Hello, I'm Jeff Seymour, the Director of Education and History at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, GA. That high and mighty title only means that I'm the curator/archivist/historian/chief tour guide/and bathroom attendant. I've worked at the museum for eleven years and I teach history at Columbus State University. I finished my undergraduate and Master's degrees in history at Jacksonville State University, and done further graduate work in history at Auburn University, where I also completed a Master's Certificate in Archival Studies. Our website is currently undergoing some reconstruction, but check out the museum at www.portcolumbus.org. Thanks, and I look forward to this opportunity.
One of the things I've been interested in is the number/proportion of foreign sailors who served in the Confederate Navy. Are there any sources or research that has been done on this topic?
Also, when the war broke out, what proportion of the U.S. Navy's officers and enlisted switched to the Confederacy? I've always been told that it was a much lower percentage than in the U.S. Army.
Could you go into a bit of explanation as to what goes into the raising and preserving of a 150 year old sunken ship?
Also, how does the project compare to earlier Civil War era recoveries such as the Monitor or the Hunley? I imagine that they provided a bit of a blue print to work with?
What happens to the CSS Georgia, short- and long-term? Thanks!
I'd like to know a bit about the Museum's archives.
Is the museum digitizing it's archive material? How difficult a process is it for older or fragile documents and artifacts?
Looking at some of the ships featured on the site... what exactly was the USS Water Witch doing in Paraguay? What was the nature of US naval involvement in South America?
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this AMA, I had a few questions:
How did the naval infrastructure of the Confederacy and Union compare? Would slave labor have been used in Southern ports to construct vessels?
Some of my own brief readings of Civil War naval history mention moments of inter-service cooperation, namely the leadership and 'control' of the United States Army over certain riverine based squadrons and vessels. How did the services cooperate, and did 'Navy vs. Army' control of maritime theaters cause any friction?
What are some of your preferred works for Civil War naval history? I see the museum site promotes McPherson's War on the Waters and Symonds' Lincoln and His Admirals, two works I've seen a lot of praise for. Do you have any others you'd add?
How is the field of Civil War naval history? Does it tend to generally fall under the larger Civil War umbrella, or is there a more thriving specialized field I've yet to find?
Thanks again for the work you and those at the National Civil War Naval Museum do to preserve and promote a powerful piece of American naval tradition. I'll be sure to donate.
According to wikipedia, one of the ship's nicknames was Ladies' Ram. Apparently because a 'Ladies gunboat association' helped fund it. What's the story behind that? Was it just Southern patriot women chipping in? Some sort of a PR stunt? Also why Ladies' Ram?
How does Scharf's history of the Confederate Navy hold up? I've got a copy, but I don't know if the historiography has passed it by.
Also, I'm a bit curious about the transfer of an archaeologically excavated ship from fresh water versus salt. With salt, I know you have to do prolonged soaks in progressively less salty water, but what sort of process is needed for fresh water preservation?
Was there anything shady that happened that caused the CSS Hunley to not go to the National museum and instead be given a museum all of its own?