Legacy, Vol. 9, Nos.
1 & 2, March 2005 , pp. 29-31.
South Carolina Naval Wreck Survey Completed
By James Spirek and Christopher Amer
Among the countless wrecked watercraft
in State
waters lies a body of naval vessels spanning the years from the
Revolution to
modern times. The management of these sunken naval vessels in South
Carolina waters and throughout the world falls under the responsibility
of the
Department of the Navy (DoN), with the Underwater Archaeology Branch of
the
Naval Historical Center (NHC) as the main arbiter of issues affecting
these cultural
resources. The DoN maintains custody of all its ships and planes,
whether
seemingly abandoned, regardless of last operational use, or lost in
United States, foreign, or international waters. Only an act of
Congress can divest the
DoN of its titles or claims to this property. Under the aegis of the
Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, the NHC has
turned to
the states as co-stewards to help in developing management plans for
these
national treasures. In September 1998, the Maritime Research Division
(MRD)
received funding from a Department of Defense Legacy Resource
Management Grant
to develop a management plan for navy-owned shipwrecks in South
Carolina
waters. The grant funded the MRD to implement historical and
archaeological
research, remote sensing surveys, and to prepare a report and a GIS
database of
naval ship losses in state waters. In April 2004, the MRD completed
the report
"A Management Plan for Known and Potential United States Navy
Shipwrecks
in South Carolina," and a GIS database of archaeological information
related to the USN shipwrecks. The following article provides a brief
synopsis
of the scope and results of the project.
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The project was conducted in two
phases. The
first phase focused on gathering historical, archaeological, and
environmental
information concerning the shipwrecks claimed by the Navy. The second
phase
concentrated on implementing remote sensing operations on selected
shipwrecks
and naval activity sites from the Civil War. To begin the project, the
NHC
provided the MRD with an inventory of 96 ship losses reportedly lying
in South Carolina waters. The shipwreck inventory consisted of British
warships, South Carolina naval vessels, Army vessels, blockade runners,
and unidentified shipwrecks.
Findings from our research were used to discriminate and select only 46
USN
shipwrecks in the final inventory. Of these 46 shipwrecks, 31, or 67
percent
of the total list, were associated with the First and Second Stone
Fleets the
Federals used to blockade the shipping channels into Charleston
Harbor. Only one shipwreck was added to the inventory, Robert B. Howlett, a lightship
used by the Federal Navy off Charleston (See Figure 1). Shipwrecks not
included in the final inventory were separated by various categories into new
lists in the appendices, for example, Confederate warships and blockade runners
or Foreign warships.
Historical and archaeological research in the
first phase centered on two complementary avenues, one, to develop an
historical context of the US naval presence in South Carolina from the birth of
the Nation to recent times, and two, to prepare individual histories of each
shipwreck. In addition to developing the "life" history of each
shipwreck, research also focused on the "death" history of the
archaeological remains.
Typically, post mortem activities included
contemporary salvage of the wreck shortly after sinking. In Charleston
Harbor, the majority of Federal shipwrecks from the Civil War underwent
extensive
salvage operations by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1870s to
improve
harbor navigation. Noted also were more recent salvage operations
under
license from SCIAA, as well as the only archaeological investigation
carried out in South Carolina on a US Navy shipwreck, Housatonic, by
SCIAA, NHC, and National Park Service underwater archaeologists in 1999.
To
develop potential research and management options, the shipwrecks were
categorized, quantified, and qualified as a group. Several analytical
categories were created to help characterize the wrecks namely, historical
period, cause of shipwreck, salvage activity, location, and environmental
context. In general, US Navy shipwrecks in South Carolina waters date from the
Antebellum period (1785-1865, predominately from 1861-1865), were scuttled,
have not been salvaged, are situated in and around Charleston Harbor, their
locations generally known, and have not been disturbed since their sinking.
The scuttled First and Second Stone Fleets, however, skew the analysis to
characterizing US Navy shipwrecks to this observation. Ignoring these
purposefully sunk vessels, and the scuttled Queen of France from the
Revolutionary War and YP-481 from WWII, reveals that the next greatest
reason for sinking in South Carolina waters was grounding, followed closely by
enemy action. Causes of sinking and any subsequent salvage operations, both
contemporary and modern, have ramifications that affect the structural
integrity and artifactual content of each shipwreck. Other impacts include
natural and cultural factors that effect the preservation of a shipwreck and
include erosion, biological and chemical degradation, dredging, and artifact
collecting. Examination of the circumstances and environments of the navy
shipwrecks in the inventory offer a management tool by which to prioritize and
direct resources for future archaeological inquiry by South Carolina and Navy
submerged cultural resource managers.
The second phase of the project included conducting remote sensing operations on a limited number of shipwrecks and areas of naval activity sites from the Civil War. Archaeological and environmental information obtained during this phase helped to assess and to prepare a baseline of a site's condition for future reference by researchers and managers. The primary area of operation was in Charleston Harbor, and included surveys of USS Patapsco, an ironclad sunk by a torpedo (mine); USS Weehawken, an ironclad that foundered at sea; USS Keokuk, an ironclad sunk from damage sustained during battle; and USS Housatonic, a steam frigate sunk by the H.L. Hunley submarine. A second area of survey was Port Royal Sound, which was the operational headquarters of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Several areas were surveyed and a number of magnetic and acoustic anomalies ground-truthed to determine their sources. A search was also made to locate the remains of the USS George Washington, an Army gunboat sunk in Whale Branch River. Additionally, preliminary site plans were prepared for two shipwrecks: the Skull Creek Wreck, previously discovered by SCIAA in 1985 and possibly related to Confederate or Federal naval activity, and the Station Creek Wreck, newly-discovered during the course of this survey, and thought to represent the remains of a whaling vessel destined for the Stone Fleet but diverted for use as a floating machine shop (See Port Royal Sound Survey article in this issue for additional information about operations in this area). A third survey area was in the ACE basin (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto Rivers) to gather information about two Civil War vessels: USS Dai Ching, a navy gunboat sunk by a Confederate battery, and USS Boston, an army transport sunk during a combined operation with the navy. The fourth area centered on the Civil War wreck of the USS Harvest Moon, Admiral John Dahlgren's flagship sunk by a torpedo in Winyah Bay.
