The Naval Museum was established in 1962 by the State of Georgia to house the remains of the Ironclad Ram Jackson and the Gunboat Chattahoochee and to interpret the history of the Civil War Navies. A group called the Confederate Salvage Association was formed in the 1960s tasked with raising the remains of the ships from the bottom of the Chattahoochee River. In 1977, the Naval Museum was renamed the James W. Woodruff, Jr. Confederate Naval Museum. The Friends of the Confederate Naval Museum was formed in 1982 and continues to support the museum. It is the only recognized museum in the world to interpret this significant period in naval history.