Confederate Forces Afloat

CSS Virginia     Ironclads    Submersciples Home to Southern Comfort

The Government of the Confederate States of America got underway in the 
spring of 1861, totally unprepared from a naval standpoint to uphold the 
independence it had declared. The Confederacy lacked adequate means to 
conduct an offensive or defensive war, wanting in ships to defend its 
long coastline and inland waters, to carry the war to Northern shores, 
or to conduct the foreign trade vital to existence. To this bleak 
outlook was added but limited hope and possibility for constructing or 
acquiring a navy. Nevertheless, inspired determination and ingenuity, 
evinced particularly by the more than 300 able officers who resigned 
from the United States Navy to support the Southern cause, culminated in 
the rapid appearance of many varied types of forces afloat under the 
Confederate flag.

The State navies provided the foundation for events to follow. The 
seceding States confiscated small United States ships, such as revenue 
cutters, coast survey ships, and lighthouse tenders, that were still 
within their grasp; they purchased others from Northern as well as 
Southern owners; and they quickly began to build additional vessels 
better suited to warfare. These actions were repeated in Virginia, North 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. Between 20 February 
1861 when the Confederate Navy was authorized and the following summer, 
the State navies were gradually turned over to the central Government. 
More ships were purchased or captured and added to this nucleus, while 
construction of ironclads and other war vessels began.

Some ships served under direct army control. The Mississippi River 
Defense Fleet, composed of 14 ships manned by the army and under the 
overall command of Capt. J. E. Montgomery, CSN, was one such 
organization which operated during 1862. A second army group, the Texas 
Marine Department, established in 1861, was charged with the defense of 
coastal waters and rivers, especially in the vicinity of Galveston. The 
Department employed more than 25 ships, including gunboats, transports, 
repair ships, and coal barges. Elsewhere, the army carried men and 
material over the river highways in transports that they controlled, 
manned, and sometimes captained.

To compensate for the relatively small number of ships and inadequate 
construction facilities and supplies, the South improvised with marked 
daring. Their resourcefulness produced the first submarine to sink an 
opposing warship, and numerous types of torpedoes which wrought heavy 
damage against United States ships. Confederate cruisers proved 
venturesome and successful in weakening the North’s war effort by 
damaging her trade, and luring Union ships from the blockade to 
facilitate the passage of runners.

The Confederacy, like the Union, pioneered in constructing the seagoing 
as well as river ironclads which significantly influenced the war’s 
outcome: In the West, the Union’s partially ironclad ships figured 
decisively in the crucial campaigns that divided and pierced to the 
heart of the Confederacy. In the East and along the Gulf, ironclads were 
the spearhead of victory for the North, and those of the South a 
constant threat. The first battle between the ironclads, MONITOR and 
VIRGINIA, had world repercussions that revolutionized naval warfare.

Along with the histories of over 500 ships of the Confederate forces, 
this appendix contains four annexes which provide the reader with 
additional information. In the case of the River Defense Fleet (Annex 
II), the Texas Marine Department (Annex III), and some Confederate 
privateers (Annex I), histories of the ships listed in these annexes are 
included in the body of the appendix. In the case of some Confederate 
privateers (Annex I) and “Stone Fleet” ships (Annex IV), histories are 
not included in the body of the appendix. The reader, therefore, not 
finding a ship listed in the alphabetical section, should also consult 
Annex I and Annex IV for its listing there. Ships’ histories appearing 
in the body of the appendix are cross-referenced to an appropriate 
annex.

