Local sailor aids in sunken Civil War ship salvage

SAVANNAH, Ga. (July 13, 2015) Navy Diver 1st Class Spencer Puett, a native of St Joseph, Mo., prepares fellow Sailors to dive the waters of the Savannah River in support of the salvage of Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia. Navy Divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 6 are working in conjunction with archaeologists, conservationists, Naval History and Heritage Command, and the US Army Corps of Engineers in a project directed by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) to salvage and preserve CSS Georgia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse A. Hyatt/Released) — (July 13, 2015) Navy Diver 1st Class Spencer Puett, a native of St Joseph, Mo., prepares fellow Sailors to dive the waters of the Savannah River in support of the salvage of Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse A. Hyatt/Released)

A St. Joseph native is one of the Navy divers assisting in the salvage of a civil war era ironclad ship from waters in Georgia.

“Right now we are down in Savannah, Ga. conducting salvage operations to recover the CSS Georgia from the bottom of the Savannah River,” said Spencer Puett, Navy Diver 1st Class. “It’s considered a captured enemy vessel, property of the US Navy and we are also recovering it to assist with the Savannah Harbor Expansion project.”

The Navy said the CSS Georgia was built in 1862 in Savannah. The ship was scuttled on Dec. 20, 1864, as Gen. William T. Sherman’s Union troops seized the city she was built to protect.

“On the bottom of the river in the wreck site there’s pieces of un-exploded ordinance that are littered everywhere. We have recovered around a 120 pieces,” Puett said. “We’ve moved into the cannon recovery phase.”

He said it’s hard to see when preforming the operations.

“On the bottom of the river it’s completely black, you can’t really see anything at all. Even with our high-powered LED lights that we put on our dive helmets you can only see about a foot in front of you,” Puett said. “On the bottom there’s not a whole lot to see the beauty of those things. Once it breaks the surface that’s when you really see it.”

Puett helps to prepare fellow sailors to dive into the river for the salvage.

“Before we put divers in the water we always do a brief. It covers everything that should be expected for that dive,” Puett said. “It’s my job overall to ensure number one the safety of the divers and secondly that the job gets done.”

Puett went to school in St. Joseph. He attended Bessie Ellison Elementary, Bode Middle School and graduated from Central High School in 2003. In 2005 he enlisted with the Navy. He is now stationed in Virginia.

“Not many people get to do the kind of things that my team and I am out here doing,” Puett said.

But with family in St. Joseph he said he always looks forward to coming back home to visit.