Joseph Judge

The Civil War shipwrecks USS Cumberland and CSS Florida are located in the James River near Newport News, Virginia. These important shipwrecks have been subject to almost every kind of indignity imaginable for an underwater resource: primitive salvage methods, neglect, and looting. Yet legitimate archaeological work has yielded a variety of interesting artifacts that now reside in the collections of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. In addition, the two shipwrecks were subjects of a successful application of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. These two sites in the James River are illustrations of the neglect and promises of underwater resources in the U.S.

History of the Cumberland and Florida

USS Cumberland was a full ship-rigged sailing sloop built at the Boston Navy Yard and launched in 1842. Cumberland began its career with the Mediterranean squadron serving as its flagship from 1843-1845. Captain S.L. Breese was its first commander and John A. Dahlgren served as an officer. It was during this cruise that Dahlgren studied and tested new shell guns and later he designed a series of naval guns that were the most powerful and reliable of the period.

During the Mexican War, Cumberland served in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1846, Cumberland's attack on Mexican warships in the Alvardo River was delayed after it grounded on a coral reef and had to be sent back to Boston for repairs. In 1848, Cumberland returned to the United States carrying, among others, Matthew Calbraith Perry.

Cumberland returned to the Mediterranean twice, the second time serving as the flagship of the squadron from 1852-1855. During one of these cruises, Cumberland's crew witnessed the European powers preparing for the Crimean War, a war which would make use of steam power, ironclad ships, and prove the superiority of shell over solid shot. The use of the newer heavy shell guns in naval warfare did not go unnoticed. To maintain naval superiority, American naval planners called for a Navy based on large corvettes (vessels with one gun deck). Cumberland's spar deck and quarter galleys were removed, thereby increasing its speed without sacrificing its strength. These alterations made Cumberland a magnificent corvette and a fast sailor. It now carried sixteen 32-pound guns, six 8-inch shell guns, and two 1-inch shell pivot guns on its bow and stern. These changes, done at the Washington Navy Yard, allowed Cumberland more firepower even at its reduced size. Cumberland had further refinements in 1860 and 1862, leaving its final configuration as 22 9-inch Dahlgren guns, one 10-inch pivot gun, and a rifled 70-pound pivot gun on the stern, its most formidable weapon. After 1856, the ship was no longer a frigate but a sloop-of-war.

From 1857 to 1859, Cumberland cruised the coast of Africa suppressing the slave trade as flagship of the African squadron. It spent the period immediately prior to the Civil War cruising the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico as the flagship of the Home Squadron.

Early in 1861, Cumberland, recently back from the Gulf of Mexico, was at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. In one of the greatest mistakes of the war, Union forces made a half-hearted attempt to destroy the yard and retreat to nearby Fort Monroe on 20 April 1861. The fleeing federals scuttled some ships of the old navy including USS Merrimack. Three Union ships, including Cumberland, escaped. Skilled Confederate workers at the shipyard began the task of converting Merrimack's hulk into an ironclad warship, rechristened CSS Virginia.

Cumberland was later assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron stationed in Hampton Roads and proclaimed the blockade in Virginia and North Carolina from its decks. Cumberland captured vessels carrying cotton, coal, hay, tobacco, and military stores.

In August 1861, the warship participated in the Union assault on Hatteras Inlet, an early and successful combined operation. However, Cumberland, was beginning to show its age, spending much of the battle under tow and at times had to stand offshore due to threatening weather. Cumberland had been modernized and altered as much as possible. Its inferiority to the latest developments in warship-design would only grow.

On 8 March 1862, Cumberland was on station in the James River. Its captain, William Radford was not on board and Lt. George U. Morris was in command. That afternoon, Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads to attack the Union blockade. Virginia headed straight for Cumberland, determining that the federal ship's rifled guns made it the most dangerous adversary of the blockading ships. The ironclad shrugged off Cumberland's fire and rammed a hole into the sloop. Lt. Morris later described the attack:

Virginia stood down toward us. We opened fire on her; she stood on and struck us under the starboard for channels; she delivered her fire at the same time; the destruction was great...at 3:35 p.m. the water had risen to the main hatchway, and the ship canted to port; we delivered a parting fire, each man trying to save himself by jumping overboard...all the wounded who could walk were ordered out...but those of the wounded who had been carried into the sick bay were so mangled that it was impossible to save them.

Cumberland went down with colors flying. One-hundred-and-twenty-one of its crew were killed in the battle. ⁱ

CSS Florida was the first of the foreign-built ships purchased to raid Union merchant shipping during the Civil War. While under construction, Florida was named Oreto to avoid provisions of neutrality laws. This was part of an elaborate deception to make Union agents believe the ship was destined for Italy or Spain.

