Hidden Histories, Historical Marker Resource
CSS Georgia: The “Ladies’ Gunboat”
This Hidden History was created by SCAD student Julia Luff as part of her SCAD art history department coursework, with guidance from art history professor Holly Goldstein, Ph.D., in 2021.
The CSS Georgia: The "Ladies' Gunboat" historical marker was dedicated in 2014. View the CSS Georgia: The "Ladies' Gunboat" historical marker listing.
Gallery
Figure 1. Location of the wreck of C.S.S. Georgia (gold ring), opposite Old Fort Jackson. Photo by Mike Stroud. C.S.S. Georgia to be Excavated | Dead Confederates, A Civil War Era Blog
Figure 2. Model of C.S.S Georgia. Photo by Mike Stroud.
Figure 3: The Ladies Gunboat Association Fundraiser at the Masonic Hall, Featuring Mr. J.H. Newman, Michael L, Jordan. “From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia.” Published February 7, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXq9deBHM5c.
Figure 4. Engraving of C.S.S. Georgia. Image by U.S. Naval Historical Center.
Figure 5: 1361PH-29-18-6122: C. S. S. Georgia Hoax image, 1986. MS 1361-PH Georgia Historical Society photograph collection. Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society. Image thought to be the C.S.S. Georgia that was later discovered to be a fake, John Potter, “C.S.S. Georgia” Hoax Image, Georgia Historical Society.
Figure 6: Scott’s Great Snake, Union Blockade Map, Michael L, Jordan. “From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia.” Published February 7, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXq9deBHM5c.
Figure 7: May 1866, Mayor Edward C. Anderson Notice of the C.S.S. Georgia Wreckage, Michael L, Jordan. “From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia.” Published February 7, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXq9deBHM5c.
Figure 8: C.S.S. Georgia Cannon Being pulled from the Savannah River, Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia recovers from Savannah River by Jeremy Buddemeier, August 24, 2015, U.S. Army Website
Figure 9: C.S.S. Georgia Propeller being pulled from the Savannah River, Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia recovers from Savannah River by Jeremy Buddemeier, August 24, 2015, U.S. Army Website
Figure 10: C.S.S. Georgia Cross Section of Ironclad Railroad tracks used in construction of the ship, Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia recovers from Savannah River by Jeremy Buddemeier, August 24, 2015, U.S. Army Website
Figure 11: Map of the wreckage site on the floor of the Savannah River, Michael L, Jordan. “From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia.” Published February 7, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXq9deBHM5c.
Figure 12: Guns of the C.S.S. Georgia Ironclad, on display at the Old Fort Jackson, Courtesy of Julia Luff.
Figure 13: Guns of the C.S.S. Georgia Ironclad, on display at the Old Fort Jackson, Courtesy of Julia Luff
Figure 14: Guns of the C.S.S. Georgia Ironclad, on display at the Old Fort Jackson, Courtesy of Julia Luff
Figure 15: CSS Georgia: The “Ladies’ Gunboat” Marker, on display at the Old Fort Jackson, Courtesy of Julia Luff
Figure 16: Julia Luff, Portrait of the C.S.S. Georgia, Mixed Fiber Media, Free Motion Embroidery, 14” x 10”, 5.13. 2021. For the Ladies Gunboat Marker project.
I was drawn to this topic from the moment I initially read the marker. The combination of feminine force with naval action instantly resonated with me and my naval history in my family with my great grandfather running the port of Philadelphia. My partner currently holds the position of Ensign, or a commissioned officer in the Navy. I wanted to dive deep into the story that went far beyond the text of the marker and fully understand how this ironclad came to be. An ironclad vessel refers to a warship designed to be impervious to enemy shot and shell by virtue of their iron-armored wooden hull (Figure 2). While piecing together the story of this group of women who willed the C.S.S. Georgia into existence for the purpose of continuing the abhorrent system of slavery and the destruction of the United States, I found myself wondering if I had the will to honor their efforts in a written record of their dedication to see through the protection of their homes and way of life. Though I could never agree with the loyalties and ultimate Confederate goals to uphold the institution of slavery, the feminine force that made this vessel possible took place during a time when women did not have the right to vote and were deemed weak by society, and these ladies organized one of the untold stories of protecting Savannah during the Civil War.
Throughout my research, the element that stood out to me was how the limited supplies during the wartime led the ship builders to use local railroad tracks. Over seven different types of steel were found on just one small section of recovered ship. My thesis work as an MFA student in Fibers has to do with the ideas of mending and repairing which are two things this vessel needed to stay afloat. I was drawn to the image in the excavation of the intertwining structures of the railroads used to create the ironclad. For my creative component, I wanted to represent this form of “Make Do and Mend,” that was seen in the construction of the C.S.S. Georgia. I created a collaged material image achieved through discarded fabrics and embroidery of the ship. The construction of the work exemplifies the mélange of materiality used to achieve this phenomenal vessel.
The portrait of the C.S.S. Georgia gunboat ais an artistic representation of the lost imagery and myth surrounding the history of the vessel. There are no known images of the ship, only etchings that capture the gesture of the boat. Through the research process the C.S.S. Georgia took on a life of its own and in this modern material depiction I used denim, cotton, and free motion embroidery to collage a mixture of materials that represents the varied sources used to construct the vessel, including the pieced together bits of railroad tracks from various sources. The embroidery represents the community effort to pull the financial and physical sources together in order to construct the Georgia (Figure16). When the vessel was completed, it was far from perfect. Much like the loose hand of the collage, perfection was not on the forefront as was the desire to create the appearance of force and strength that Savannah was able to build to protect their harbor.
Buddemeier, Jeremy. “Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia recovers from Savannah River.” U.S.Army.com, accessed April 26, 2021, https://www.army.mil/article/154274/civil_war_ironclad_css_georgia_recovers_from_savannah_river.
Garrison, Ervan G., and Richard J. Anuskiewicz. "An Historical and Archaeological Evaluation of the CSS Georgia." Historical Archaeology 21, no. 2 (1987): 74-100. Accessed April 27, 2021.
Jordan, Michael L.. Hidden History of Civil War Savannah. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing Inc., 2017. Accessed April 28, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Jordan, Michael L.. “From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia.” Published February 7, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXq9deBHM5c.
Jordan, Michael L. “CSS Georgia: “… TO A SAILOR’S EYE A MONSTROUS CREATURE…,” Master of Arts in History Thesis., Armstrong Atlantic State University, 2006.
Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina. “Inventory of the Edward C. Anderson Papers, 1813-1882.” www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/htm/03602.html.
Rable, George C. Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1989. Print.
Shaver, Lisa. "Stepping outside the "Ladies' Department": Women's Expanding Rhetorical Boundaries." College English 71.1 (2008): 48-69. Print.
Still, William N., Jr. Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Ironclads. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988.
Swanson, Mark, and Robert Holcombe. CSS Georgia Archival Study (Draft). Stone Mountain: New South Associates, 2003.
Vandergriff, Cara, ""Petticoat Gunboats": The Wartime Expansion of Confederate Women's Discursive Opportunities Through Ladies' Gunboat Societies. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1691.
Vernon, McCord. The Minute Book of the Ladies' Defence Association. 1862. MS. Eleanor S. Brockenbrough Library, The Museum of The Confederacy, Richmond.
Watts O, Gordon. “In Situ Archaeological Excavation of the CSS Savannah Harbor, Georgia.” February 2007.