Influence of Quarry Dust on Compressive Strength of Concrete

University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty & Staff Publications Archaeology and Anthropology, South Carolina Institute of 12-1999 SCIAA Teams with Naval Historical Center to Investigate H.L .Hunley's Foe, The USS Housatonic Christopher F. Amer [email protected] Robert Neyland Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/sciaa_staffpub Part of the Anthropology Commons Publication Info Published in Legacy, Volume 4, Issue 1-3, 1999, pages 22-25. http://www.cas.sc.edu/sciaa/ © 1999 by The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology This Article is brought to you by the Archaeology and Anthropology, South Carolina Institute of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty & Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. • ;' I .' I . • UNDERWATER ARClWDLOOY SCIAA Teams with Naval Histori'cal Center to Inyestigate H. L.Hunley's Foe, The USS Housatonic By Christopher F. Amer and Robert Neyland , The 1999 Housatonic Survey was ondu'Cted as-part oHhe ongoing research'into the events that took place on the night of February 17, 1864. That everung, history was made as. the.H. L. Hunley became the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel dur.ing time of war. The .... . Hunley's adversary was the 1240-ton steam sloop-ofwarUSS Maillerfort-and again in 1908,under contract to the US Army Corps of Engineers . What the archaeologists found at the site is the resul t of these' series of demolitions. 1t took the divers several dives to excavate down five to seven feet to uncover the highest confusion of those last moments of this ship when, as the hull settled to the seafloor, the crew took to the rigging; ordinance fuses and a pistol, remnants of the ship's armaments; a wrecking bar found amid the tangle of iron, once used by divers to pry apart the blasted metal; copper drift pins, once used to hold the hull together and now twisted into pretzellike shapes; and coal, Housatonic, which itself present in gained the large quantireluctant ties in all three distinction test trenches of be comexcavated. ing the first The project warship to was divided be sunk by into two parts. a submaThe goal of the The 1999 urvey crew attend a morning project briefing aboard the SC Department of rine. After first part, Natural Resources research vessel Anita. The ship plans (center) are of USS Ossipee, sister ship of being conducted USS Housatonic. (Photo by Christopher Arner; courtesy Friends of the Hunley) torpedoed, during the last Housatonic sank in less than five remaining structure on the hullweek of May, was to obtain more minutes, its stern virtually blown off information on the geology of the usuall y twisted and broken machinby the 135-pound charge. Moments ery-and fittings distorted by the immediate area around Hunley by later the Hunley itself sank, presumexplosions in the hull. Archaeolotaking sedimentary samples. The ably with all hands. Within nine gists would have to dig twice that United States Geologic Servicesmonths of the sinking, divers depth to unco ver the lower portions Center for Coastal Geology-under reported that the Housatonic had of the wooden hull. Among the the direction of Mark Hansen took a settled five feet into the mud and wreckage, archaeologists have found total of nine cores of the sediments, sand bottom. Twice, the remains of six cores from around the Hunley, and a multitude of artifacts that attest to the warship were blown apart to the events on that cold February three near the Housatonic. Four of prevent it from being a hazard to night 135 years ago-several shoes, these from around the Hunley are navigation-in the 1870s-by a Mr. reminding us of the terror and currently being analyzed fo r charac- 22 Legacy, Vol. 4, Nos . 