CSS Georgia (battery)

CSS "Georgia", also known as "State of Georgia" and "Ladies' Ram", was an ironclad floating battery built at Savannah, Georgia in 1862–1863. Placed under command of Lieutenant Washington Gwathmey, CSN, she was employed in defending the river channels below Savannah, training her batteries against the Union advance. Since she lacked effective locomotive power, the Confederates found it necessary to burn and destroy her during the evacuation of Savannah on December 21, 1864.

After settling to the bottom of Savannah Harbor, the wreck was noted as an obstruction, and several years later a survey of the wreck was completed. This survey found that the "Georgia" had settled slightly into the bottom, was covered by 11 feet of water at low tide. A sandbar was rapidly building up around the wreck, which ensured that the Georgia would be buried relatively quickly.

Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers undertook a dredging and expansion of the channel several times since the Civil War, with the effect that the wreck was uncovered, and gradually destroyed over the years. Today all that remains are a portion of the forward and after casemate, along with remnants of the ship's engines including boilers, shafts, propellers, and condensers. Several cannon were found near the wreck as well, along with assorted ordinance.

A survey completed in 2006-2007 confirmed that by and large, the bulk of the CSS "Georgia" had been destroyed by a combination of manmade and natural forces since the ship's sinking. The remains have been scoured repeatedly over time by dredging and anchored ships, to the effect that scattered remains extending into the channel are the only remnants of the ironclad.

External links

* [http://sav-harbor.com/Cultural%20Resources/CSS_Georgia_Site_Investigation_Report.pdf CSS Georgia Site Investigation Report, February 2007]