In 1993, the CSS Alabama Association was formed and received exclusive permission to investigate the remains and recover objects. In the 1990s over 200 artifacts were brought to the surface.
Most were turned over to the US Navy for restoration. There have been no dives since 2005 because of lack of funding.
The remains of an Alabama sailor encrusted on the bottom of one of the cannons were discovered in 2003. While sinking, the cannon evidently came off its carriage and crushed the poor crewman. The remains were sent to the US Army Central Identification Center in Hawaii where DNA samples were taken with the hope of finding descendants.
His bones were buried July 28, 2007, in the Confederate Rest section of Mobile, Alabama's Magnolia Cemetery where it rests with approximately 1,100 Confederate soldiers.
The Alabama's commander, Raphael Semmes, spent the last years of his life in Mobile and is buried at the Catholic Cemetery.
The Museum believes the cannon being brought to Mobile is proper even though the ship never went there. After all, the name is Alabama and Semmes did spend the last years of his life in the city and is buried there.
Something To See Our Next Gulf Trip During the Winter. --Old B-Runner
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