Underwater archaeologist Christopher Amer (left) and archaeological assistant Joe Beatty carry an artillery shell from a Confederate Brooke rifled cannon recovered from the Pee Dee River.
(AP) -- COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's state archaeologist says researchers believe they have discovered the wreckage of a Confederate gunboat scuttled by its crew in the Pee Dee River.
Jonathan Leader said Wednesday that he is part of a team that believes it discovered the remnants of the CSS Pee Dee in November.
The gunboat had just engaged Union troops in South Carolina's northeastern corner in 1865 when its crew destroyed the boat to keep it from enemy hands.
Leader says the discovery could yield knowledge about the South's attempts to maintain a Navy during the Civil War.
Leader and archaeologist Chris Amer found several of the boat's cannons in the same area in 2009. Leader says the Confederacy kept the ship inland because the Union Navy had blockaded ports.
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