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List of ships of the Confederate States Navy

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Seal of the Department of the Navy

This is a list of ships of the Confederate States Navy (CSN), used by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Included are some types of civilian vessels, such as blockade runners, steamboats, and privateers which contributed to the war efforts by the CSN. Also included are special types of floating batteries and harbor defense craft.

CSN Warships

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The Secretary of the CS Navy, Stephen Mallory, was very aggressive on a limited budget in a land-focused war, and developed a two-pronged warship strategy of building ironclad warships for coastal and national defense, and commerce raiding cruisers, supplemented with exploratory use of special weapons such as torpedo boats and torpedoes.

Batteries

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Based upon the successful employment of ironclad warships, particularly batteries, at the Battle of Kinburn, Britain and France decided to focus on armor plated warships, starting with coastal battery designs. Initial ocean going ironclad cruisers, such as the French Gloire and the British HMS Warrior were only just emerging in 1859 and 1860, and were beyond the budget and timeline necessary for rapid force deployment that the CS Navy needed for immediate coastal defenses in 1861.

Therefore, the Confederate Congress voted $2 million in May 1861 to buy ironclads from overseas, and in July and August started work on construction and converting wooden ships locally. On 12 October 1861, the Manassas became the first ironclad to enter battle when she fought Union warships on the Mississippi. In February 1862, the even larger Virginia joined the Confederate Navy, having been built at Norfolk. The Confederacy built a number of ships designed as versions of the Virginia, of which several saw action. In the failed attack on Charleston on April 7, 1863, two small ironclads, Palmetto State and Chicora participated in the successful defense of the harbor. For the later attack at Mobile Bay, the Union faced the Tennessee.

Ironclad steam powered batteries

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Ex-CSS USS Atlanta on the James River, photo by Mathew Brady
CSS Chicora
CSS Muscogee also known as CSS Jackson
Ex-CSS USS Tennessee
Ex-USS Merrimac/CSS Virginia
CSS Albemarle

The CS Navy ironclad steamer batteries were all designed for national coastal defense.

Ironclad floating batteries

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CS Navy ironclad floating batteries lacked steam engines for propulsion and were towed into firing positions.

Wooden floating batteries

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The Floating Battery of Charleston Harbor

CS Navy wooden floating batteries were towed into firing positions, and as in the case at Charleston Harbor, used for makeshift defense.

Cruisers

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CS Navy cruisers were ocean-going ships designed primarily for the Confederate Navy's strategy of guerre de course. Confederate States Navy cruisers were typically lightly armed, with a couple of large guns or a pivot gun, and often very fast. The Navy planned to add ironclad cruisers to their fleet, successfully procuring one, but too late to be of benefit for the war.

Wooden cruisers

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  • CSS Alabama, screw steamer, sloop-of-war, built in Birkenhead, England by John Laird Sons and Company, sunk: June 19, 1864
  • CSS Alexandra, screw steamer, bark-rigged, built in Liverpool, England, seized before delivery: April 5, 1863
  • CSS America, racing yacht, scuttled: 1862
  • CSS Archer, schooner, captured: June 28, 1863
  • CSS Caleb Cushing, revenue cutter, burned: June 28, 1863
  • CSS Chickamauga, screw steamer, burned
  • CSS Clarence, brig, burned: June 12, 1863
  • CSS Florida, screw steamer, sloop, captured: October 7, 1864
  • CSS Georgia, screw steamer, iron, sold: June 1, 1864
  • CSS Georgiana, steamer, destroyed: After leaving port on March 20, 1863, the steamer is destroyed on March 22, 1863
  • CSS Lapwing, bark, burned: June 20, 1863
  • CSS Nashville, side-wheel steamer, brig rigged, sold and used as privateer Rattlesnake and sunk, February 28, 1862
  • CSS Rappahannock, screw steamer, sloop-of-war, turned over at war's end
  • CSS Shenandoah, screw steamer, full rigged, iron-framed, turned over to British Government
  • CSS Sumter, screw steamer, sloop, sold: December 19, 1862
  • CSS Tacony, bark, burned: June 25, 1863
  • CSS Tallahassee, twin-screw steamer, sloop, seized: April 9, 1865 by British Government
  • CSS Tuscaloosa, bark, seized: December 29, 1863
  • CSS United States, frigate, sail, harbor defense use only, scuttled

Ironclad cruisers

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But the CS Navy attempts to procure ironclad cruisers from overseas were frustrated as European nations confiscated ships being built for the Confederacy. Only the Stonewall was completed and successfully delivered, and she arrived in American waters just in time for the end of the war.

