"A Formidable Looking Pile of Iron Boilers and Machinery": The Conservation and Reconstruction of USS Westfield.

Summary

During the American Civil War, USS Westfield served as the Union's flagship for operations along the Texas Gulf Coast. On January 1, 1863, Westfield was destroyed by her captain at the Battle of Galveston to avoid capture. In 2009, the disarticulated artifact debris field was recovered from the Texas City Channel in advance of a dredging project. After five years of extensive conservations efforts, these artifacts were reconstructed into a large exhibit at the Texas City Museum. This presentation will review the conservation and the resulting Westfield exhibit, and demonstrate how even the most scant archaeological evidence can be an asset if properly documented and studied.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Current Projects at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M Univerisity   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 629