Hobby divers in SC salvage the Federal gunboat USS Boston.

[Jolly Mon]

I should have posted this some time ago. It is a short University of South Carolina report on the salvage of the Federal gunboat USS Boston by hobby divers back in 1980. The Boston grounded on a sandbar in the Ashepoo river in May of 1864 and was demolished by Confederate shore batteries. It was salvaged under contract by the US Army back in 1866, but was relocated by SCIAA licensed hobby divers in 1979 and a salvage permit was granted to them by the State of South Carolina and the Federal government. The story is less about what was found than about actual cooperation between amateur divers and state/federal authorities. It IS possible.


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...6IDQBw&usg=AFQjCNGDZ6C3S6tyItxRAMOaXseLo6d7hQ

 

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[Salvor6]

Thanks Jolly Mon. The last paragraph says it all!

 

[CaptEsteban]

I took an underwater archaeology course offered by S.C.I.A. many years ago. Afterwards, I dove with them on some projects. We all got along great & had a good time.

 

[Jason in Enid]

No, it USED to be possible to work together. Ask anyone who has tried to get a salvage permit in the last decade

 

[Jolly Mon]

If anyone is interested in what the wreck of a 225 foot side-wheel steamer of the Civil War era might look like from the air, here is the Boston as seen from about 2000 feet back in 2011, the tide must have been fairly low when this image was taken...it doesn't look quite like a normal sandbar...

click to enlarge