William C. Miller & Sons of Liverpool, England built Florida based on their gunboat design. Florida was a three-masted, bark-rigged, wooden-hulled vessel. In addition to sail power, Florida came equipped with two steam engines installed by the Liverpool engineering firm of Fawcett, Preston & Co. It also had two unusual features that included a double-bladed screw propeller that was retractable when not in use, and collapsible smoke stacks. For armament, it carried six 6-inch Blakely rifles, two 7-inch Blakely rifles on pivots fore and aft, and one 12-pound howitzer.

Florida left England on 22 March 1862. To avoid British neutrality law, the ship sailed without any weapons or war materiel. Confederate Naval Officer, John Low, took the ship to Nassau, Bahamas, where it was officially commissioned 17 August. Captain John Newland Maffitt accepted orders to command the commerce raider and assembled a skeleton crew to sail for Cuba.

At this time, the ship's crew was suffering from an attack of yellow fever. Adding to Florida's problems, rammers, sights, locks, and other equipment necessary to operate its guns were not loaded with the other supplies in the Bahamas. The ship, unable to work its guns, was left defenseless. It was in this dangerous situation that, after a brief stop in Cuba, Maffitt boldly sailed into Mobile Bay on 4 September 1862. The ship, flying the Union jack as a ruse, braved a storm of shot and shell from Union blockaders and arrived to a hero's welcome. Florida received damage from its exploit, however, and needed repairs. Once these were completed, Florida escaped to sea on 16 January 1983. During the next six months, Florida began its mission of economic warfare. The ship called at neutral ports, eluding ships and taking many prizes. Florida's most valuable capture was the clipper ship Jacob Bell, en route from China to New York. Its cargo of tea and firecrackers, valued at $2,000,000 was burned. Florida also captured Lapwing, Clarence and Tacony and Maffit turned the ships into satellite raiders and helped to destroy northern merchant shipping.

By all measures, Florida's first cruise was widely successful. It captured 24 prizes, seizing one ship every nine days and the satellites captured another 23 ships. In August of 1863, Florida arrived in Brest, France, in need of refitting. It lay in the government dock while United States diplomatic agents applied a near continuous stream of protests, threats, and requests for action to the government of Napolean III. Maffit, in declining health, turned over command to Lt. Charles M. Morris. Morris had to contend with an untried crew, as serious discipline problems had erupted in France, resulting in the discharge of part of the original crew.

American diplomatic efforts did not sway the French, and Morris put to sea with the newly-equipped and newly-manned ship on 10 February 1864. Morris sailed near Bermuda before heading for the eastern coastal shipping lanes of the United States. On 10 July 1862, Florida enjoyed its most successful day as a raider, taking four vessels including Electric Spark, valued at nearly $1,000,000. Despite these successes, the crew was in need of rest, and after an unsuccessful mutiny, Morris decided to head for the neutral port of Bahia, Brazil in October 1864.

During this second voyage, Florida captured 13 prizes in 240 active days of sea service. The psychological condition of the crew no doubt influenced Morris's decision to put into Bahia, despite the presence of warship, USS Wachusett. Morris relied on Wachusett's captain, Napoleon Collins, to honor international neutrality conventions. When Collins became aware of Florida, he cleared his ship for action and waited. American consular agents in the port urged Collins to take action, and their aggressive persistence swayed him. On the night of 7 October, while half of Florida's crew including Morris, were on shore, Wachusett attacked. Wachusett rammed Florida demanding its surrender. Florida, with minimal crew and unloaded guns, complied. Florida's capture set off a diplomatic firestorm, as Brazil strongly protested the violation of her rights as a neutral power. Brazilian guns fired on the Wachusett as it left with Florida, and the U.S. Consulate in Bahia was ransacked. Brazil, as well as other governments demanded the ship's return.

The American public was jubilant over the capture. The U.S. Government, at this time under attack all over the world regarding the incident, did not want the troublesome Florida to resume her destructive career. Florida could neither be returned nor kept. While anchored off Newport News, Florida was rammed in an accident by the troop ferry Alliance during rough weather on the night of 19 November 1864. It began to take on water and was moved up the James River to a spot near where USS Cumberland sank during the battle of Hampton Roads. When an auxiliary pump failed, the ship began to take on more water, eventually sinking 28 November 1862. An official inquiry blamed the sinking on the failed pump, but statements in later years by Captain Maffit and circumstantial evidence have led some historians to conclude that Florida was deliberately destroyed in an "accident" to remove a diplomatic embarrassment. Whether by accident or design, Florida's career ended on the muddy bottom of the James River. ⁱⁱ

The wrecks of Cumberland and Florida lie side-by-side on the bottom of the James River, in Southeastern Virginia. Much of the archaeological work investigating the shipwrecks addresses both Cumberland and Florida. For this reason it is convenient to discuss both shipwrecks as one site.

