SS Georgiana – Lost and Found on March 19th

March 19, 2009 · Filed Under History, Lore of the Sea, Ships 

The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, was destroyed on March 19, 1863, on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000.   One hundred and two years later on March 19, 1965, a teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence discovered the wreck of the Georgiana.

Wreck of the Confederate blockade runner Georgiana

“The Georgiana was 226′ long and was built of heavy iron planks and frames. The vessel was powered by an enormous steam engine that drove a 12′ diameter propeller. She was also rigged for sail. The cruiser must have been an impressive sight. She had heavily raked masts and her clipper bow sported the figurehead of a woman. The Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry over four hundred tons of cargo.

The Georgiana was lost on the night of March 19, 1863, while attempting to run past the Federal Blockading Squadron and into Charleston, South Carolina. She was sunk after a desperate chase in which she came so close to the Yankee guns that her crew even heard the orders being given on the enemy vessels. With solid shot passing entirely though her hull, her propeller and rudder damaged, and with no hope for escape, the Georgiana’s captain ran her aground. Once aground, the Georgiana’s crew scuttled her and escaped to shore. The Yankees then set her on fire. The partially submerged wreck burned and blew up for three days.

The United States Secretary of Navy wrote: “the destruction of the Georgiana not only touched (the Confederate’s) pockets, but their hopes. She was a splendid craft, peculiarly fitted for the business of privateering.”

Dr. E. Lee Spence, a pioneer in underwater archaeology, discovered the wreck and salvaged over $50,000,000 in valuable artifacts.  Dr. Spence is also well known for the discovery of the Civil War submarine Hunley in 1970.   A group lead by Clive Cussler would later claim the discovery in 1995, though the site had been previously designated in the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1978 based on Spence’s identification of the Hunley.

Dr. Spence’s archival research has identified the location of the wrecks of the side-paddle-wheel steamers Republic and Central America from which over one billion dollars in treasure has been recovered.

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