In considering the statistics included with these Confederate ships’ 
histories, the reader should remember that they often changed, sometimes 
radically, during a ship’s lifetime. When ships were taken over, and 
frequently renamed, they were often altered and fitted for war with 
generous additions of metal, wood, or cotton. The addition of a ram, for 
example, increased a ship’s offensive capability. These same materials 
were often used to increase a ship’s defenses by protection of vital 
parts and spaces. Armament was often added or changed. In the case of a 
ship captured, then, the reader should not be surprised to find one set 
of statistics under her history in the main part of the Dictionary 
different from her statistics in this appendix. In either case, in the 
statistics of the U.S. Navy ships, the figure chosen to used were those 
of the ship when first serving with her respective Navy. Then too, a 
ship first used by one navy may be quite different after capture and/or 
conversion by the other navy and the statistics in each case will vary. 
Likewise with privateers, statistics may vary between the original ship 
and her configuration when granted a letter of marque.

Lengths are not uniform and cannot be assumed to be “overall” rather 
than “between perpendiculars” or “water-line length.” Neither can anyone 
give assurance in all cases that “extreme beam” (including paddle-box of 
a side-wheeler) is shown. Depths and drafts vary beyond recognition.

“Tonnage” is the most vexatious set of concepts the reader will ever 
encounter in dealing with ships of any period-but never more baffling 
than during the Civil War. It should be understood at the outset that 
the “t.” is to be interpreted as an index figure rather than a known 
quantity, solely for identification, not in order to visualize size. 

Screw Frigate CSS VIRGINIA 
(ex-USS MERRIMACK)

tonnage. 3,200
length. 275'
beam. 38'6"
Depth of hold. 27'6"
draft 24'3"
speed. 12 k.
armament. 14 8", 210", 2 9"

The second MERRIMACK was launched by the Boston Navy Yard 15 
June 1855: sponsored by Miss Mary E. Simmons; and commissioned 
20 February 1856, Capt.  Garrett J. Pendergrast in command.

Shakedown took the new screw frigate to the Caribbean and to 
western Europe. MERRIMACK visited Southampton, Brest, Lisbon, 
and Toulon before returning to Boston and decommissioning 22 
April 1857 for repairs.  Recommissioning 1 September 1857, 
MERRIMACK got underway from  Boston Harbor 17 October as 
flagship for the Pacific Squadron. She rounded Cape Horn and 
cruised the Pacific coast of South and Central America until 
heading for home 14 November 1859. Upon returning to Norfolk, 
she  decommissioned 16 February 1860.

MERRIMACK was still in ordinary during the crisis  preceding 
Lincoln's inauguration. Soon after becoming  Secretary of the 
Navy, Gideon Welles took action to prepare the frigate for sea, 
planning to move her to Philadelphia. The day before the firing 
on Fort Sumter, Welles directed that "great vigilance be 
exercised in guarding and  protecting" Norfolk Navy Yard and her 
ships. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day Virginia seceded, 
Engineer In Chief B. F. Isherwood managed to get the frigate's 
engines lit off but the previous night secessionists had sunk  
lightboats in the channel between Craney Island and Sewell's  
Point, blocking MERRIMACK. On the 20th, before evacuating the 
Navy Yard, the U.S. Navy burned MERRIMACK to the waterline and 
sank her to preclude capture.

The Confederates, in desperate need of ships, raised MERRIMACK 
and rebuilt her as an ironclad ram, according to a design 
prepared by Lt. J. M. Brooke, CSN.  Commissioned as CSS VIRGINIA 
17 February 1862, the ironclad was the hope of the Confederacy 
to destroy the wooden ships in Hampton Roads and to end the 
Union blockade which had already seriously hurt the South.

Despite all-out effort to complete her, VIRGINIA still had 
workmen on board when she sailed out into Hampton Roads, 8 March 
1862, tended by CSS RALEIGH and BEAUFORT and accompanied by 
PATRICK HENRY, JAMESTOWN, and TEASER. Flag Officer F. Buchanan, 
CSN, commanding VIRGINIA, singled out as first victim sailing 
sloop CUMBERLAND,  anchored west of Newport News. In taking 
position VIRGINIA passed CONGRESS and exchanged broadsides,  
suffering no injury while causing considerable damage. She 
crossed CUMBERLAND's bow, raking her with a lethal fire, before 
finishing off the wooden warship with a thrust of her iron ram. 
Gallantly fighting her guns as long as they were above water, 
CUMBERLAND sank taking one-third of her crew, 121 men, and part 
of VIRGINIA's ram down with her.

