Divers find Civil War wreckage

On 18/04/2009
In Underwater Archeology
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From ABC News 4

Archaeologists are scouring Charleston harbor's ocean floor for wreckage from the civil war.

The USS Patapsco failed in its attack on Charleston in April 1863 and later sank when it struck a torpedo off Fort Sumter.

She now lies at the bottom of the Charleston harbor. USC underwater archaeologist James Spirek has located the shattered vessel.

"We believe the bow points towards Cummings Point and that the stern is facing out towards Mt. Pleasant," Spirek said.

All week Spirik and his team have gone to the depths of the ocean searching for the union ironclad ship.

"We have actual pieces of the hull, where they should be. We've been able to find some frames of the vessel. We've found the outer hull," according to Spirek.

Using sonar devices, divers detected a piece of modern day dredging pipe resting on the historic remains.