Features of the Site

Cumberland and Florida lie in the lower James River, a major tidal estuary that flows into Hampton Roads Harbor and then into the Chesapeake Bay. Both ships were damaged prior to sinking, Cumberland severely. Both wrecks were subject to 19th century salvage operations after the Civil War. The site presents some special difficulties for archaeologists. They lie off waterfront facilities in Newport News, Virginia, in an area of heavy shipping. The depth of the water over the wreck sites is approximately 65 feet. Strong tidal currents are a constant hazard to divers. During a 1993 survey, archaeologists recorded a maximum visibility of two feet, with average visibility of less than one foot, and as low as two inches. ⁱⁱⁱ

Early Attempts to Explore the Cumberland

Cumberland became an archaeological site the moment she sank to a watery grave, in that the federal government almost immediately solicited work from salvage companies to secure valuable items from the shipwreck.

In his memoir When the Yankees Came Virginia resident George Benjamin West described some post-war work on the Cumberland and Florida:

After the war she [Florida] was stripped by divers, and I have often been out over her to see the diving. She must have been magnificently built, for the divers said that the staterooms were very handsomely decorated. I saw a piece of the gunwale which seemed to be of mahogany, and I have also seen brass ornaments which decorated the stateroom. ...I have very often been on the boats that worked on the Cumberland, first by a German named West and then by a company of Detroit, Michigan, which purchased her from West and which brought down a great many of the [Great] Lakes divers to try to secure the $40,000 in gold said to be in an iron chest in the paymaster's stateroom. ... ... His [the German diver West's] plan, as told to me, was to start under the stern, which lay down the river, and blow a hole in her and work towards the paymaster's stateroom. He did the diving himself and did not attempt to get any wreckage save the pieces he blew out of the side and brought up on deck, and the copper bolts cut out. The difficulty he had was the foiling-in of mud and sand, and having to grope in the utter darkness. It was very dangerous, and several times he was brought up unconscious.

West goes on in his memoir to describe other attempts to salvage the unfortunate ships, including the diver West's use of 25-pound explosive charges to rip copper bolts and plates out of the Cumberland. When the Yankees Came provides a vivid account of nineteenth-century salvage techniques and marks the first appearance of the story of the paymaster's chest with $40,000. ^iv

Sporadic salvage of the shipwrecks continued into the early 20th century. In 1909 part of the Cumberland's anchor chain was recovered and sent to the museum of the Confederacy in Richmond. ^v

Twentieth-Century Archaeological Investigation

In 1980, Clive Cussler, popular novelist best known for his book, Raise the Titanic, pursued a long-standing interest in the two ships. Cussler, Chairman of the Board of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), researched probably locations for the ships. Eventually Cussler entered into a cooperative agreement with the Virginia Research Center for Archaeology. This joint effort failed to locate the wreck sites.

In 1981, NUMA contracted with Underwater Archaeological Joint Ventures (UAJV), a private firm based in Yorktown, VA. UAJV team members called on the knowledge of local watermen to help locate the ships. This knowledge, combined with a remote sensing survey, led archaeologists to two significant wrecks. The recovery of numerous artifacts confirmed that these shipwrecks were most likely Cumberland and Florida.

Artifacts recovered included fasteners, fittings, apothecary vessels, a ship's bell (from Cumberland), canon fuses and other ordnance items. The artifacts proved the NUMA/UAJV team had indeed found Cumberland and Florida. Most of the artifacts from this NUMA/UAJV excavation are on exhibit at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA. ^vi

Archaeological Investigations 1986

In 1986, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum contracted with Tidewater Atlantic Research of Washington, NC, to conduct a magnetic and acoustic remote sensing survey. This survey produced a preliminary site map that showed that Florida had a high degree of structural preservation. No artifacts were recovered during this work, which involved on diving. Data from this survey is on file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA. ^vii

Looting 1989 and Subsequent Artifact Treatment, 2002-2004

Cumberland and Florida have not been free of the dangers threatening every shipwreck, including looting. In 1989, two local watermen using clamming tongs disturbed the wrecks and attempted to profit from the destruction in cooperation with two antique dealers. Citizens concerned about this misuse of our nation's heritage alerted the Justice Department and the Navy, and felony convictions ended a successful prosecution of the looters. Nevertheless, the two Civil War ships were show to be vulnerable. Looted artifacts recovered during this case are held in the collection of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Neglect, abuse and misguided "conservation" attempts greatly damaged this collection, prohibiting proper exhibition. ^viii

To address the problem, in 2002 the Hampton Roads Naval Museum made a successful application for conservation monies from the Navy's cultural resources budget. As a result of this funding, 292 artifacts received conservation treatment from the Warren Lasch conservation center in Charleston, South Carolina, the lab that is undertaking the spectacular treatment of the submarine CSS Hunley.

