I gather that Guthrie succeeded Cooke on the Albemarle in June 1864. See <http://ncsquadron.home.coastalnet.com/Cooke.htm> and <http://www.tfoenander.com/csschattahoochee.htm>. Interestingly, George W. Gift succeeded Guthrie on the Chattahoochee. While I am not looking to tear down Brown in any way, it does seem rather fantastic to me that he could get the bellboat, make the barge shipshape, and dig up all the lost armor bars in the couple of days he claims in his B & L piece. If things were as dire manpower wise as suggested, he would first need to recruit a few helpers. However, if someone had already obtained the bellboat and fixed the barge, the salvage could have been done quickly. Does that make sense? Jack