In early 1862, the ladies of Savannah, Georgia came together to raise funds to partially pay for the construction of an ironclad to defend their native city. Dubbed the “Ladies’ Ram,” the vessel was launched on May 20, 1862 and commissioned as the CSS Georgia in July 1862. Like many of the Confederate Navy’s other ironclad vessels, the Georgia suffered from weak engines which kept her from making any serious effort to sally forth and break the Union blockade of her home port. Instead, the vessel was utilized as a floating battery and moored in a location where she could be warped so as to bring either broadside to bear on attacking vessels. Her career ended suddenly on December 20, 1864 as General Sherman’s March to the Sea brought him ever nearer Savannah.
Although partially salvaged for her armor of iron rails, the Georgia remained at the bottom of the Savannah River perilously close to the main shipping lane. Rediscovered in 1969, the vessel is now about to undergo a final salvage effort by the US Navy’s Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2. The removal of the ship is necessary to complete a $703 million channel dredging project to enlarge Savannah’s shipping capacity. The unit will work from June 1 to July 20 to remove the ship’s armor, steam engine, superstructure components and arms and armaments. Following their salvage, the items will undergo conservation at the US Naval History and Heritage Command’s Conservation Research Laboratory in College Station, TX.
