Update: Japanese Suit of Armor and Josiah Tatnall... in Georgia?

After I posted my blog post yesterday about the Japanese suit of armor Commodore Josiah Tatnall brought with him on the U.S. Steamer Powhatan I decided to contact the Georgia Historical Society.

Nora Lewis, director of Library and Archives of the Georgia Historical Society, responded with the following:

Dear Mr. Mead:

Thank you for your interest in the collections of the Georgia Historical Society. Unfortunately, the Japanese suit of armor was lent, in the 1960s, to a museum that ultimately went out of business and it was never returned to the Georgia Historical Society. As far as I know, no one has ever been able to track it down and it is considered lost from our collection.

I'm sorry I don't have better news. If you ever hear anything about it's current location, please pass that information on to us.

Best,
Nora Lewis

I sincerely appreciate the prompt attention Ms. Lewis provided. Though locating this historical artifact will be difficult at best I hope to find it.

I also found this direct reference to the armor suit and its donation to the Georgia Historical Society at this link. The date of the report is February, 1861.