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Civil War
Vessels
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USS Harford
38" long |
The USS Hartford
was the flagship of Rear Admiral David G. Farragut
in the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5th, 1864.
This decisive battle secured the South could not win
the war. <<Selection in Document>>
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USS Cairo
24" long |
On 12 December
1862, while engaged in mine clearance activities on
the Yazoo River, Mississippi, USS Cairo was sunk by a
Confederate mine. Her wreck was recovered in 1965,
but was badly damaged during the salvage efforts.
USS Cairo has subsequently been partially restored and is on exhibit at Vicksburg, Mississippi. |
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CSS Alabama
38" long |
Iin
the history of commerce warfare, CSS
Alabama
was the most successful raider in terms of numbers of
vessels prized. The devastation
caused by the
CSS Alabama
has frequently been cited as one cause of the
decline of U.S. international shipping in the latter
half of the nineteenth century. An immediate
consequence of their efforts was the 900 percent
rise in insurance rates for U.S.-flag ships, and the
resulting transfer of some 900 ships to foreign
registry.
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USS
Kearsarge 39" long
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After the war, the
USS Kearsarge became an icon of American sea power,
and was sent abroad on numerous missions to show the
flag. USS Kearsarge was considered one of the three most important ships in the United States Navy.
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USS Tecumseh36" long
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To guard Union shipping against Confederate forces,
the Union Army and Navy worked closely together by
blocking the channel to prevent Confederate warships
from coming down the upper navigable reaches of the
James. USS Tecumseh was instrumental during these
operations, sinking four hulks and a schooner.
Although USS Tecumseh was involved in a number of
notable operations along the James River, its most
famous battle would be its last--the Battle of
Mobile Bay in which she led the van of monitors,
which included USS Manhattan, USS Winnebago, and USS
Chickasaw... Constructing
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CSS
Virginia
(Merrimack)
44" long
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The CSS
VIRGINIA was constructed from the partly burned U.S.
steam frigate MERRIMAC in drydock No. 1 at Gosport
Navy Yard. She entered dock on 30 May 1861 and
left dock and attacked the Federal squadron in
Hampton Roads on 8 March 1862, engaged the MONITOR
on 9 March 1862. When the Navy Yard was evacuated by
the Confederate forces, the VIRGINIA was found to be
too deep for navigation in the James River and to
avoid capture was destroyed by her own crew off
Craney Island 11 May 1862. She was raised 30 May
1876 and broken up in No. 1 drydock.
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USS Monitor 27.5" long
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The USS Monitor was a marvel of
the mid-nineteenth century. The ship was an obvious
evolution in warship design. There are many first's
associated with the USS Monitor, she was the first
ship to have a revolving turret, she was the first
ship where the officers and crew had to live
entirely below waterline, she was the first ship
credited with having below waterline flushing
toilets and she was the United States' first
National Marine Sanctuary.
The USS Monitor is the predecessor of the modern
warship. Her innovative design and battle with
the CSS Virginia are credited with signaling the
death knell of the wooden warship. The naval
battles in Hampton Roads, Virginia shocked the
world. The Monitor would fight the Virginia to a
draw in what would become one of the most celebrated
naval battles in history. Constructing
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USS Pontoosuc33" long
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USS Pontoosuc was a
side wheel gunboat which was commissioned at
Portland on 10 May 1864. After the war, she returned
to Boston where she was decommissioned 5 July 1865
and was sold 3 October 1866.
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CSS Albemarle
25.5" long
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The CSS Albemarle was one of the South’s most
successful ironclads during the war. The ship was
built in North Carolina between 1863 and 1864. The
chief constructor on the project was a man named
Gilbert Elliot who was only nineteen years old.
After the CSS Albemarle was commissioned, she immediately
went into combat in April of 1864. From April until
the time of her sinking in October, CSS Albemarle
was virtually unstoppable. On 19
April 1864, CSS Albemarle attacked U.S. ships off
Plymouth, N.C., sinking USS Southfield and driving
away USS Miami and two other gunboats. With their
waterborne communications broken, the Union forces
were forced to surrender Plymouth to the
Confederates.
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CSS
Manassas23.2" long
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CSS Manassas was the first ironclad of the
Civil War. Originally constructed in Bedford,
Massachusetts, as the Enoch Train, a powerful
icebreaker, she had been purchased and brought to
New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was utilized as a
tug-boat. After installation of her armor, she was
incorporated into the Confederate Navy as the CSS
Manassas. The Manassas was the first iron armored
vessel to be used offensively against an enemy.
