The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

And, Speaking of the Battle of Galveston

A little while back I was wondering about the progress of work on the USS Westfield which was blown up at the Battle of Galveston during the Civil War.

I came across a report by TV News station KBTZ about the Dahlgren cannon which has been brought to the surface and is now being preserved.

There was also an interesting video along with the story at
http://www.kbtz.com/tamu/headlines/79010787.html

Texas A & M's Riverside campus has one of the foremost facilities to pereserve objects brought up from the sea called the Conservation Research Center.

On December 10th, they showed off their latest project, the five ton Dahlgren cannon raised from the wreck of the USS Westfield, which was blown up January 1, 1863. Now, 146 years later, it is once again above water.

Some 1201 of these cannons were made during the war and the recovery of this one brings the number remaining to 50.

Technically, the cannon still belongs to the US Navy, so it will be up to them to determine the gun's final destination.

Always Great to recover Something from the Sea. --B-Runner

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