Guns from Confederate raider Alabama restored

BRUCE SMITH

Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina scientists have finished conserving two guns from the famed Confederate raider CSS Alabama.

Officials say the 5-ton guns were restored in the North Charleston lab where the H.L. Hunley submarine is being conserved.

The Hunley was raised off the South Carolina coast in 2000. One of the Alabama guns was brought to the lab the next day. The second arrived some time later.

One of the conserved guns was shipped Thursday to a museum in Mobile, Ala. The other remains in South Carolina.

The Alabama was sunk off France in 1864 and was one of the most successful raiders in naval history. The CSS Alabama Association says that during the 22 months she sailed, her crew boarded 447 ships, taking 2,000 prisoners.