Confederate Navy Collection Mostly Kept Under Wraps

AndyHall

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Dec 13, 2011
Charleston Post and Courier:

Sixteen years and more than $3 million in taxpayer dollars later, a hidden collection of Civil War-era memorabilia largely sits stacked in boxes on shelves in a storage room at the Hunley lab in North Charleston.

It's waiting on a future that looks more distant every day. Funding to put the items on public display — always an issue — has gotten to be a thornier one.

The Peery collection was supposed to be the second anchor of a proposed maritime museum in the Charleston area for housing the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the first to sink an enemy warship in battle. It was salvaged in 2000.

The 8,000-piece collection is a trove of artifacts from the era: an 1860 U.S. Navy officer's cutlass, drawings from the Augusta arsenal, hundreds of pieces of art, pamphlets and lithographs, more than 400 charts, maps and ship's plans, hundreds of newspapers and rare photographs.

Charlie Peery provided the spark that led Barto Arnold, Tom Oertling, and myself to (re-) locate the wreck of the blockade runner Denbigh twenty years ago. Perry was an obstetrical surgeon at the time, and when we parted after dinner he gave us each his business card and said, "call me at that number. They won't let you talk to me directly, but tell them it's about the Civil War and they'll come get me out of surgery." I never tried that, partly because I was afraid that might actually happen.

Peery did a tremendous amount for the study of CW naval operations, especially around Charleston. More, I'm sure, than just about anyone who came at it from a hobby/collector angle. I'm glad the material has been kept housed and intact, but it needs to reach a wider audience.
 
Charleston Post and Courier:

Sixteen years and more than $3 million in taxpayer dollars later, a hidden collection of Civil War-era memorabilia largely sits stacked in boxes on shelves in a storage room at the Hunley lab in North Charleston.

It's waiting on a future that looks more distant every day. Funding to put the items on public display — always an issue — has gotten to be a thornier one.

The Peery collection was supposed to be the second anchor of a proposed maritime museum in the Charleston area for housing the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the first to sink an enemy warship in battle. It was salvaged in 2000.

The 8,000-piece collection is a trove of artifacts from the era: an 1860 U.S. Navy officer's cutlass, drawings from the Augusta arsenal, hundreds of pieces of art, pamphlets and lithographs, more than 400 charts, maps and ship's plans, hundreds of newspapers and rare photographs.

Charlie Peery provided the spark that led Barto Arnold, Tom Oertling, and myself to (re-) locate the wreck of the blockade runner Denbigh twenty years ago. Perry was an obstetrical surgeon at the time, and when we parted after dinner he gave us each his business card and said, "call me at that number. They won't let you talk to me directly, but tell them it's about the Civil War and they'll come get me out of surgery." I never tried that, partly because I was afraid that might actually happen.

Peery did a tremendous amount for the study of CW naval operations, especially around Charleston. More, I'm sure, than just about anyone who came at it from a hobby/collector angle. I'm glad the material has been kept housed and intact, but it needs to reach a wider audience.
Read the article. Not at all clear to me whether they are now seeking public or private funding or a combination of both.
 
There's no place to put it! That's a shame and too bad. No one can study and appreciate it.
That said then sell parts off to pay for it's upkeep; to pay for some small center to display parts of it.
If you can't even retrieve items from storage to study them, then the collection is useless.
The social-cultural climate concerning Confederate related "stuff" is changing, 15 yrs will turn into two decades and more.....
Sell it off.
 
You would be surprised at what packed away in boxes. I have seen the basement of the Alabama Archives and its mind blowing what is there not to mention all the stuff in labeled boxes I couldn't. Funding is always the answer when asked about why. SAD
 
Yeah, this stuff will remain hidden for a while. It'll blow over, eventually and artifacts can get sorted out.
 
@AndyHall, thanks for the heads up.


I hate to see such remain hidden in a warehouse. Perhaps the National Civil War Naval Museum could purchase the collection. That would seem like a "win-win" as they say. But I'm sure that's wishful thinking on my part.

Although I have no idea, I'm willing to bet the financial resources of the National Civil War Naval Museum are also limited these days.
 
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Sell it off.
Last year I toured naval and Civil War museums all over the east as part of some deep research. Unfortunately, Hurricane Matthew kept me from confirming an appointment to view several photographs of CW ships available ONLY in the Peery Collection. The custodians of the collection could not have been more helpful, being willing to drive across much of the state to provide me access. I was sad then to have missed that research opportunity, but more sad now to hear folks proposing to sell off parts of the collection. Even if it is not open to the general public, dismembering it would be a travesty. Placement with another museum would be preferable.
 
I read about Peery in one (or two) of Mark Ragan's books and have been very interested in seeing the collection for the last seven or eight years.
I feel certain there is material relevant to my research and many other researchers as well.
Perhaps one day we can gain access.
 
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I read about Peery in one (or two) of Mark Ragan's books and have been very interested in seeing for the last seven or eight years.
I feel certain there is material relevant to my research and many other researchers as well.
Perhaps one day we get gain access.
Only too right John. In the Peery collection there certainly will answers to questions we and many others both on and off CWT have.
 
I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Peery speak at a conference at the Neuse a number of years back. Very good speaker, very smart man... I believe he could identify an image of a sidewheel blockade runner merely by looking at the pattern on the paddleboxes.

I hope his collection is A) kept intact and B) made accessible through curation and display at some place like the National Civil War Naval Museum (aka Confederate Naval Museum).
 
Yes, yes, yes I'm all for displaying such a collection. Who wouldn't be?
But selling it to a state was a mistake. Personally I'd rather the state use it's money for infrastructure rather than a CW display.
Private museums couldn't afford such a collection. It has to be heavily endowed to house such a collection for research purposes, never mind displaying it. CW Naval Museum definitely doesn't have that. Who else? Who has that kind of $$$$?
Locally I'm only familiar with Yale's two art museums. Just to maintain what exists uses $58M. $50M comes from endowments.
What museum is endowed like that? That's what you need.
And there's a bit of sardonic humor also. On one hand you have this fantastic CW naval collection in storage and Yale just purchased - for its permanent collection - which is on display at this writing - a piece of art that includes an aluminum stepladder in the display. Yes the beloved aluminum stepladder we all climb to check gutters and roofs.
 
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