Conservators with Warren Lasch Conservation Center at Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina, USA) are just weeks away from finishing their restoration of a century-old, 6-in (152 mm), 30-caliber gun from the historic U.S. Navy warship, USS Maine.
The USS Maine was commissioned in 1888. While docked in Havana, Cuba, in 1898, a mine ripped through the hull of the ship, which caused it to sink, and 266 men were lost. Media at the time speculated that the Spanish government was the culprit, thus helping prompt the Spanish-American War. The gun was recovered in 1912.
Weighing more than 16 tons (16,000 kg), the gun first arrived in North Charleston, South Carolina, in August 2016.
“The fact that it’s even here in the first place is a bit of a miracle,” says Justin Schwebler, a historic preservation specialist for Clemson. “The blast that sunk the Maine struck just forward of midship, basically about where the gun was.”
When conservators from Clemson arrived at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, USA, to secure the gun from the U.S. Navy, the gun was being stored in a giant planter box covered in mulch. “Until we lifted it, we didn’t really know what we were going to find as far as the base of the gun is concerned,” says Stéphanie Cretté, director of the Lasch center.
Once it was transported to the 45,000 ft2 (4,181 m2) at the former Charleston Naval Base, Cretté and her team learned just what sort of work they had cut out for them. “We were dealing with a lot of corrosion, especially at the base,” Schwebler says.
Adding to the nuance of the task was that the gun was made out of several different materials. “We’re usually just working with cast iron cannons,” says Christopher McKenzie, assistant conservator at the center. “This gun had bronze and copper alloys in several places, as well as steel and cast iron. Trying to get into all the nooks and crannies was really challenging.”
The Clemson team treated the gun using the same protocol they have developed and successfully applied for the past five years. According to the school, they are the only preservationists in the United States utilizing this technique. The process itself uses a super-heated, pressurized water system called ThermaTech†, which gently and controllably eases off old failing and corroded layers.
In the coming weeks, the restoration process will be finished and the Navy will take back possession of the gun, which eventually may be put on display in Richmond, Virginia, USA.
“We’re pretty pleased with the results,” says Schwebler. “The best part,” adds Cretté, “is that we’re able to bring such a historically important object back to life for the next generation.”
†Trade name.