Harry Ridgeway, the Civil War Relicman has several artillery shells from the Georgiana for sale.
One was a Britten bolt, 2.9-inches in diameter and 6 -inches long with salt water damage to the outer shin.
There is also another with a star-shaped interior for superior fragmentation with a lead-sleeved time fuse. Sounds like quite a nasty bit of ordnance.
The Georgiana sank March 19, 1863, while attempting to run the blockade into Charleston. After its propeller and rudder were damaged by Union fire, the captain ran the vessel aground, scuttled it, and the crew escaped.
Dr. E. Lee Spence believes that the ship's owner, George Albert Trenholm, who ran a blockade-running firm and owned the Georgiana, was the person Margaret Mitchell based her Rhett Butler on of Gone With the Wind fame.
Today, the boiler is five feet below the surface and covered with sea life. Large sections of the hull are still intact. On the starboard side, parts protrude nine feet above the sand.
Maffitt's Channel, where the Georgiana sank, is considered the second main entrance to Charleston Harbor. The Union's Stone Fleet was sunk there in January of 1862.
More Than I Ever Knew About a Ship I Didn't Know About. --B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
