SS Georgiana
Encyclopedia
The Georgiana was a brig
-rigged, iron hulled, propeller steamer of 120 hp with a jib and two heavily raked masts, hull and stack painted black. Her clipper
bow sported the figurehead
of a "demi-woman". Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry over four hundred tons of cargo. She was built by the Lawrie shipyard at Glasgow
-perhaps under subcontract from Lairds
of Birkenhead
(Liverpool
)-and registered at that port in December 1862 as belonging to N. Matheson's Clyde
service. The U.S. Consul at Tenerife
was rightly apprehensive of her as being "evidently a very swift vessel."
Capt. Thomas Turner, station commodore, reported to Admiral S. F. du Pont
that Georgiana was evidently "sent into Charleston
to receive her officers, to be fitted out as a cruiser
there. She had 140 men on board, with an armament of guns and gun carriages in her hold, commanded by a British naval retired officer."
racing trophy) which alerted the remainder of the blockade fleet by shooting up colored signal flares. The Georgiana was sunk after a desperate chase in which she came so close to the big guns aboard the that her crew even heard the orders being given on the enemy vessel. With solid shot passing entirely though her hull, her propeller and rudder damaged, and with no hope for escape, Capt. A.B. Davidson flashed a white light in token of surrender, thus gaining time to beach his ship in fourteen feet (4.3 m) of water, three-quarters of a mile (1200 m) from shore and, after first scuttling her, escaped on the land side with all hands; this was construed as "the most consummate treachery" by the disappointed blockading crew, who would have shared in the proceeds from the prize.
Lt. Comdr. John L. Davis
, commanding Wissahickon decided to set the wreck afire lest guerrilla bands from shore try to salvage her or her cargo: she burned for several days accompanied by large explosions when lots of powder succumbed to the flames.
.
Today the Georgiana sits on the bottom with her huge boiler only five feet (1.5 m) under the surface. She is now plumed with a glorious array of sea fan
, sea whips, and living corals. Large sections of the hull are still intact. In places the starboard side of the shattered blockade runner protrudes over nine feet (3 m) from the sand. Under the mud and sand lies the remainder of the hull of the ill-fated warship.
On a clear day, skin divers can dive down into the Georgianas immense cargo hold simply by holding their breath. They can swim right past the remaining iron deck supports. The ship's deck was white pine and has long since been eaten away. Sea urchins and sea anemones abound on the wreck. The wreck seems alive with sea bass
, grouper
, flounder
, stingrays, seahorses, and toadfish.
Once in the Georgianas cargo hold, divers can observe heavily encrusted artifacts sitting where they have lain for over one hundred years. Near the forward cargo hatch Spence found boxes of pins and buttons. Spence recovered sundries, munitions, and medicines easily worth over $12,000,000, but he never found the 350 pounds (160 kg) of gold believed to be hidden on the wreck. The gold could have a numismatic value of over $15,000,000. Other cargo could bring the Georgianas total value to $50,000,000.
Resting on top of the Georgianas shattered wreckage is the remains of the sidewheel steamer Mary Bowers
, which struck the wreck of the Georgiana while attempting to run the blockade into Charleston.
and the Federals
) correctly or incorrectly placed on the Georgiana as a potential threat to United States shipping, and archaeologically due to the site containing two distinct types of of ships. Both ships were constructed of iron, but one was built with extra reinforcing and relatively deep draft such as would be needed for operation as a privateer on the high seas and the other of extremely light weight and shallow draft that was perfectly suited for the purpose of running the blockade, which required crossing shallow shoals to evade the deeper draft vessels of the blockade fleet. One (the Georgiana) is a screw steamer and the other (the Mary Bowers) a sidewheel steamer. The two ships were built and lost in a time span of about two years, making their design differences even more significant.
It was for the Georgiana/Mary Bowers wreck that the first salvage license in South Carolina was granted in 1967. Literally tens of thousands of artifacts were recovered from the site. The first dives by State officials on the site were made in 2010.
One contemporary report described the Georgiana as so lightly built that "she would shake from stem to stern if a gun were fired from her decks."
Historian Stephen Wise describes her as a merchantman and writes "While loading in Liverpool, the Union consul Thomas Dudley carefully investigated the vessel and reported her to be too frail for a warship. He felt her only purpose was to run the blockade."
A United States consular dispatch dated 6 January 1863 stated: "The steamer Georgiana, just arrived at Liverpool
from the Clyde
. She is new and said to be a very superior steamer. ··· Yesterday while lying here she had the Rebel
flag flying at her mast."