1-3, December 1999 teristics, such as sediment sheer stress, by Soil Consultants Inc. of Charleston. related to the ship's sinking and included determining the orientation of the buoy for the Housaton ic wreck shown in a 1908 chart. It is the only object in the area that protrudes above the bottom and is a known hang for shrimpers' nets. This information vessel at the time is essential to designing the of the attack, if Housatonic was anchored with its bow to the north, northeast, or of the ship, and the other two slightly forward of the area in the stem another direc- where the blast damage from appropriate recovery vehicle for the Hunley. The other cores are being studied tion. We also by USGS and Dr. Scott Harris of the wanted to see if the starboard side of the vessel To date, we have excavated three test areas, each about 10 feet in diameter and six to eight feet deep over the Housatonic, one near the bow Hunll!1/s torpedo was the worst. In the bow we located two of the ship'S water tanks, which helped to determine that the ship'S bow was Geology Departpointed in a northwest direction at ment of Coastal was missing or if Carolina Univerthe time of sinking. From this area the stern was we recovered personal effects of the sity in order to completely prepares to the turbid waters above the wreck of the crew such as six shoes (see photo) blown off from accurately date Housatonic. Submersible and a wood and lead pencil. The the vessel. In the sequence of communication gear in a specially designed mask (pictured here) allow addition, we crew's quarters were located directly both vessels' divers to communicate with archaeologists on the surface in the above these water tanks and these burial beneath the wanted to black waters off Charleston Harbor. (Photo by Christopher Amer; courtesy artifacts settled in the hull as the sea bottom. determine if the Friends of the Hunley) upper decks collapsed over time. The second propeller was The presence of the crew's footwear part of the survey began on June 7 still present and if the historical also is an indication that Housatonic's and involved a survey on the description of the propeller shaft being sheared was correct. There was sinking was so sudden that the crew remains of Hunley'S adversary and victim, USS Housatonic. The goals of and officers had no time to recover also a magnetic anomaly directly between the Hunley and Housatonic their personal possessions or this survey were to verify that the clothing. that we wanted to wreck was still there and had In the stern, integrity that might yield informainvestigate prior to archaeologists the recover of Hunley. tion on the brief engagement recovered between the two foes. If found to be This was to ascertain some small if it was part of relatively intact, Housatonic and the arms and other either vessel and a area between and around Housatonic weapons, relic of the ba ttle or and Hunley can be considered eligible including a for listing on the National Register of some other object of pistol (see h istoric significance Historic Places or as a National photo), fu ses Landmark. The wreckage of that might be for exploding Housatonic yields a large magnetic impacted by the shells, solid signature, one at least twice the size recovery of the shot, and a of Hunley. However, no one had Hunley. During the hanger for a previously verified the presence of first two days of the survey, the object short sword or extensive portions of the ship's hull and artifacts that could lead to was relocated and dagger. A excavated. It is a large wrecking interpretation of the events of the Among the artifacts recovered from the bar, an artifact battle and life on the Union blockade cylindrical iron remains of the Housatonic, which lies buried more than 7 feet below the ocean of the lowering marker buoy, in 1864. floor, were at least six leather shoes. (Photo by Christopher Amer; courtesy of the hull Specific research objectives probably the bell Friends of the Hunley) See Housatonic, Page 24 Legacy, Vol. 4 Nos. 1-3, December 1999 23 I/ousatonlc, Fr.om Page 23 either in the 1870s_0]: 1908, was also recovered. As the test excavations:were being coyrducted, we also probed the I I . reck ~ith a ~ hig-presu waterjet. This'Was done to find the depth . below the.sediment of different parts of tHe weckage ;and to obtain an · J • • , , data will help us provide a more complete interpretation of the battlefield, the historic significance of ­both ves·sels, and allow us to nominate Hou satonic and the site of the engagement of the two warships to the National Register of Historic Places. 