  • CSS North Carolina I, seized October 1863 and commissioned as HMS Scorpion
  • CSS Mississippi II, seized October 1863 and commissioned as HMS Wivern
  • CSS Stonewall, twin-screw steamer, brig rigged, ironclad, surrendered in Cuba at end of war, returned to US, sold to Japan and renamed Kōtetsu
  • CSS Cheops, sister to Stonewall, built in France and sold to Prussia, October 29, 1865, and named SMS Prinz Adalbert
  • CSS Georgia screw corvette 2017 tons [1,150 tons BOM].[37] Sold to Peru after the French government stopped its sale to the Confederacy. Taken into service as BAP Unión 1864. Scuttled January 1881 to avoid capture.[38][39]
  • CSS Texas, screw corvette and sister ship of BAP Union. Sold to Peru after the French government stopped its sale to the Confederacy. Taken into service as BAP America. Lost during the Arica tsunami on 13 August 1868.
  • Ironclad Frigate No. 61, arranged by Captain James H. North, CSN, sold to Denmark, commissioned as Danmark
  • CSS Stonewall 1865
    CSS Stonewall 1865
  • HMS Scorpion 1863
    HMS Scorpion 1863
  • HMS Wivern 1865
    HMS Wivern 1865
  • The BAP corvette America wrecked by the 1868 tsunami at Arica
    The BAP corvette America wrecked by the 1868 tsunami at Arica
  • BAP Unión 1880
    BAP Unión 1880
  • The scuttled BAP Unión 1881
    The scuttled BAP Unión 1881
  • KMD Danmark 1864
    KMD Danmark 1864
  • SMS Prinz Adalbert 1865
    SMS Prinz Adalbert 1865

Gunboats

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Top picture CSS Lady Davis May 18, 1861
CSS Teaser at the right
CSS Governor Moore

Torpedo boats

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Photograph of a captured David class torpedo boat (possibly CSS David herself), taken after the fall of Charleston in 1865

CSN Support ships

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Government blockade runners

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CSS Robert E Lee
CSS William G Hewes later USS Malvern
CSS Florida renamed USS Henderick Hudson
CSS Lady Sterling renamed USS Hornet

Government steamers

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Federal ram USS Queen of the West attacks CSS City of Vicksburg.

Government transports

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CSS Planter

Cutters

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Hospital ships

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Tenders and tugs

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Uncle Ben captured 1861

Civilian auxiliary

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Privateers

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  • A. C. Gunnison, privateer steam tug
  • Beauregard, privateer cutter, schooner rigged, captured: November 12, 1861
  • Bonita, 8-gun, 1,110-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Boston, 5-gun privateer steamer operating out of Mobile burned captured barques Lenex and Texana[52]
  • Charlotte Clark, 3-gun, 1,110-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Chesapeake, 4-gun, 60-ton privateer schooner[52]
  • Dixie, privateer schooner, captured on April 15, 1862, but had itself captured the USA Schooner Mary Alice on July 25, 1861, the USA Barque Glenn on July 31 of 1861.
  • Dove, 8-gun, 1,170-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Gallatin, 150-ton privateer schooner with 2 × 12-pdr[52]
  • General N.S. Reneau, privateer steamer[52]
  • Gibralter, privateer schooner
  • Governor A. Mouton, privateer steamer, captured: May 11, 1862
  • Hallie Jackson, privateer brig captured by USS Union[52]
  • Isabella, privateer screw steamer
  • J. C. Calhoun, privateer side-wheel steamer, which captured the Barque Ocean Eagle on May 16, 1861, the ship Milan in May, 1861, the Schooner Etta in May, 1861, the Brigandine Panama on May 29, 1861, the Schooner Mermaid on May 24, 1861, and the Schooner John Adams on May 24, 1861, all within its first month of operation in 1861, and which was burned: 1862
  • J. M. Chapman, privateer schooner, captured: March 15, 1863
  • J. O. Nixon, privateer schooner
  • Jefferson Davis, privateer brig, ran aground: mid-August, 1861
  • Joseph Landis, 400-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Josephine, privateer schooner[52]
  • Judah, privateer schooner, destroyed: September 14, 1861
  • Lamar, privateer schooner[52]
  • Lorton, privateer schooner
  • Mariner, privateer screw steamer, which captured the US schooner Nathaniel Chase on July 25, 1861.
  • Mocking Bird, 8-gun, 1,290-ton privateer steamer operating out of New Orleans[52]
  • Music, privateer steamer
  • Onward, 70-ton privateer schooner with 1 × 32-pdr[52]
  • Paul Jones, 2-gun, 160-ton privateer schooner[52]
  • Pelican, 10-gun, 1,479-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Petrel, privateer, went to sea on July 1, 1861, and sunk on July 28, 1861, by the Union Navy frigate USS St. Lawrence.
  • Phoenix, 7-gun, 1,644-ton privateer steamer[52]
  • Sallie, privateer schooner
  • Savannah, privateer schooner, captured: June 3, 1861
  • Sealine, privateer brig
  • Theodora, privateer side-wheel steamer, renamed Gordon, captured the USA Brigandine William McGilvery on July 25, 1861, the USA Schooner Protector on July 28, 1861
  • Triton, 30-ton privateer schooner with 1 × 6-pdr[52]
  • V.H. Ivy, privateer steamer
  • York, privateer pilot boat, schooner rigged, which was burned on August 9, 1861, after capturing the US brigandine B.T. Martin about July 28, 1861 and the schooner George G. Baker on August 9, 1861, on the day of its demise, whereafter the Union quickly recaptured the George G. Baker.

