The South Carolina Naval Wreck Survey was a five-year study that partnered the Maritime Research Division of SCIAA with the Naval Historical Center in Washington, DC. The project, completed in 2003, was conducted in two phases. The first phase called for compiling historical and cultural data of United States Navy vessels lost in South Carolina waters to document the losses and subsequent wreck history of each vessel. The second phase of the project included conducting remote sensing operations on a limited number of shipwreck sites and areas of naval activity, primarily from the Civil War. Four areas of the state on which to concentrate were selected: the Charleston area, Port Royal Sound, the ACE Basin (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto Rivers), and Winyah Bay. The United States Navy had a clear presence in each of these areas during various periods of the state's history. This presence is reflected in the shipwrecks and military cultural detritus that litter the bottomlands of each area.
Related Information
2005. Spirek, James D. & Amer, Christopher F. "South Carolina Naval Wreck Survey Completed." Legacy. Vol. 9, Nos. 1 & 2. March. South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. University of South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina. pp. 29-31.
2004. Spirek, James D., Amer, Christopher F., Beatty III, Joseph M., Harris, Lynn B., Naylor, Carl A., Ragan, Mark K. "A Management Plan for Known and Potential United States Navy Shipwrecks in South Carolina." South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. University of South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina.
2001. Spirek, James D. "An Inventory of Naval Shipwrecks in Charleston Harbor." Legacy. Vol. 6, No. 1. July. South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. University of South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina. p. 17.