Port Columbus will be holding the annual Cool History: Combat Tours of the USS Water Witch on June 3-4, 2011. Held the past two years the weekend of Thanksgiving, this year’s event will take place in the evening, on the anniversary (and day after) of the day the capture of the ship actually occurred.
On June 3, 1864, a Confederate Naval raiding party set out to capture the USS Water Witch, then on blockade duty off Savannah, GA. In the brief but bloody battle that ensued, every US officer or sailor who fought back was wounded or killed, and both the leader and the pilot for the raiding party were killed.
Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4 @ 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
National Civil War & Naval Museum @ Port Columbus, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus
Cost: Adults $6.50 / Seniors & Active Military $5.50 / Students $5.00
6:30 p.m. – Museum opens for guests to tour Galleries and Exhibits.
7:30 p.m – One Ship, Two Navies: The story of the Water Witch itself, from commissioning and tours of duty with the US Navy to capture and scuttling by the CS Navy, including the Columbus, GA connections. Presented by Director of Programs and Education Ken Johnston.
8:30 p.m. – Museum Theatre Program with performances representing the following:
-Jeremiah Sills, a free black sailor serving on the USS Water Witch
-Lt. Pelot, the Confederate raid commander
-Austin Pendergrast, Captain of the Water Witch
-Harriet Dallas, former slave, wife and widow of CS Navy pilot Moses Dallas.
9:00 p.m. – Captured! A dramatic recreation of the raid against the Water Witch, presented in real time aboard the Museum’s full size replica of the ship.