Prominent among the artifacts treated were glass and ceramic items, including inkwells and pieces of china. Also treated in this first batch were several examples of clay pipes. Shipboard items addressed by the Lasch staff included sheaves, spikes, washers, blocks and screws. Cleaning, hot water desalinization and controlled air-drying were used to stabilize the artifacts. In several cases items that were in several pieces were joined back together. Unsightly and ignorant markings by the looters were removed. ^ix

In 2004 another batch of thirty-six badly damaged artifacts was shipped to the Maryland Conservation Lab for analysis and treatment.

Archaeological Investigations 1993

In May of 1993, the U.S. Navy's Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic Division, in Norfolk, VA, obtained a Department of Defense Legacy grant to conduct further investigation into the wrecks. Panamerican Consultants of Tuscaloosa, AL assessed the condition and integrity of the vessels. Archaeologists noted the impact of commercial shipping on the sites, in particular destruction that appeared to be caused by modern anchors and clamming. Archaeologists also noted that the wrecks were covered with sediment, and that they may be exposed and then covered up again by the constantly moving sediment, a phenomenon witnessed in other shipwreck sites. No artifacts were recovered from the 1993 work. ^x

Summation

It would not unfair to describe the Cumberland and Florida shipwrecks as "long-suffering." They have been subject to continued and systematic intrusion since the moments after their sinkings in 1862 and 1864. Only a small portion of this attention is in keeping with current notions of proper archaeology. The fact that there may still be some useful information gained from the wrecks is more probably a testament to the harsh environment of the James River, which has been the most important factor in preventing total destruction by looting.

As important, perhaps, than any specific site work is the successful prosecution of the looters, which marked an important application of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Underwater resources become more threatened each day, especially with improving technology. Well publicized consequences for looters helps end these disturbing practices. Public education also creates greater awareness of the threat to important shipwrecks. To that end, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum has made the archaeology of the Cumberland and Florida a centerpiece of its exhibits and programs.

Cumberland site present day.

Artifacts from 1980s work.

Pipe looted in 1989.

Label made by looters to sell artifacts.

ⁱⁱ History of the Florida can be found in the following sources: Owsley, Frank Lawrence. The C.S.S. Florida (University of Alabama, 1987); Mosier, Joe. "A Most Magnificent Ship: CSS Florida." The Daybook, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, 1994).

ⁱⁱⁱ Panamerican Consultants. "Documentation of the Civil War Vessels CSS Florida and USS Cumberland, Hampton Roads, Virginia, Department of Defense Resource Management Program Demonstration Project No. 348," May, 1994, on file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia.

^iv West, George Benjamin, When the Yankees Came: Civil War and Reconstruction on the Virginia Peninsula (Richmond, Va., 1977).

^v Newport News Daily Press, 12 November 1909.

^vi Margolin, Sam. "Iron and Wood: 125 Years Ago, the Cumberland Went Down Fighting." Newport News Daily Press, 8 March 1987.

^vii Watts, Gordon. "A Remote Sensing Reconnaissance of the Remains of the USS Cumberland, CSS Florida and the Wreck Site of the CSS Virginia." Tidewater Atlantic Research, Washington, North Carolina, March 1987. On file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.

^viii For details about the looting and the subsequent legal case see Smith, Bryan. "Relics-theft suspects claim they are victims," Newport News Daily Press, 9 August 1993; Bender, Penny. "Loot or windfall? FBI investigates," Newport News Daily Press, 20 March 1990; Cosco, Joseph, "Two convicted of taking relics," Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 24 August 1993. For an analysis of the damaged artifacts see Robinson, David S. "Inventory and Conservation Needs Assessment for Artifacts from Civil War Wrecks CSS Florida and USS Cumberland." R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., March 1995, on file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia.

^ix Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Report on the treatment of artifacts from the Cumberland and Florida, 2002, on file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Norfolk, Virginia.

^x Panamerican Consultants. "Documentation of the Civil War Vessels CSS Florida and USS Cumberland, Hampton Roads, Virginia, Department of Defense Resource Management Program Demonstration Project No. 348," May, 1994, on file at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia.

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