0 11n&of the wrei;kagfi!. " r , , Nothing df ~ -., ~ ou . rotud The principal investigators would like to express their appreciation to the Marine Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and its Director John Miglarese, for invaluable assistance with boats and able captains such as Captain Paul Tucker of the Anita and relief Captains Mike Schwartz and Jeff Jacobs. SCDNR has s atonzc ~ s really been a partner in both the 1996 Hunley assessment and the 1999 Housatonic survey. We would also like to recognize Randy Beatty, Head of Vessel Operation, and Mel Bell, under six to,.. lD feet of sand, clay, and shells. Visibility on the sea bottom, except for Coordinator of very rare the Artificia I occasions, is Reef Section pitch black. The digital X-ray, made by the Medical University of South Carolina, reveals a brass and wood pistol inside a concretion. (Photo by Christopher Amer; courtesy Friends of the Hunley) and Head of the Divers DNR Dive conducted all Safety Program. Without them this their operations by touch without the Acknowledgments project would not have been posaid of sight. The probing mentioned sible. This research project has also above is conducted by laying a line All archaeological projects been aided by the College of Charleswith knots positioned at every foot. conducted underwater require a ton, which has provided a location The diver uses a lD-foot-long pipe great deal of planning and logistical for the Hunley Research Center­a carrying high pressure water to jet support. This project is no exception. central location for this operation. down through the sediment. This The 1999 Housatonic Survey was We would also like to thank the pipe has marks every foot that the conceived and conducted by the staff Medical University of South Carolina diver can feel with his hands. The of the Naval Historical Center's diver then communicates with the surface by underwater communications gear to an assistant, who writes down the depth and distance on the line probed (see photo). Excavation and interpretation of Underwater Archaeology Unit (NHC­UAU) and the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology's Underwater Archaeology Division (SCIAA­UAD), with the assistance of the National Park the remains of USS Housatonic will help us to complete the story of the events that occurred on that February night that marked the beginning of the submarine age. In addition, the Service's Submerged Cultural Resource Unit (NPS­SCRU) and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' Marine Resources Division (SCDNR­MRD) . 24 Radiology Department, which provided extremel y high quality xrays of the artifacts. Additionally, the principal investigators (especially Christopher Amer) would like to thank Mr. Warren Lasch for his generous donation of equipment to the Underwater Archaeology Division of SCIAA. The new trailer for the Division's 25­foot C­Hawk, donated Legacy, Vol. 4, Nos. 1­3, December 1999 Co-Principal Investigators or Project Directors: Dr. Robert Neyland, Hunley Project Manager and NHCUAU Christopher Amer, Deputy State Archaeologist for Underwater, SCIAA-UAD Co-principal investigator Dr. Robert Neyland confers with co-field director David Conlin on-site. The Underwater Archaeology Division's 17-foot McKee was reinstated into the Division's fleet with the addition of a new 90-hp outboard motor, donated by Mr. Warren Lasch. (Photo by Christopher Amer; courtesy Friends of the Hunley) by Mr. Lasch last year, allowed us to safely move and deploy this boat, which became one of the primary boat for this summer's survey (see photo). This craft is the division's most versatile platform and can be operating platforms of the project. This vessel is also our primary survey vessel when fitted with the ADAP III marine survey system (See Legacy, Volume 3, Number 2, July 1998) and will be used on the used for diving, survey, and support for projects like the Housatonic survey. Thank you Warren, for your enthusiastic support of not only the Hunley / Housaton ic Project but of underwater archaeology in South Carolina. (Mr. Warren Lasch is division's upcoming survey of US Navy wrecks in the state's waters. This year, Mr. Lasch donated a 90horsepower Mercury outboard motor, allowing us to activate the division's 17-foot McKee as a support Chairman of the Friends of the Hunley.) Last, but not least, we would like to mention our archaeological Field Directors: Dr. Dave Conlin, NPS-SCRU Jim Spirek, SCIAA-UAD Artifact Conservator/ Archaeologist: Claire Peachey, NHC-UAU Jonathan Leader, SCIAA-OSA Other Archaeological Team Members: David Grant, NHC-UAU Dave Howe, NHC-UAU Carl Naylor, SCIAA-UAD Joe Beatty, SCIAA-UAD Brett Seymore, NPS-SCRU David Whall, volunteer Tristan Amer, volunteer Mark Ragan, historian and author research team: Plan view of the USS Ossipee, sister ship of USS Housatonic, October 1883. (Drawing by US Navy) Legacy, Vol. 4 Nos. 1-3, December 1999 25