Port Columbus

My primary reason to visit Columbus Georgia was to see Port Columbus, the National Civil War Naval museum. It was fantastic, as good as I had been led to believe. There are a ton of flags, dioramas and you can even walk onto two ships, the USS Hartford and the CSS Albemarle. The crown jewel is the CSS Jackson.

You can't walk onto the Monitor but they have a full size replica, complete with dents from its battle with the Merrimac.

There is also a plate of iron from the Monitor.To the right is the USS Hartford.

On the Hartford:

The CSS Jackson was built in Columbus but when the city was captured in 1865 the ship war burned. In 1961 it was raised from the Chattahoochee River for the Centennial. The museum has built a framework that hangs over the remains so that you can see the outline of what the ship would have been.

Its a dark picture but these are the propellers.

One can also walk onto the CSS Albemarle. On the night of October 27, 1864 Union Lieutenant William Cushing led an expedition to destroy the ship as it sat at the dock at Plymouth, North Carolina. They were successful and Cushing earned the Thanks of Congress. There is a good book about him, Lincoln's Commando by Charles Van Doren (of quiz show fame).

The museum also has a scale model of the Albemarle.

One thing I really found interesting in the Albemarle display was that you got a good view of the layers of wood and iron plates.

National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning

I went to Columbus, Georgia, to see the naval museum but also went to the National Infantry Museum inside Fort Benning. Once you pass gate security it was a great museum, luckily I was traveling with a retired Staff Sergeant so the MPs didn't bother us much.

The museum covers the whole history of the US Army. There are more exhibits on World War II but that is mostly because of the size of the collection.

This diorama of the Battle of Monongahela is not Civil War related but I thought it was interesting.

This is the flag for the 39th Infantry, it is a post war flag as the 39th was not formed until 1866.

The notation for this flag stated that it was found on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Was it a regimental flag? Did it fly over a building in town? No other info on its origin was on the sign.

Another flag for a Colored Regiment, the number is not clear in my picture. But since its actually referred to as a "Colored" regiment I believe that this is of Civil War vintage.

My pictures of the other Civil War exhibits didn't turn out too well due to the reflection and glare off the display cases.

Outside is a tank park, which are always fun to wander through.

And a picture of Confederate General Henry L. Benning, for whom the fort is named. Benning lived most of his adult life in Columbus.

I thought the museum was neat and probably would visit it again if I was in the area but wouldn't make a special trip to see. Yesterday though I saw pictures of the museum on Lee White's facebook and it appears much different, he even called it the best museum he's been to. I guess I'll have to go check it out again to see all the changes.