VIRGINIA then turned her attention to CONGRESS, which had 
grounded. Assisted by the lighter ships of the South's James 
River Squadron, VIRGINIA opened fire from a  distance, forcing 
CONGRESS to haul down her colors. As CSS BEAUFORT and RALEIGH 
approached CONGRESS to receive the surrender of her crew, 
Federal troops ashore, not  understanding the situation, opened 
a withering fire and wounded Buchanan, who retaliated by 
ordering hot shot and incendiary shell to be pored into 
CONGRESS. The latter, ablaze and unable to bring a single gun to 
bear, hauled down her flag for the last time. She continued to 
burn until exploding about midnight.

VIRGINIA did not emerge unscathed. Her stack was riddled causing 
loss of power-and she was initially under-powered. Two large 
guns were out of order, her armor loosened and her ram lost. 
Nevertheless, she went on to attack MINNESOTA, but shallow water 
prevented her getting close enough to do her former sister 
frigate serious damage. VIRGINIA anchored that night at Sewell's 
Point for repairs. Flag Officer Buchanan was taken ashore to the 
hospital and Lt. Gatesby ap (sic) R. Jones, CSN, who had conned 
the ironclad after Buchanan had been wounded, assumed command.

 On the following morning, VIRGINIA returned to battle, but in 
the night Union ironclad MONITOR had arrived in the nick of time 
to defend the fleet in Hampton Roads. The ensuing inconclusive 
battle, the first ever fought between powered ironclads, 
revolutionized naval warfare. As VIRGINIA steamed into Hampton 
Roads toward grounded MINNESOTA, MONITOR moved out of the steam-
frigate's shadow to challenge the Confederate ironclad. 
MINNESOTA's commander, Capt. G. J. Van Brunt, described the 
ensuing action. "Gun after gun was fired by the MONITOR, which 
was returned with whole broadsides from the rebels with no more 
effect, apparently, than so many pebblestones thrown by a child. 
After a while they commenced  maneuvering, and we could see the 
little battery point her bow for the rebels, with the intention, 
as I thought, of sending a shot through her bow porthole; then 
she would shoot by her and rake her through her stem. In the 
meantime the rebel was pouring broadside after broadside, but 
when they struck the bombproof tower the shot glanced off  
without producing any effect."

Shortly before noon, a shot from VIRGINIA struck  MONITOR's 
pilothouse driving dust through the eyeslit  through which 
Lieutenant Worden was conning the ship, and  temporarily 
blinding him. Thinking that the pilothouse was seriously 
damaged, if not destroyed, Worden ordered the ship to sheer off 
to shallow water. At the same time  VIRGINIA headed back toward 
Sewell's Point.

Installation of a new ram and other repairs and  alterations 
kept VIRGINIA in drydock at Norfolk for almost a month. Flag 
Officer Josiah Tattnall, CSN, appointed 15 March 1862 as 
Commander of Confederate Naval Forces, selected Virginia as his 
flagship.

VIRGINIA returned to Hampton Roads 11 April ; under her 
protection CSS JAMESTOWN and CSS RALEIGH captured three Union 
transports. Strategic considerations precluded a second MONITOR-
VIRGINIA duel. MONITOR's mission was to contain VIRGINIA in 
support of General McClellan's  campaign on the peninsula, and 
VIRGINIA safeguarded the important Norfolk area and the mouth of 
the James River. When forced to evacuate Norfolk, the 
Confederates tried to take Virginia up the James River, but her 
deep draft prevented it, so they destroyed her 11 May 1862.

The Confederate Ironclads

These are the ships you hear the most about. The battlewagons on the inland waterways. They were big (for their day), heavy, and cumbersom. Their design proved so superior to the Union Monitors the Union Navy copied the design for their own inland fleet.

