History was celebrated today in more ways than one. A crowd of almost 800 visitors attended the National Civil War Naval Museum’s Independence Day celebration at Port Columbus on July 4, while wishing America a Happy 250th birthday.
The Battle of Columbus was a pivotal Civil War engagement fought on April 16, 1865. Often cited as the last major land battle east of the Mississippi River, this Union victory destroyed the Confederacy’s critical industrial and naval manufacturing center spanning Columbus, Georgia, and Girard (now Phenix City), Alabama.
The main highlight at the museum is the CSS Jackson, the largest surviving Confederate ironclad warship. Workers built this 180-foot steam-powered “ram” in Columbus. Confederate forces burned and sank it in 1865. Divers recovered it in the 1960s. Next to it are the salvaged hull remains of the CSS Chattahoochee, and an interactive, full-scale replica of the Union flagship USS Hartford.
“This is important for our heritage,” said Sam Ruffner…