Restoration Continues on CSS Jackson After Summer of Floyd Terrorism
National Civil War Naval Museum director Brandon Gilland explains work on ironclad CSS Jackson's fantail in four 30-second videos. Check 'em out!
National Civil War Naval Museum director Brandon Gilland explains work on ironclad CSS Jackson’s fantail in four 30-second videos. Check ‘em out!
(Civil War Picket) - Longtime followers of this blog know I have a fascination with a component of the Confederate ironclad CSS Jackson, which was raised from the Chattahoochee River near Columbus, Ga., in the early 1960s.
As I wrote last month, the National Civil War Naval Museum is reassembling 28 heavy pieces of iron that made up the fantail of the Jackson.
The precisely built curved rear deck that protected the vessel’s rudder and propellers had sat outside the Columbus venue for decades, waiting for new life. But a 2020 arson fire that raced through a pole barn dashed hopes of conserving the fantail in its original form. While the armor was scorched, it survived. The timbers holding them together were ruined.
I recently paid a visit to the museum and shot videos of director Brandon Gilland explaining the project (please watch them in order as placed below). He and volunteers arranged the iron in the shape of a half moon, in preparation for flipping and placing the pieces onto a cedar base attached to blocks.
When the project is completed in a few months, visitors will be able to get an idea of how the armor built at the stern was constructed and protected the…