The London
American took special note of her in its 28 January 1863 edition as a powerful steamer and remarked that her officers wore gold lace on their caps, considered a sure indication she was being groomed for a man-o'-war.
After the Georgianas loss on 19 March 1863, the United States Secretary of Navy wrote: "the destruction of the Georgiana not only touched their (the Confederate's) pockets, but their hopes. She was a splendid craft, peculiarly fitted for the business of privateering."
The New York Times of 31 March 1863 gave a spy's description of the craft as "a superior vessel, ··· built expressly for the rebel navy." The spy reported that she was "altogether a faster, stauncher, and better vessel than either the Oreto or ."
The London
Times
of 8 April 1863 described her as follows: "There is not the least doubt of her being intended as a privateer."
Thomas Scharf
(who had served in the Confederate navy), in his Post War reference work History of the Confederate Navy, stated: "Apart from her cargo, the loss was a serious one to the Confederacy, as she was a much faster and stronger ship than any one of its cruisers afloat and would have made a superb man-of-war."
Underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, who discovered the wreck and identified it as the Georgiana, believes that she was indeed intended as a privateer
or cruiser
due to the naval guns found aboard, her deep draft hull construction, her heavier than standard iron planking, and the closer than normal, doubled up, Z-beam, framing used throughout the vessel.
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
-rigged, iron hulled, propeller steamer of 120 hp with a jib and two heavily raked masts, hull and stack painted black. Her clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
bow sported the figurehead
Figurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
of a "demi-woman". Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry over four hundred tons of cargo. She was built by the Lawrie shipyard at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
-perhaps under subcontract from Lairds
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
of Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
(Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
)-and registered at that port in December 1862 as belonging to N. Matheson's Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
service. The U.S. Consul at Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
was rightly apprehensive of her as being "evidently a very swift vessel."
Capt. Thomas Turner, station commodore, reported to Admiral S. F. du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
that Georgiana was evidently "sent into Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
to receive her officers, to be fitted out as a cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
there. She had 140 men on board, with an armament of guns and gun carriages in her hold, commanded by a British naval retired officer."
The wreck
The Georgiana was lost on the night of 19 March 1863, while attempting to run past the Federal Blockading Squadron and into Charleston, South Carolina. She had been spotted by the armed U.S. Yacht (of the famed America's CupAmerica's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
racing trophy) which alerted the remainder of the blockade fleet by shooting up colored signal flares. The Georgiana was sunk after a desperate chase in which she came so close to the big guns aboard the that her crew even heard the orders being given on the enemy vessel. With solid shot passing entirely though her hull, her propeller and rudder damaged, and with no hope for escape, Capt. A.B. Davidson flashed a white light in token of surrender, thus gaining time to beach his ship in fourteen feet (4.3 m) of water, three-quarters of a mile (1200 m) from shore and, after first scuttling her, escaped on the land side with all hands; this was construed as "the most consummate treachery" by the disappointed blockading crew, who would have shared in the proceeds from the prize.
Lt. Comdr. John L. Davis
John L. Davis
John Lee Davis was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the American Civil War, and later commanded the Asiatic Squadron.-Biography:Davis was born in Carlisle, Indiana, on 3 September 1825...
, commanding Wissahickon decided to set the wreck afire lest guerrilla bands from shore try to salvage her or her cargo: she burned for several days accompanied by large explosions when lots of powder succumbed to the flames.
Discovery
The wreck was discovered by underwater archaeologist E. Lee SpenceE. Lee Spence
Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure. He is also a published editor and author of non-fiction reference books; a magazine editor , and magazine publisher ; and a...
.
Today the Georgiana sits on the bottom with her huge boiler only five feet (1.5 m) under the surface. She is now plumed with a glorious array of sea fan
Sea fan
A gorgonian, also known as sea whip or sea fan, is an order of sessile colonial cnidarian found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Gorgonians are similar to the sea pen, another soft coral. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect,...
, sea whips, and living corals. Large sections of the hull are still intact. In places the starboard side of the shattered blockade runner protrudes over nine feet (3 m) from the sand. Under the mud and sand lies the remainder of the hull of the ill-fated warship.
On a clear day, skin divers can dive down into the Georgianas immense cargo hold simply by holding their breath. They can swim right past the remaining iron deck supports. The ship's deck was white pine and has long since been eaten away. Sea urchins and sea anemones abound on the wreck. The wreck seems alive with sea bass
Black sea bass
The black sea bass is an exclusively marine fish. It is a type of Grouper found more commonly in northern than in southern ranges.It inhabits the coasts from Maine to NE Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico....
, grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
, flounder
Flounder
The flounder is an ocean-dwelling flatfish species that is found in coastal lagoons and estuaries of the Northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.-Taxonomy:There are a number of geographical and taxonomical species to which flounder belong.*Western Atlantic...
, stingrays, seahorses, and toadfish.
Once in the Georgianas cargo hold, divers can observe heavily encrusted artifacts sitting where they have lain for over one hundred years. Near the forward cargo hatch Spence found boxes of pins and buttons. Spence recovered sundries, munitions, and medicines easily worth over $12,000,000, but he never found the 350 pounds (160 kg) of gold believed to be hidden on the wreck. The gold could have a numismatic value of over $15,000,000. Other cargo could bring the Georgianas total value to $50,000,000.
Resting on top of the Georgianas shattered wreckage is the remains of the sidewheel steamer Mary Bowers
Mary Bowers
The blockade runner Mary Bowers, Captain Jesse DeHorsey , bound from Bermuda to Charleston, South Carolina with an assorted cargo, struck the submerged wreck of the in fourteen feet of water a mile off of Long Island on August 31, 1864...
, which struck the wreck of the Georgiana while attempting to run the blockade into Charleston.
Site Importance
This wreck site is extremely important both historically and archaeologically. Historically because of the emphasis both sides (the ConfederatesConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and the Federals
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
) correctly or incorrectly placed on the Georgiana as a potential threat to United States shipping, and archaeologically due to the site containing two distinct types of of ships. Both ships were constructed of iron, but one was built with extra reinforcing and relatively deep draft such as would be needed for operation as a privateer on the high seas and the other of extremely light weight and shallow draft that was perfectly suited for the purpose of running the blockade, which required crossing shallow shoals to evade the deeper draft vessels of the blockade fleet. One (the Georgiana) is a screw steamer and the other (the Mary Bowers) a sidewheel steamer. The two ships were built and lost in a time span of about two years, making their design differences even more significant.
It was for the Georgiana/Mary Bowers wreck that the first salvage license in South Carolina was granted in 1967. Literally tens of thousands of artifacts were recovered from the site. The first dives by State officials on the site were made in 2010.
Confederate Cruiser, Privateer or Merchantman?
Due to the secrecy surrounding her construction, loading and sailing, there is considerable question as to whether the Georgiana was simply a merchantman or if she was intended as a privateer or cruiser.One contemporary report described the Georgiana as so lightly built that "she would shake from stem to stern if a gun were fired from her decks."
Historian Stephen Wise describes her as a merchantman and writes "While loading in Liverpool, the Union consul Thomas Dudley carefully investigated the vessel and reported her to be too frail for a warship. He felt her only purpose was to run the blockade."
A United States consular dispatch dated 6 January 1863 stated: "The steamer Georgiana, just arrived at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
from the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
. She is new and said to be a very superior steamer. ··· Yesterday while lying here she had the Rebel
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
flag flying at her mast."
The London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
American took special note of her in its 28 January 1863 edition as a powerful steamer and remarked that her officers wore gold lace on their caps, considered a sure indication she was being groomed for a man-o'-war.
After the Georgianas loss on 19 March 1863, the United States Secretary of Navy wrote: "the destruction of the Georgiana not only touched their (the Confederate's) pockets, but their hopes. She was a splendid craft, peculiarly fitted for the business of privateering."
The New York Times of 31 March 1863 gave a spy's description of the craft as "a superior vessel, ··· built expressly for the rebel navy." The spy reported that she was "altogether a faster, stauncher, and better vessel than either the Oreto or ."
The London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Times
Times
The Times is a UK daily newspaper, the original English language newspaper titled "Times". Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , went defunct in 2005*The Times *The Times of Northwest Indiana...
of 8 April 1863 described her as follows: "There is not the least doubt of her being intended as a privateer."
Thomas Scharf
John Thomas Scharf
John Thomas Scharf was a United States historian, author, journalist, antiquarian, politician, lawyer and Confederate States of America soldier and sailor. He is best known for his published historical works. Modern historians and researchers today continue to cite his comprehensive histories as...
(who had served in the Confederate navy), in his Post War reference work History of the Confederate Navy, stated: "Apart from her cargo, the loss was a serious one to the Confederacy, as she was a much faster and stronger ship than any one of its cruisers afloat and would have made a superb man-of-war."
Underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, who discovered the wreck and identified it as the Georgiana, believes that she was indeed intended as a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
or cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
due to the naval guns found aboard, her deep draft hull construction, her heavier than standard iron planking, and the closer than normal, doubled up, Z-beam, framing used throughout the vessel.