Horry County Museum Lecture Series: "The Archaeology of Civil War Naval Operations and Shipwrecks in South Carolina”

James Spirek, the state underwater archaeologist for South Carolina, will present "The Archaeology of Civil War Naval Operations and Shipwrecks in South Carolina" Feb. 5, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the McCown Auditorium in the Horry County Museum, 805 Main St. in Conway. 

A rich and important maritime archeological heritage reflecting Union and Confederate naval endeavors during the Civil War resides in the rivers and coastal waters of South Carolina. Union naval strategy during the war evolved from simply blockading Confederate ports to launching offensive naval actions and acting in concert with land forces in combined operations to bring the battle to the Confederacy. The Confederate naval strategy for the most part was defensive in nature, to defend their ports and keep them open for blockade runners and to launch an occasional strike at the Union blockading fleet. This illustrated presentation will discuss the naval strategies used by both sides of the conflict and interweave the shipwrecks, including Federal and Confederate ironclads, warships, a submarine, and blockade runners, that represent these various operations in the waterways of South Carolina.

 Spirek works at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Employed there since 1996 and holding his current position since 2012, Spirek's responsibilities include managing and studying the maritime archaeological legacy residing in the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters of South Carolina.

He has participated in numerous projects documenting a diverse range of sunken prehistoric and historic watercraft, Colonial and Native American sites, Civil War warships and blockade runners, and other underwater archaeological remains in state waters. He is co-editor of Submerged Cultural Resource Management: Preserving and Interpreting Our Sunken Maritime Heritage, and a co-contributor to Archaeology in South Carolina: Exploring the Hidden Heritage of the Palmetto State, Florida’s Lost Galleon: The Emanuel Point Shipwreck and Guns of the Pee Dee: The Cannon Recovery. Spirek received his B.A. in History from George Mason University in 1987 and his M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University in 1993. 

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (843) 915-5320 or email hcgmuseum@horrycounty.org. To view a full list of programs, visit our website.