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.
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