ALBEMARLE CSS ALBEMARLE was built in the Roanoke River at Edwards Ferry, N.C., in 1863-64 under supervision of Comdr. J. W. Cooke, CSN, who became her first commanding officer. She was commissioned on 17 April 1864 and 2 days later played the leading role in an attack on the Union forces at Plymouth, N.C., during which SOUTHFIELD was rammed and sunk and MIAMI, CERES, and WHITEHEAD were forced to withdraw. The following day Plymouth surrendered to the Confederate forces. ATLANTA CSS ATLANTA was originally the English blockade runner FINGAL, built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1861. She was procured by the Confederate Government in 1862 and converted into an ironclad ram at Savannah by Messrs. N. and A. F. Tift. This vessel, with Commander W. McBlair, CSN, in command, was active on the Savannah station, usually flying the flag of Commodore Tattnall, who lived ashore in Savannah. On 17 June 1863 she was captured at dawn in Wassaw Sound, Ga., by monitors WEEHAWKEN and NAHANT.

CHARLESTON CSS CHARLESTON was built at Charleston, S.C., where she was laid down in December 1862, and commissioned 9 months later. She was not ready for service until early in 1864 when she became the flagship of the squadron on the South Carolina coast with Comdr. I. N. Brown, CSN, in command. This vessel was set on fire and abandoned in Charleston Harbor when the city was evacuated by the Confederates on 18 February 1865. Charleston was widely known as the "Ladies' Gunboat" because of the zeal with which the distaff side of the Charleston populace made sacrifices to contribute to her building. CHEOPS CHEOPS was sister to SPHINX (see STONEWALL), built by L. Arman de Riviere in Bordeaux "for the China trade," under an involved secret contract with Comdr. James D. Bulloch, CSN, and his agent, French Capt. Eugene L. Tessier. CHICORA CSS CHICORA was built under contract at Charleston, S.C., in 1862, by James M. Eason to J. L. Porter's plans, using up most of a $300,000 State appropriation for construction of marine batteries; Eason received a bonus for "skill and promptitude." Her iron shield was 4" thick, backed by 22" of oak and pine, with 2-inch armor at her ends. Keeled in March, she was commissioned in November, Comdr. John R. Tucker, CSN, assuming command.

COLUMBIA CSS COLUMBIA, an uncommonly strong ironclad ram, was constructed under contract at Charleston, S.C., in 1864, of yellow pine and white oak with iron fastenings and 6-inch iron plating. Hull work was done by F. M. Jones to J. L. Porter's plans, plating and machinery by James M. Eason; her casemate was shortened to conserve precious metal and clad with 6" iron.

FREDERICKSBURG CSS FREDERICKSBURG was built at Richmond, Va., 1862-63. On 30 November 1863 she was reported completed and awaiting armament. In March 1864 she was taken down to Drewry's Bluff to be fitted out, and placed in command of Comdr. T. R. Rootes, CSN. FREDERICKSBURG, one of the ships of the squadron commanded by Commodore J. K. Mitchell, CSN, was actively engaged in the James River from mid- 1864 until the end of the war. She participated in an action with Union ships in Trent's Reach on 21 June 1864 but little damage was inflicted on either side due to the distance between them. Similar inconclusive encounters took place in August, October, December, and the following January. With the evacuation of Richmond on 3 April 1865 the Confederates blew up FREDERICKSBURG and other ships in the vicinity the following day.

HUNTSVILLE HUNTSVILLE, launched 7 February at Selma, was completed at Mobile Ala., and commissioned in 1863, Lt. J. Myers, CSN, in command. Although designed an ironclad she was only partially armored. Owing to defective engines and the lack of a full complement of guns HUNTSVILLE rendered no active service although she guarded the waters around Mobile. After the battle of Mobile Bay on 5 August 1864 she escaped up the Spanish River only to be sunk 12 miles from Mobile on 12 April 1866 upon the evacuation of that city.

