SAVANNAH, GEORGIA—The wreckage of the CSS Georgia is being recovered by Navy divers to make way for the expansion of a shipping channel as part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. The ironclad gunboat was launched in 1863, but it was too heavy to travel under its own steam and leaked badly. The vessel was moored some five miles from Savannah and was scuttled by Confederate forces as Union troops seized the city in 1864. Sections of the wreckage will be recovered in segments from the muddy river bottom because they are too large to handle, and special precautions are being taken to handle the ship’s projectiles and ordnance. “You’re dealing with something that’s been down there for 150 years; I can’t imagine that any part will be easy,” Navy Diver 2nd Class Jonny Pounders told 13 News Now. The project is expected to take two months to complete. To read more about nautical archaeology, see "History's 10 Greatest Wrecks."
