From the August 31, 2012 Tampa Bay (Fl) Times by Terri Bryce Reaves.
In 1864, the US transport Maple Leaf was carrying Union troops and equipment in the St. John's River to Jacksonville when it encountered a dozen torpedoes-- wooden kegs filled with 70 pounds of black powder. It hit one and there was an explosion that killed four and sank the ship with thousands of artifacts that were not recovered.
A traveling exhibit is opening in Dunedin, Florida which gives a hint as to how large-scale looting carried on by Union soldiers of civilian property actually was. They had plenty of items not of government issue.
The Maple Leaf was built in 1851 and originally was a Canadian pleasure excursion ship.
It was partially salvaged in 1984, but only about 5% of items because of difficulty in getting at it. The ship sits in 20 feet of water under seven feet of mud.
The exhibit also includes a full-size reproduction of a torpedo (what we'd call a mine today) developed by the Confederate Torpedo Service.
Well, I see that if you wanted to see it, you are too late. The exhibit ran through January 15th. But, I'm sure it will be somewhere else in Florida.
Let's See, What Shall i Take. --Old B-R'er
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