LOUISIANA LOUISIANA was designed for four engines, two paddle-wheels in a center- well and two propellers, with twin rudders. Her casemate-all four sides sloping sharply at nearly a 45 degree angle extended her full length, less 25 feet at each end, and was covered by "T" railroad iron in two courses, while its top was encompassed by sheet iron bulwarks nearly four feet high. CSS LOUISIANA was begun by E. C. Murray at New Orleans in mid-October 1861, but lack of materials impeded her completion. On 20 April 1862 after Union mortar boats under Comdr. D. D. Porter, USN, had been shelling Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson incessantly for two days, Louisiana, although unfinished and unready for action, was towed to Fort St. Philip. There, in anticipation of a Federal drive past the forts, up the lower Mississippi and into New Orleans, she was to participate with the Confederate naval force, in conjunction with the River Defense Fleet and the forts, in defending the passage to the city.

MANASSAS CSS MANASSAS, formerly the steam propeller ENOCH TRAIN, was built at Medford, Mass., by J. O. Curtis in 1855. A New Orleans commission merchant, Capt. J. A. Stevenson, acquired her for use as a privateer and fitted her out at Algiers, La., as an ironclad ram of radically modern design. Covered with 1-inch iron plating, her hull projected only 2 feet above the water, and her plated top was convex causing cannon shot to glance off harmlessly. She was provided with sharp irons on her bow to stave holes through enemy vessels. Fast moving, lying low in the water and a difficult target, virtually bomb-proof, she looked like a floating cigar or egg shell and was described by Union intelligence as a "hellish machine."

MILLEDGEVILLE CSS MILLEDGEVILLE was in process of construction at Savannah, Ga., by H. F. Willink. Launched just before the evacuation of that city on 21 December 1864, she was burned and sunk to prevent her capture by Union forces.

MISSISSIPPI CSS MISSISSIPPI was built by N. and A. F. Tift in a shipyard erected for the purpose in Jefferson City, La., just beyond the city limits of New Orleans. Construction was started on 14 October 1861 and she was launched on 19 April 1862. A fast, triple-screw steamer, she was far from complete at that time, having neither her 20 guns nor ammunition on board. "The celebrated ram," as Admiral Porter called MISSISSIPPI in his battle dispatch, was later described by Commander Sinclair as "a formidable ship-the finest of the sort I ever saw in my life, she would, in my opinion, not only have cleared the river of the enemy's vessels but have raised the blockade of every port in the South."

MUSCOGEE MUSCOGEE, until recently presumed to have been a centerwheel ironclad steamer, was begun at Columbus, Ga. during 1863-64. Her unusual casemating and dimensions prevented a successful launching and she remained incomplete through the end of the war when she was burned. A wreck discovered in 1961 has cast doubt on the traditional theory of her propulsion. The evidence now points to twin-screw machinery.

NASHVILLE CSS NASHVILLE was a large side-wheel steam sloop built by the Confederates at Montgomery, Ala., in 1864 and taken to Mobile for completion. Her first commander was Lt. C. C. Simms, CSN. Still fitting out, she took no part in the battle of Mobile Bay on 6 August 1864, but was one of the vessels formally surrendered by Commodore E. Farrand, CSN, at Nanna Hubba, Ala., on 10 May 1865.

NEUSE CSS NEUSE was a steam sloop built in 1863-64 for the Confederate Navy by Elliot Smith & Co. at Kinston, N.C., on the Neuse River. Launched in November 1863, NEUSE sailed in April 1864 for duty on the inland waters of North Carolina as part of the force under Comdr. R. F. Pinkney, CSN. Shortly thereafter she grounded off Kinston and remained fast until March 1866 when she was burned by the Confederates to escape capture by the Union army under Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman, USA.

NORTH CAROLINA CSS NORTH CAROLINA was built by Berry & Bros. at Wilmington, N.C., in 1863. She was placed in commission during the latter part of the year with Comdr. W. T. Muse, CSN, in command. Structurally weak and unable to cross the bar, she remained in Cape Fear River until 27 September 1864 when she developed a leak and sank, her hull riddled by teredos, off Smithville, where she had been serving as a guard ship.

