvage that was conducted.
- The report shall contain a detailed description of the planning and construction of the C.S.S. Georgia. It shall include a listing of individuals and organizations involved in raising funds for the vessel's construction. Members of the Ladies' Gunboat Associations located in Savannah and other Georgia cities will be identified by name and by chapter membership. It shall review evidence for the conception of the construction plan for the vessel and the backgrounds and skills of the individuals associated with the plan. It shall review evidence for the location of the vessel's construction site, the site of the installation of the engines and other machinery, and for the facilities that were available at those locations. It shall identify the organizations, military units, and individuals involved in constructing the vessel and its machinery, their skills (if indicated), and the amount of time that each spent on the construction effort (if available). The origin and design of her machinery will be identified and a listing of the types of equipment and tools that would have been kept on board to repair and maintain the machinery will be identified, if known. Origins and qualities of materials used in her construction (railroad iron, timbers, etc.) will be identified. The report shall provide a detailed description of the vessel (length, beam, draft, hull design, upper works design, iron cladding, and machinery, etc.) at the time she was taken into service. If some of this information is not available, the existing historical data and historic context will be used to create hypothetical alternative descriptions of the vessel and her machinery.
- The report shall contain a detailed description of the initial manning and outfitting of the C.S.S. Georgia and how it changed through time. Officers, with their ranks and periods of service on the vessel, will be identified. Brief biographical overviews of the officer's backgrounds, training, and military careers will be provided. Military units and the names of individual crew members who served on the vessel will be identified along with their ranks, job titles, and periods of service. Listings and descriptions of the vessel's ordnance (cannons, rifles, ammunition, flares, etc.) will be included with a description of how her ordnance changed through time and the reasons for these changes. If possible, the origins of major pieces of ordnance (e.g. cannons, carriages, shells, etc.) will be identified and diagnostic markings (foundry marks, proof marks) will be described. The typical personal and military equipage for the officers and crew of the Confederate Navy will be described (e.g. uniform, mess kit, canteen, etc.) as well as any specific information discovered for the equipage of the Savannah Squadron and C.S.S. Georgia.
- The report shall provide an overview of the operations of the C.S.S. Georgia throughout her career with day-to-day descriptions when available. The overview will describe the various campaigns (if any) in which she was involved and the part that she and her officers and crew played. Identified activities and events that altered, or may have altered, the character of the vessel (e.g. grounding, engine problems, etc.) or its contents (e.g. changes in mission) will be identified.
- The report shall describe the alternatives that were considered for the vessel's disposition, the reasons why scuttling was the selected action, and the procedures that were taken to achieve this action. The report shall describe the conditions under which the officers and crew were evacuated and the materials that were taken with them and those that were left behind. A description of the vessel and its contents at the time it was scuttled will be prepared. If no detailed description of the scuttling event and the actions taken by the crew can be identified, hypothetical alternative descriptions for these actions will be created and evaluated.
- The report shall describe 19th century salvage attempts on the vessel. The funding source (e.g., Treasury Department, City of Savannah, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, etc.), purpose, planned scope, contractor, equipment used, and executed scope of each salvage effort will be described, if known. The effect of each salvage attempt on the vessel and its contents will be hypothesized. The report shall also describe the effect of the wreck site on river navigation during the 19th century and the vessel groundings that have been documented to have occurred at the wreck site during the 19th century.
- The report shall synthesize the information contained in items II.C.2.e. through II.C.2.j. above to describe the vessel, machinery, contents, and the distribution of interior features, machinery, and contents at the time that the vessel was lost. The number of decks and the layout and contents of each deck will be described, or hypothesized using the data generated as a result of this research effort.
- The reference format shall follow the standards presented in American Antiquity (1983), Volume 48, Number 2, and spelling shall be in accordance with the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual dated March 1984.