Navy divers to help raise Confederate warship artifacts

Fox News ^ | May 24, 2015 | AP

[FourtySeven]

The Navy is preparing to send one if its premier diving teams to Georgia to help salvage a Confederate warship from the depths of the Savannah River.

Before it ever fired a shot, the 1,200 ton ironclad CSS Georgia was scuttled by its own crew to prevent its capture by Gen. William T. Sherman when his Union army took Savannah in December 1864. Today, it's considered a captured enemy vessel and is property of the U.S. Navy.

The shipwreck is being removed as part of a $703 million project to deepen the river channel so larger cargo ships can reach the Port of Savannah. Before the harbor can be deepened, the CSS Georgia has to be raised.

...

[FourtySeven]

Seems kind of odd to be considered a "captured enemy vessel" after all of these years.

Anyway I thought it was an interesting story of ongoing archeology.

Didn't find this posted before after searching for every word in the title, individually.

[riverrunner]

The government can come up with all kinds of reason to take control of things.

[jjotto]

‘Captured vessel’ determines presumptive ownership, making it very difficult for anyone else to claim.

Here’s a story from when they started the work:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/national/georgia/story/2015/jan/29/work-begins-raise-confederate-warship-savanna/285400/

[onedoug]

Dem Yankees jest tryin’ to ferret out her secrets.

[null and void]

The government can come up with all kinds of reason to take control of things.

Or no reason at all...

[deport]

Nothing posted recently but from the past may be interesting to some. Hopefully they can bring this artifact back to the top for all to see.

Civil War shipwreck creates hurdle for government's $653M .. May 5, 2012

Savannah Harbor expansion plan could salvage .. Nov 1, 2002

Confederate ironclad wreckage may rise again .. June 5, 2005

History at 40 feet - Free Republic Jul 31, 2003

[DiogenesLamp]

Seems kind of odd to be considered a "captured enemy vessel" after all of these years.

Part of the existing dichotomy of the Civil War. The Union's argument was that secession was illegal, and the Confederacy was never another country. If this is their argument, how can you argue that the ships of a country which never existed could be regarded as "captured enemy vessels"?

Were they another country or not? I think they were regarded as such when it was convenient, and not regarded as such when that was convenient.

[GreyFriar]

At least the anti-Confederates can’t raise “racist” claims for the ship being raised:

“The shipwreck is being removed as part of a $703 million project to deepen the river channel so larger cargo ships can reach the Port of Savannah. Before the harbor can be deepened, the CSS Georgia has to be raised.”

It is a historical artifact.

[When do we get liberated?]

I thought so too, but I bet there is wording in Davis’s surrender that all ships held by the CSS, in any condition, are the property of US Navy.

[deport]

Let me try the link posting again the first attempt didn’t work properly.
Sorry about that.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2880398/posts
Civil War shipwreck creates hurdle for government’s $653M plan

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/779969/posts
Savannah Harbor expansion plan could salvage .. Nov 1, 2002

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1416670/posts
Confederate ironclad wreckage may rise again

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/955523/posts
History at 40 feet

[Old Sarge]

Sure they can: because it’s RAISEist...

[centurion316]

The government can come up with all kinds of reason to take control of things.

In this case, hundreds of years of Admiralty Law provides volumes of precedence to support the government claim. Warships are in almost every case, exempt from any salvage claims.

[rockrr]

One can be an enemy combatant and still be regarded as citizens of the same nation.

[liberty_lvr]

I went to boot camp with a guy who became a Navy diver. Takes a special kind of dedication to do that job, and even with a fitness level that was absolutely off the charts he barely qualified.

Those divers are amazing.

[GreyFriar]

:-)

[rockrr]

There was a movie about the first black Navy diver, Men of Honor (2000). I don’t know how accurate their training scenes were but the movie was quite good.

[DiogenesLamp]

“The shipwreck is being removed as part of a $703 million project to deepen the river channel so larger cargo ships can reach the Port of Savannah. Before the harbor can be deepened, the CSS Georgia has to be raised.”

It is a historical artifact.

The "H. L. Hunley" I can see, but this? It was a failure from start to finish, and served no real purpose in the war. Other than artifacts from the period which may come off the wreck, I can't see any real purpose to salvaging it.

It's historical significance is virtually nil in my opinion.

[Sacajaweau]

Yeh...Captured my "a__". It should go to some southern state....not the Feds.

Boy, I hope there's no southern symbols on the ship...like confederate flags. We don't want to start a race riot.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

how can you argue that the ships of a country which never existed could be regarded as "captured enemy vessels"?

Al Qaeda isn't a country, but we still consider AQ prisoners captured enemy combatants.

[DiogenesLamp]

Al Qaeda isn't a country, but we still consider AQ prisoners captured enemy combatants.

I'm pretty sure this treatment of extra-national entities is a relatively recent development. I remember when the attacks on Al Qaeda began, there was much discussion among the lawyers as to what the legal status of such people were.

"Enemy combatants" put them in a sort of legal limbo as compared with the captured POW of a state. This is one reason we had been getting away with a lot of denial of due process for this group that would not have been tolerated for prisoners with an actual allegiance to a state.

In order for your analogy to hold, you will have to argue that Confederate prisoners were treated like Al Qaeda style "enemy combatants" rather than Prisoners of War. I don't think you are really interested in making such an argument.