The Pewter Assemblage from the Site of CSS Georgia

Author(s): Karen Martindale

Year: 2020

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Current Research at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

CSS Georgia had been in service for nearly 20 months when Sherman’s March to the Sea prompted Confederate forces to scuttle the ironclad to prevent the ship’s capture. Given the Confederate forces had time to remove supplies from the ship, salvage efforts shortly following the American Civil War, and the Savannah River’s current and traffic, it was surprising to find a substantial number of small artifacts during the 2015 and 2017 excavation seasons—including an assortment of pewter spoons, buttons, decorative items, and equipment. Pewter has seen prolific use throughout history, having been formed into tableware and buttons, medical devices and lamps. Conservation and analysis of these artifacts may augment our understanding of life aboard CSS Georgia.

Cite this Record

The Pewter Assemblage from the Site of CSS Georgia. Karen Martindale. 2020 ( tDAR id: 456934)

Keywords

General
Civil War Ironclad Pewter

Geographic Keywords
United States of America

Temporal Keywords
19th Century Civil War

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 180