SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A government agency's plan to deepen a Georgia shipping channel faces a $14 million obstacle - a Confederate shipwreck that's been rotting in the Savannah River since 1864.

The ironclad CSS Georgia was scuttled by its Confederate crew to prevent the ship from falling to Gen. William T. Sherman as his troops took Savannah. Now the wreckage is considered so historically significant that dredging the river is prohibited within 50 feet.

That puts the shipwreck in the way of the Army Corps of Engineers, which plans to spend $653 million deepening Savannah's harbor to allow passage by larger cargo ships. The agency says it expects to spend $14 million salvaging and preserving what's left of the CSS Georgia. The work could start as early as next year.

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