Wreck of the CSS PEEDEE found.

Modeling Subjects Ships
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A University of South Carolina archaeologist has found of remnents of the wreck of the CSS PEEDEE, a Confederate gunboat destroyed by Confederate forces on the Peedee River, to prevent her capture from the advancing Union Army of General William T. Sherman. The discovery confirmed the presence of two of the three cannons from the gunboat, a Confederate Brooke rifled cannon and a Union Dahlgren smooth-bore 9-ince shell cannon. The wreck lies near the former Confederate Mars Bluff Navy Yard, which is no longer in existance.

The cannons will be raised next spring. The type of ordnance associated with the Brooke rifled cannon is an artillery shell (left) recovered on the wreck site. The 9-inch Dahlgren cannon (right) was identified by initials “JMB” stamped on the right end of the trunnion. The initials are those of John M. Berrien, the duty ordinance officer at the Pittsburgh, PA foundry where the cannon was cast after 1862. How this cannon came into the hands of the Conferates is not known. After the cannons are raised, they will be preserved at a conservation lab at Francis Marion University.

The wreck tell a story about the little known but important role that inland Confederate naval yards played during the Civil War. These yards provided Confederate naval forces with gunboats and support vessels in inland waters, especially during the closing days when the war seemed lost.

Story line and pictures from Live 5 News TV of Charleston, S.C.and by Ship Wrecks and Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas Courtesy of Crackers’ Nautical News

Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

Crackers[8-|]

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Another nice historical find! But your pictures are not showing. They all say “This photo is currently unavailable.”

I’ll bet that is an interesting story how a Union cannon, cast after the war started, came to be in Confederate hands mounted on a Confederate gunboat. I wonder if it had been mounted on a Union gunboat that was later captured, but too damaged to be fixed, so the cannon was moved to another boat. We will probably never know. Thanks for posting this Crackers! [t$t]

Have a Merry Christmas!

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Does anyone know why Flickr would delete the pictures on this tread ?

Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

Crackers [8-|]

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I can see them fine.

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i see them now & saw them last night.

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Since the Confederate gunboat, CSS PEEDEE was rediscovered, South Carolina State Archaeologists have recovered seven artillary shells and plan to recover more shells, plus two cannons, a 9 inch Dahlgren and a 6.4 Brooke Rifled cannon sometimes next spring. All items after conservation, will be housed in the Florence County Museum.

The CSS PEEDEE had a humble military career. Launched at the Mars Bluff Shipyard in January 1865, the 150 foot gunboat participated in one skirmish three months later near Cheraw, where she provided cover for the retreating military forces of Confederate General William Hardee, as the Union Army of William T. Sherman was advancing forward. Later, the gunboat also retreated to the Mars Bluff Shipyard where she was burned and blown up to prevent capture.

Forgotten, the wreckage was pushed onto a sandbar in 1906, as the Army Corps of Engineers sought to widen and dredge the Peedee River for commercial traffic. Two decades later, the United Sons of the Confederacy salvaged the propellers that are now on display at the Florence County Museum. In 1954, a group of business people dragged the wreckage remains ashore with a bulldozer for display at a roadside attraction. The remains for this attraction included a 30 foot section of the stern, a boiler, two engines and propeller shafts. Over the years, the wood of the stern disintegrated into powder, while the metal was sold as scrap. Besides the museum pieces, all that remains are the two cannons that will be raised. A third cannon is believed to be covered by silt and sand.

Efforts to locate the former Mars Bluff Shipyard by archaeology students from East Carolina University proved futile. At one time the yard had 12 structures, a forge, slipways, and a drydock. After test holes were dug by the students, the only items recovered were Native American artifacts, some dated back to 4,000 years that indicated continuous human settlement.

Story written by Craig Brandhorst for the FreeTimes Press of Columbia, South Carolina and seen on Lost Treasurers of the Seven Seas. Courtesy of Crackers Nautical News.

Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

Crackers [8-|]