Friday, May 27, 2011

This Day in History, May 27th


I learn something new every day. I also forget something old every day to make room.

Today I learned that the CSS CHATTAHOOCHEE exploaded on the Chattahoochee River in Georgia on this day. Here is what Wikipedia said about it:

CSS Chattahoochee was a twin-screw steam gunboat built at Saffold, Georgia, entered service in February 1863 for the Confederate States and was named after the river it was built on.

Chattahoochee was plagued by machinery failures, one of which, a boiler explosion which killed 18, occurred on May 27, 1863 as she prepared to sail from her anchorage at Blountstown, Florida, to attempt retaking the Confederate schooner CSS Fashion, captured by the Union. On June 10, 1864 she was moved to Columbus, Georgia, for repairs and installation of engines and a new boiler.
While she was undergoing repairs at Columbus, 11 of her officers and 50 crewmen tried unsuccessfully to capture Adela blockading Apalachicola, Florida. USS Somerset drove off the raiders, capturing much of their equipment.
When the Confederates abandoned the Apalachicola River in December 1864, the Chattahoochee was moved up the Chattahoochee River, and then scuttled near Columbus as Union troops approached the city. The remains of the Chattahoochee were found in the river within the boundaries of Fort Benning in 1963, and raised and placed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus

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