Article 14

American Archaeologists and French volunteer and Navy divers have recovered the bell of the famous Confederate commerce raider CSS ALABAMA from its resting place off Cherbourg, France.

The bell was found near the ships' galley stove, still attached to the ornate brass bracket which once attached it to the foremast.

The brass or bronze bell found this week is 14 inches in diameter and 13 inches high. The bell is still covered with a layer of concreted sediment and no engraving is visible. During recovery the fragile mounting at the top of the bell separated from the mounting bracket. The bell will be shipped to the Warren Lasch Archaeological Conservation Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, for conservation treatment and cleaning. This lab is presently conserving the remains of the Confederate submarine HUNLEY.

This summer season of diving is the most recent campaign in a series of many years. Found in 1984 and identified shortly after, the wreck has been studied through a successful international partnership between the French and United States governments and French and American volunteer archaeological divers with occasional substantial assistance from the French Navy. Funding was predominately provided by French companies for earlier years of the project, but the United States government has provided substantial funding assistance recently through the Department of Defense's Cultural Legacy Resources grant program.

Planned archaeological work must be approved by the joint Franco-American CSS Alabama Scientific Committee, made up of two representatives from each government. It must then meet French requirements to receive permits for scientific diving projects and archaeological work in French waters. All artifacts remain the property of the US Navy, which exhibits some, including the remains of the ship's wheel, at the Navy Museum in the Washington Navy Yard. Some of the most interesting artifacts are on loan to museums in Mobile, Alabama, and Cherbourg, France, with long-standing interest and involvement with the ship.

Work on the wreck site has been hampered over the years by a high-energy bottom scoured by powerful tides, leaving only two short windows during slack tides each day. The wreck is at the maximum safe depth for compressed air diving, which severely restricts available time to work on the bottom as well. Past campaigns have concentrated on different research objectives each year. One campaign excavated parts of the officers quarters at the stern, where a porcelain and brass toilet and several china plates and cups were found. Other years saw study of the engines and boilers amidships, the main armament, and the propeller lifting frame at the stern.

The largest artifacts recovered to date are the Blakely pattern stern pivot gun and part of its mounting - currently on long-term loan to Cherbourg. The gun and its reconstructed mount are on exhibit at the magnificent new Cherbourg maritime museum Cite de la Mer in the grand ocean liner terminal buildings of the city.

The centerpiece of the Cite de la Mer is the preserved nuclear-propelled ballistic missile submarine REDOUTABLE which with Alabama's gun gives an excellent contrast in the most fearsome weapon systems of their respective centuries.

Further work planned for this diving season on the ALABAMA includes recovery of the iron galley stove if possible, and study of the crew berthing area in the forward part of the wreck. After diving ends June 21st, a US Navy remotely operated vehicle will be used to map the entire site using high-resolution digital photography.

This report is compiled in part from information provided by the CSS Alabama Project, including a news story by Mark Padover; from past involvement with the project and visits to Cherbourg; and from several individuals present at this year's campaign.

News story credit to Kevin Foster, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.