Rebel Navy

Tuesday's schedule has us headed for the south side of Columbus, near the Chattahoochee River, to visit the National Civil War Naval Museum. It used to be called the Confederate Naval Museum but in 2001 expanded to include the Civil War from a naval aspect for both the Union and Confederate sides. I think it is the only museum in the country that showcases both navies during the Late Great Unpleasantness, as some refer to it.

William Barker Cushing who is probably a distant connection of mine is part of the exhibits due to his being responsible for sinking the Confederate ironclad Albemarle in 1864. Other exhibits include the CSS Jackson and the wreckage of the CSS Chattahoochee, a replica of the USS Water Witch and the USS Hartford and a full scale replica of the USS Monitor's turret.

The original centerpiece of the museum is the CSS Jackson which was one of the largest ironclads built in the South. Originally known as the CSS Muscogee, all records after her launch refer to her as the Jackson. Although construction began in 1862, she was not launched until late 1864 and never seems to have been completely fitted out. When the Union captured Columbus, Georgia, in 1865, it was set ablaze and scuttled, resting on the bottom of the Chattahoochee for almost 100 years until it was raised in 1961.

Besides the pieces of the CSS Chattahoochee that have been recovered, there are other exhibits which not only explain the construction of the ship but also gives individual details about the people involved.

I found the re-creations of portions of the USS Hartford's berth deck, wardroom, and captain's cabin fascinating as it gave such a clear impression of what it was like on board including the fellow in surgery or something on the wardroom table!

BERTH DECK - USS Hartford

WARD ROOM - USS Hartford

USS Monitor turret replica

It is simply not possible to describe all the visual and textual information presented at this museum which alone was worth the trip to Georgia.

Of course, before leaving I had to spend some time in the museum shop immediately finding the cutest little CSA teddy bear. Not quite as cute but I had to get the companion USA teddy bear so both sides were represented.

Also irresistible was a cotton sunbonnet. What was irresistible was that the bonnet was clearly labeled as coming from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Not only will we be there later this summer but one of my sisters lives there!

We had two more places scheduled for today so off we headed first for the Lunch Box Museum which is supposedly located at River Market Antiques. We arrived at the location but nary a car in site, just what appeared to be a deserted, certainly closed, building and an empty parking lot, sigh!

On to our other stop, the Coca Cola Space Science Center. Definitely not closed, the Coca Cola Center seems well designed to enthrall children with both space and science or as one web site puts it, the center "innovatively combines education and entertainment to promote science exploration and discovery." Great for kids, for us it was noisy and busy, not our style.

So time for a meal and back to Wolf ...