The Florida State University Department of Anthropology and Academic Diving Program have been conducting archaeological research in the Mobile Bay area for over five years. Previous work has included non-destructive surveys on vessels such as Bellone, Ivanhoe, and Phoenix.

During the fall 1993, a non-destructive archaeological survey was conducted by researchers from the Florida State University on the Civil War Ironclad ram, Phoenix. At that time a cursory survey, which included partial mapping of exposed hull remains, was conducted.

Phoenix is a unique Confederate ironclad ram sidewheel steamship which was sunk in August, 1864 as a defensive measure against the assaulting Union Navy. It was one of the largest ships constructed during the Civil War and is the only remaining craft of the three "Nashville class" vessels built by the Confederacy. Little information is currently known about the construction of these vessels.

The vessel Phoenix currently lies within a row of obstructions in upper Mobile Bay. The obstructions have been designated by the Alabama State Historic Preservation Office with Historic Site number 1Mb28. They were erected by the Confederate States of America during the Civil War to serve as defense against the Union Navy.

Phoenix was first identified during a 1984 remote sensing survey of the obstructions in which several vessels were noted (Irion and Bond 1984; also Irion 1985). Information from the 1984 survey was utilized to conduct a preliminary investigation of the wreck of Phoenix during the fall, 1993. This investigation consisted of a five day field survey, over a three month period, from September through November, 1993. At that time, the ship was relocated and approximately 10% of the wreckage was mapped; this included partial mapping of the bow and stern. In addition to relocating Phoenix, the 1993 survey also identified the remains of Thomas Sparks, an iron-hulled tug, and an unidentified vessel (Ball and McLean 1994). Researchers from Florida State University returned to map part of the unidentified vessel in November, 1995.

Information obtained from the 1993 survey consisted primarily of determining the extent of the wreckage and a preliminary evaluation of its current condition.

References Cited

Ball, David A. and Shea W. McLean
1994 Phoenix, A Preliminary Archaeological Survey.  Ms.
on file at Academic Diving Program, 
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

Irion, Jack B.  and Clell L. Bond
1984 Identification and Evaluation of Submerged Anomalies, Mobile
Harbor, Alabama.   
Prepared for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile
District by Espey, Huston, and Associates, Inc., Austin, TX.

Irion, Jack B.
1985 Archeological Testing of the Confederate Obstructions, 1Mb28,
Mobile Harbor, Alabama.  
Prepared for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile
District by Espey, Huston, and Associates, Inc., Austin, TX.