COLUMBUS, Ga. - The National Civil War Naval Museum on Victory Drive holds the burned remains of two Confederate warships that were pulled from the Chattahoochee River in the early 1960s. The larger one, the ironclad CSS Jackson, was built less than a mile from where it now rests. The museum, run by the nonprofit Port Columbus, is marking its 25th anniversary at its current location this year, according to its website.

A Museum Built Around Two Wrecks

The museum opened at its riverfront site in 2001, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. It replaced the older Confederate Naval Museum and occupies a 40,000-square-foot building paid for in its first phase with nearly $8 million in private local donations. The encyclopedia describes it as the only institution in the nation devoted to the maritime story of the Civil War.

Port Columbus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and says on its website that it is not government funded. Its stated mission is to tell the stories of the Civil War navies. Its guided tours cover the Union blockade, the Confederate Navy and the experience of African Americans in the Civil War navies.

The Columbus Naval Iron Works

Columbus was one of the most industrialized cities in the Deep South during the war, and it sat at the head of navigation on the Chattahoochee. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the city's Confederate Naval Iron Works supplied engine machinery for many Confederate ironclads. The U.S. Navy never sailed up the river to attack it.

The works was commanded by Maj. James H. Warner, according to a Georgia Historical Commission marker. That marker says Lt. Augustus McLaughlin directed construction of the ironclad there. The industry ended when Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, a force of about 13,500 men, crossed into Columbus from Girard, Ala., on the night of Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, and destroyed the city's war factories.

The CSS Jackson

The Jackson was a 225-foot ironclad, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. It was first called the Muscogee, and U.S. Navy historical records describe it as an ironclad ram driven by screw propellers. Work probably began in mid-1862, the historical marker says, but a December 1863 launch failed because the ship drew too much water, and a shortage of iron armor plate caused more delays.

The ship was finally launched in December 1864 and was still not ready for battle when Wilson's troops arrived. Union soldiers set it on fire and let it drift downriver, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the fire burned for nearly two weeks before the hull sank about 30 miles south of Columbus.

The wreck stayed on the river bottom for 96 years. It was raised in 1961 and brought back to Columbus, according to the encyclopedia. The ship never saw active duty, and a 1963 state historical marker describes the salvaged hulk as a monument to the Confederate Navy.

The CSS Chattahoochee

The museum's second wreck was a gunboat with a troubled career. In the fall of 1861, Confederate officers and the Naval Iron Works' chief engineer hired a private firm in Saffold, Ga., about 175 miles south of Columbus, to build a 130-foot gunboat, the New Georgia Encyclopedia says. The Chattahoochee was launched in February 1863 and ran aground on its first day, badly damaging its hull.

On May 27, 1863, a boiler exploded as the crew set out to recapture the schooner Fashion from Union forces. A Georgia historical marker at Saffold says the blast killed 16 crew members. The explosion effectively ended the ship's service, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

The gunboat was taken to Columbus for repairs in June 1864. It was later destroyed near the city to keep it out of Union hands, and its machinery was smashed with sledgehammers, according to Navy records. Its engines and lower hull were salvaged about a century later and are now on display.

What Visitors See

The Jackson's hull sits in a large, darkened room, with a suspended frame above it that outlines the parts of the ship that did not survive, according to RoadsideAmerica.com. A nearby tank shows how waterlogged iron is cleaned by electrolysis. Real armor slabs from the Jackson line the entry gangway of a full-scale CSS Albemarle reproduction, where visitors can touch the plating.

Walk-through reproductions of the USS Hartford and the Albemarle are among the museum's main attractions, according to its website. Inside the Albemarle, a combat simulator shows 455-pound Union cannonballs striking the ship's armored casemate, the New Georgia Encyclopedia says. The museum also has a reproduction of the USS Monitor's turret and a replica of the gunboat USS Water Witch, completed in 2009.

The main gallery holds what the museum calls the nation's largest array of Civil War naval flags. Other artifacts include the uniform coat of Catesby Jones, who commanded the CSS Virginia in its 1862 battle with the Monitor, along with torpedoes, cannons and a CSS Georgia exhibit. The museum's largest annual event, RiverBlast, is held in early March near the anniversary of its opening.

How to Visit

The museum is at 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, and can be reached at 706-327-9798. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, and it closes on four major holidays, according to its website. Visitors should check the site for current event schedules before they go.

Groups can book guided tours in advance. A private VIP tour costs $75 plus tax for up to five people, and group tours of at least 20 people cost $8 per person, with admission included. The museum also offers a cannon firing for special occasions for $300.