Odyssey's Shipwreck! Treasures from the SS Republic®

Bring the crew and share the excitement of a deep-ocean shipwreck expedition! Developed exclusively for the Baldwin County Heritage Museum, Odyssey’s Shipwreck and Treasure Exhibit is an extraordinary experience for the entire family. This exhibit opens to the public on August 31, 2008. 

Shipwreck! Treasures from the SS Republic will take visitors on an amazing journey 1,700 feet below the surface of the Atlantic to the wreck of the SS Republic, the greatest shipwreck treasure of the Civil War-era. 

• Explore fascinating high-resolution video footage and images of Odyssey’s extraordinary discoveries hundreds of feet below the ocean surface.
• See priceless shipwreck treasures and authentic historical artifacts recovered from the SS Republic – a remarkable sampling of the 51,000 gold and silver coins and nearly 14,000 artifacts recovered from the shipwreck.
• Relive the dynamic life of the SS Republic, including her Civil War heroics at the Battle of Mobile Bay, through the use of interactive exhibits.
• Delve into the remarkable stories of courage and survival endured by the ship’s passengers and crew.  

In August 2003, Odyssey discovered the wreck of the SS Republic, a Civil War-era side-wheel steamship that played a prominent role in the Battle of Mobile Bay, and was later lost in a fierce hurricane off the Georgia coast. 

En route from New York to New Orleans in October 1865, the ship sank with a fortune in gold and silver coins and an enormous cargo of goods bound to help rebuild the war-torn South. 

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc, the world leader in deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, was co-founded by Greg Stemm, whose family has deep-rooted ties to the Baldwin County community. 

®SS Republic is a registered trademark of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.  

A pressed glass crucifix candlestick being recovered from the Republic wreck site was among a shipment of religious goods bound for New Orleans when the vessel sank in a hurricane off the Georgia coast.

These small ceramic angels, each with a tiny basin at its feet, were designed as holy water fonts, amazingly intact after their long journey to the bottom of the sea. They were perhaps intended as a child’s prize for learning one’s prayers, or a gift to adorn one’s bedside table.

Seated Liberty silver half dollar coins from the wreck of the SS Republic, among the over 51,000 gold and silver coins recovered from the site.