All
of the four areas were examined using the MRD's ADAP-III marine remote sensing
ensemble. Electronic information obtained included magnetic, acoustic, and
bathymetric data. Between the three sets of data, the information sought to
characterize each site included: to delimit the extent of the site, to
determine orientation of the main ship structure, to image exposed features,
and to record the environmental setting. Magnetic data revealed the location
of the shipwrecks, of which the majority were buried under several feet of
sediments. Analysis attempted to determine the main orientation of the
shipwreck and to take into account the scatter of structure during salvage
activities, especially for Keokuk, Weehawken, and Housatonic. Acoustic imagery revealed portions of the ship's structure, aiding in
determining the structural integrity of the site, notably on the Patapsco,
Boston, Skull Creek and Station Creek wrecks (See Figure 2). At the Harvest
Moon, Dai Ching, and at several magnetic anomalies potentially
associated with George Washington, the MRD used magnetic data to guide
hydraulic probing operations to determine
the amount of
overburden and the extent of surviving structure (See Figure 3 and 4).
Visual
inspection by MRD staff concentrated on magnetic and acoustic anomalies
in Port
Royal Sound at two naval activity sites including the repair facility
in
Station Creek and the T-dock on Bay Point.
All of the results of the electronic data, probing, ground-truthing and geo-referenced historical charts were incorporated into a GIS project for analytical and archival purposes. The combination of the written report and the GIS database will provide submerged cultural resource managers convenient access to the project's findings for making timely management decisions regarding the sunken naval legacy in South Carolina. Additionally, the GIS project can swiftly incorporate new data from future research endeavors. The report and project concluded with several recommendations to guide future work concerning the navy shipwrecks including, continuing fieldwork, maintaining the GIS database, and developing other partnerships with the NHC. Hopefully, the information obtained during the project will serve to direct Federal and State managers as they chart a plan to preserve and protect the sunken naval legacy in South Carolina waters. For those wishing to obtain a copy of the report, a PDF-version will be available in the near future.
Our thanks to the NHC, especially Dr. Bill Dudley, director and his staff, Dr. Robert Neyland, Barbara Voulgaris, and Wendy Coble, as well as staff at USC and SCIAA, and others for their assistance in implementing and completing this project.
The second phase of the project included conducting remote sensing operations on a limited number of shipwrecks and areas of naval activity sites from the Civil War. Archaeological and environmental information obtained during this phase helped to assess and to prepare a baseline of a site's condition for future reference by researchers and managers. The primary area of operation was in Charleston Harbor, and included surveys of USS Patapsco, an ironclad sunk by a torpedo (mine); USS Weehawken, an ironclad that foundered at sea; USS Keokuk, an ironclad sunk from damage sustained during battle; and USS Housatonic, a steam frigate sunk by the H.L. Hunley submarine. A second area of survey was Port Royal Sound, which was the operational headquarters of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Several areas were surveyed and a number of magnetic and acoustic anomalies ground-truthed to determine their sources. A search was also made to locate the remains of the USS George Washington, an Army gunboat sunk in Whale Branch River. Additionally, preliminary site plans were prepared for two shipwrecks: the Skull Creek Wreck, previously discovered by SCIAA in 1985 and possibly related to Confederate or Federal naval activity, and the Station Creek Wreck, newly-discovered during the course of this survey, and thought to represent the remains of a whaling vessel destined for the Stone Fleet but diverted for use as a floating machine shop (See Port Royal Sound Survey article in this issue for additional information about operations in this area). A third survey area was in the ACE basin (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto Rivers) to gather information about two Civil War vessels: USS Dai Ching, a navy gunboat sunk by a Confederate battery, and USS Boston, an army transport sunk during a combined operation with the navy. The fourth area centered on the Civil War wreck of the USS Harvest Moon, Admiral John Dahlgren's flagship sunk by a torpedo in Winyah Bay.
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All of the results of the electronic data, probing, ground-truthing and geo-referenced historical charts were incorporated into a GIS project for analytical and archival purposes. The combination of the written report and the GIS database will provide submerged cultural resource managers convenient access to the project's findings for making timely management decisions regarding the sunken naval legacy in South Carolina. Additionally, the GIS project can swiftly incorporate new data from future research endeavors. The report and project concluded with several recommendations to guide future work concerning the navy shipwrecks including, continuing fieldwork, maintaining the GIS database, and developing other partnerships with the NHC. Hopefully, the information obtained during the project will serve to direct Federal and State managers as they chart a plan to preserve and protect the sunken naval legacy in South Carolina waters. For those wishing to obtain a copy of the report, a PDF-version will be available in the near future.
Our thanks to the NHC, especially Dr. Bill Dudley, director and his staff, Dr. Robert Neyland, Barbara Voulgaris, and Wendy Coble, as well as staff at USC and SCIAA, and others for their assistance in implementing and completing this project.