PALMETTO State CSS PALMETTO STATE, an ironclad ram, was built by Cameron and Co., Charleston, January 1862, under the supervision of Flag Officer D. N. Ingraham, CSN. She was readied for service by September 1862 when Lt. Comdr. J. Rutledge, CSN, was placed in command. Her armor was 4" thick on the shield, backed by 22" of wood, 2" of iron elsewhere. Her pilothouse was located abaft the stack.

RALEIGH CSS RALEIGH, a steam sloop, was constructed by the Confederate States Navy at Wilmington, N.C., in 1863-64, with Lt. John Wilkinson, CSN, commanding. She was reported in commission on 30 April 1864 under the command of Lt. J. P. Jones, CSN. Built to Constructor John L. Porter's plans, similar to those of North Carolina, she had been laid down and launched at the foot of Church Street, completed at the shipyard of J. L. Cassidy & Sons.

RICHMOND CSS RICHMOND was built at Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of Virginia whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad

VIRGINIA. SANTA MARIA SANTA MARIA, also known as GLASGOW or FRIGATE NO. 61 while on the ways at Clydebank, never received her Confederate name: To Secretary Mallory, Commander Bulloch and their circle, she was simply "North's ship," after Comdr. James H. North, CSN, who selected and was largely responsible for her. The British Government, under diplomatic pressure from the United States, canceled the 182,000 pound contract of 21 May 1862, arranged through intermediaries by Commander North, and sold her to the Danish Navy, where she was long known as HDMS DANMARK.

SAVANNAH CSS SAVANNAH was an ironclad steam sloop built by H. F. Willink for the Confederacy at Savannah, Ga., in 1863. On 30 June 1863 she was transferred to naval forces in the Savannah River under the command of Flag Officer W. W. Hunter, CSN. Under Comdr. R. F. Pinkney, CSN, she maintained her reputation as the most efficient vessel of the squadron and was kept ready for service. She remained on the river and was burned by the Confederates on 21 December 1864 when Savannah, Ga., was threatened by the approach of Gen. W. T. Sherman, USA.

STONEWALL STONEWALL, a powerful armored seagoing ram, was built by L. Arman at Bordeaux, France, in 1863-64 for the Confederate States Government; however, the French authorities refused to permit her delivery, following strong protests by American Ministers Dayton and Bigelow. The vessel was eventually sold to Denmark, via a Swedish intermediary, for use in the Schleswig-Holstein War. Because she failed to reach Copenhagen before the sudden termination of the war, the Danes refused acceptance, and title to the ram, now known as SPHINX, was returned to her builder who then sold her to the Confederates. In December 1864 Capt. T. J. Page, CSN, took command, renamed the vessel STONEWALL, and in January sailed from Copenhagen for Quiberon Bay, France, to receive supplies. In this period she was called STAERKODDER and OLINDE to allay suspicion of her actual ownership and mission. STONEWALL was assigned the considerable tasks of dispersing the Federal blockading fleet off Wilmington, N.C., intercepting Northern commerce between California and Northern ports, attacking New England coastal cities, and destroying the Yankee fishing fleet on the Newfoundland Banks.

TENNESSEE TENNESSEE was begun by John T. Shirley and Co., at Memphis, Tenn., under fixed price contract for $76,920. Chief constructor of the twin-screw ironclad was a Mr. Prime Emerson. In correspondence with Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk, CSA, throughout January 1862, seeking Army workmen from Columbus, Ky., Secretary Mallory promised for TENNESSEE and her sister, ARKANSAS, building at Shirley's yard, that "with such aid as mechanics under your command can afford, they may be completed, I am assured, in 60 days." The desired "shipwrights, carpenters and joiners in the Army" were refused-"on furlough or otherwise"-although the general was reminded that, "One of them at Columbus would have enabled you to complete the annihilation of the enemy ... Mr. Shirley," Mallory prophesied correctly, "will fail in completing them within the stipulated time entirely from the difficulty of obtaining workmen", although they "would be worth many regiments in defending the river." Little more is known of the first TENNESSEE, who was never completed-she was burned on the stocks by order of the provost marshal, 5 June 1862, to escape capture.