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CSS
Tennessee
33.6" long
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CSS Tennessee was the flagship of Admiral
Buchanan, and served gallantly in action in the
Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. On that
morning CSS Tennessee and 3 wooden gunboats steamed into combat
against Admiral David G. Farragut's powerful fleet
of four ironclad monitors and 14 wooden steamers.
Unable to ram the Union ships because of their superior speed,
CSS Tennessee delivered a vigorous fire on the
Federals at close range. The Confederate gunboats
were sunk or dispersed.
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CSS Neuse
25.5" long
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An ironclad ramming
vessel, the CSS Neuse was completed in 1864, but low
water prevented its entry into the Civil War.
In 1865 the Neuse was sunk to avoid its imminent
capture by Union troops. The gunboat's massive hull,
pulled from the river in 1963, is on display along
with fascinating artifacts from the wreckage. The
Richard Caswell Memorial, an exhibit center
commemorating the Revolutionary leader, North
Carolina's first elected governor, is adjacent to
the Neuse.
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CSS Arkansas
26.7" long
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On July 15, 1862, the Arkansas steamed down the Yazoo River. There she fought the Tyler, the Queen of the West, and the Carondelet. She sank the Carondelet and chased the other two Union vessels down the Mississippi where she then fought her way through the entire Mississippi squadron of ships commanded by Admiral Farragut! Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it.
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CSS Palmetto State
24" long
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CSS Palmetto State, an ironclad ram built at Charleston, South Carolina, was commissioned in September 1862. On 31 January 1863, in one of the Confederate Navy's few successful efforts against Union blockading forces, she joined her sister ship Chicora in an attack that disabled USS Keystone State and USS Mercedita. Though the blockade was not broken, it was clearly endangered by the two Confederate ironclads, neither of which was much injured in the action. Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it.
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USS Weehawken
32.5" long
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The Weehawken was one of a class of ten single-turreted monitors, which were ordered built directly after the great success of the Monitor in its battle with the CSS Virginia.
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USS Keokuk
22.5" long
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USS Keokuk, a 677-ton ironclad, was built at New York City. On 7 April, she joined USS New Ironsides and seven monitors in an attack on Fort Sumter, centerpiece of the formidable defenses of Charleston, South Carolina. Under the fire of heavy Confederate guns for more than half an hour, Keokuk was struck by about ninety projectiles, many of which hit at or below her waterline. Her experimental armor, featuring alternating rows of wood and iron, was completely inadequate to protect her from this onslaught and she was "completely riddled". Though Keokuk was able to withdraw and anchor out of range, she sank on the morning of 8 April 1863, after about one month of commissioned service. Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it.
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USS Onandaga
43" long
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USS Onondaga, a 2592-ton twin-turret monitor, was built at Greenpoint, New York. Commissioned in March 1864, she spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla, covering the water approaches to Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War's last year. While on the James, she was involved in several engagements in June, August and December 1864 and in January 1865. Onondaga was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June 1865. In an arrangement approved by the Congress, she was sold back to her builder in March 1867 and immediately resold to France. The monitor subsequently had long service in the French Navy, retaining the name Onondaga. Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it. |
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CSS Hunley
36" long |
The Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley is
credited with the first recorded successful
underwater attack, against the USS Housatonic using
a torpedo, which was projected from the submarine by
a pole. Eight men turned the propeller using a
handcrank. Maximum speed was 4 knots. Air was
provided by two four-foot pipes, although the hull
contained enough air for approximately ½ hour of
submerged operations.
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Robert Fulton's Nautilus submarine
36" long
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Robert Fulton designed and built this submarine in 1805 and approached Napoleon Bonaparte for funding. The French agreed; Fulton built the boat, and successfully tested it in Paris on a couple of barges and a schooner. The original submarine worked much like the Hunley and Turtle in that a crew of 3 served as its main means of propulsion. A sail could be raised, lowered and turned on a pivot to aid the boat while on the surface. Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it.
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Alligator
38" long
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Launched in 1862 during the Civil War, Alligator was an the 47-foot long submarine that was primarily intended to counter the threat of the Confederate ironclad, the Virginia. She was an engineering marvel that helped usher in a new era in undersea travel. But until recently, little was known about the green, 47-foot-long Union vessel. The Alligator was lost off the North Carolina coast during a storm in 1863. It was never seen again. Sign up for updates: Newsletter or have it faster: commission it.
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