When the C.S.S. Chattahoochee, a steam-powered Confederate warship, sank following a boiler explosion at Blountstown in 1863, the victims were carried by steamboat to the old Apalachicola Arsenal at Chattahoochee. Most of those who died were buried together near the arsenal.

Some years ago, the unmarked graves were discovered by a construction crew. A memorial has since been erected at the grave site. Located under oak trees just south of the main entrance of today's Florida State Hospital, the monument includes an inscription of the ship and a list of the names of those who lost their lives in the tragic accident.

The Chattahoochee itself was raised and carried upstream to Columbus, Georgia, where it was returned to fighting condition. When Columbus was taken during Wilson's raid, the vessel was burned by its own crew. A portion of the stern has been saved from the river and can be seen today at the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus.

Dale