TENNESSEE (II) TENNESSEE, a slow-moving ironclad ram, was built at Selma, Ala., where she was commissioned on 16 February 1864, Lt. J. D. Johnston, CSN, in command. BALTIC towed her to Mobile where she fitted out for action. TENNESSEE was laid down in October 1862, hull and other woodwork turned out by Henry D. Bassett, who launched her the following February, ready for towing to Mobile to be engined and armed. Her steam plant came from ALONZO CHILD (q.v.); only casemate design differed materially from COLUMBIA and TEXAS (#5 inf.) Her iron mail was the same 2" by 10" plate used on HUNTSVILLE and TUSCALOOSA but triple instead of double thickness. A fearsome detail of her armament was a "hot water attachment to her boilers for repelling boarders, throwing one stream from forward of the casemate and one abaft."

TUSCALOOSA CSS TUSCALOOSA, an ironclad floating battery, was launched at Selma, Ala., 7 February 1863. She was designed as a ram to mount four guns and to have the protection of 4-inch iron plating supplied by Schofield & Markham and Shelby Iron Co.

VIRGINIA II CSS VIRGINIA II was laid down at the Confederate Navy Yard at Richmond in 1863. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, superintended her building, but in order to conserve scarce metal, shortened the casemate called for in the original Porter plans; armor was 6" thick on the forward face and 5" on the sides and after face. VIRGINIA II, Comdr. Robert B. Pegram, CSN, went into action on 21 June 1864 as flagship of Commodore J. K. Mitchell, CSN, during the engagement between the Confederate James River Squadron and Federal ships in Trent's Reach. On 13 August and 22 October she exchanged fire with the enemy at Dutch Gap and on 17 August participated in the capture of Signal Hill.

WILMINGTON WILMINGTON was building at Wilmington, N.C., to the design of Naval Constructor John L. Porter, CSN, in 1863-64. Four boilers and two engines "of sufficient power to insure good speed", driving 8-ft.- diameter propellers, were being finished by Chief Engineer J. H. Warner at the Naval Iron Works, Columbus, Ga.

H.L. Hunley
Confederate submersible

H.L. Hunley was a Confederate submersible which demonstrated the advantage and danger of undersea warfare. Although not this nation's first submarine, Hunley was the first submarine to engage and sink a warship.

Privately built in 1863 by Park and Lyons of Mobile, Alabama, Hunley was fashioned from a cylindrical iron steam boiler, which was deepened and also lengthened through the addition of tapered ends. Hunley was designed to be hand powered by a crew of nine: eight to turn the hand-cranked propeller and one to steer and direct the boat. As a true submarine, each end was equipped with ballast tanks which could be flooded by valves or pumped dry by hand pumps. Extra ballast was added through the use of iron weights bolted to the underside of the hull. In the event the submarine needed additional buoyancy to rise in an emergency, the iron weights could be removed by unscrewing the heads of the bolts from inside the vessel.

On 16 February 1864, the Confederate submarine made a daring late night attack on USS Housatonic, an 1800-ton sloop-of- war with 23 guns, in Charleston Harbor off the coast of South Carolina. H.L. Hunley rammed Housatonic with a spar torpedo packed with explosive powder and attached to a long pole on its bow. The spar torpedo embedded in the sloop's wooden side was detonated by a rope as Hunley backed away. The resulting explosion that sent Housatonic with five crew members to the bottom of Charleston Harbor also sank Hunley with its crew of nine. H. L. Hunley earned a place in the history of undersea warfare as the first submarine to sink a ship in wartime.

From: DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN FIGHTING SHIPS, Vol. II

Navy Department,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Naval History Division,
Washington, D.C.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060