Privateer submersible torpedo boats

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Civilian steamers

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Civilian transports

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  • Berwick Bay, steamer, captured February 3, 1863
  • Era No. 5, shallow-draft steamer, captured: February 14, 1863
  • Moro, steamer, captured February 3, 1863
  • O.W. Baker, steamer, captured February 3, 1863
  • White Cloud, steamer, carried provisions on the Mississippi. She was captured on 13 February 1863 near Island No. 10 by USS New Era and was sent as a prize ship to Cairo, Ill.. Acquired by the Union Navy, she continued as a goods transport until the end of the war.[53]

Civilian blockade runners

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Ella and Annie as USS Malvern

Foreign blockade runners

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CS Army

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CSA cotton-clads

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USS (ex-CSS) Little Rebel
USS {later CSS} Queen of the West
CSS Stonewall Jackson
CSS Governor Moore after the fight
Ex-CSS USS General Bragg
Ex-CSS General Price
CSS Webb burned April 1865

Used for river defense, CS Army cottonclads were typically more lightly armored and reinforced than a regular ironclad, such as the General Sterling Price, which was converted by placing a 4-inch oak sheath with a 1-inch iron covering on her bow, and by installing double pine bulkheads filled with compressed cotton bales. Many of the cottonclads were outfitted with rams.

River Defense Fleet cotton-clads:

Other CS Army cotton-clads:

Other CSA Boats

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Prizes

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  • Alvarado - prize bark, captured: by privateer Jefferson Davis, July 21, 1861
  • Enchantress - prize schooner, captured: by privateer Jefferson Davis July 6, 1861

Undetermined

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  • CSS Segar
  • CSS Smith
  • CSS W. R. Miles

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Albemarle". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  2. ^ "Arkansas (Ironclad Ram)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  3. ^ "Atlanta". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  4. ^ "Baltic". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  5. ^ "Charleston". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  6. ^ "Chicora". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  7. ^ "Columbia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  8. ^ "Eastport". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  9. ^ "Fredericksburg". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  10. ^ "Huntsville". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  11. ^ "Louisiana". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  12. ^ "Manassas". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  13. ^ "Milledgeville". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  14. ^ "Mississippi". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  15. ^ "Missouri". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  16. ^ "Mobile". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  17. ^ "Muscogee". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  18. ^ "Nashville". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  19. ^ "Neuse". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  20. ^ "North Carolina". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  21. ^ "Palmetto State". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  22. ^ "Raleigh". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  23. ^ "Richmond". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  24. ^ "Savannah". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  25. ^ a b "Tennessee". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  26. ^ "Texas". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  27. ^ "Tuscaloosa". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  28. ^ "Virginia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  29. ^ "Virginia II (Ironclad Steam Sloop)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  30. ^ "Wilmington". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  31. ^ "Arctic". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  32. ^ "Georgia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  33. ^ "Phoenix". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  34. ^ "Danube". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  35. ^ "Memphis". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  36. ^ "New Orleans". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  37. ^ Page 77, Clowes, William Laird, Four Modern Naval Campaigns, pub Unit Library, 1902, reprinted Cormarket Press, ISBN 0-7191-2020-9
  38. ^ More old Peruvian ships, page 1, American and French made ships
    See also Spanish Wikipedia article on BAP Union.
  39. ^ Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M, eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  40. ^ "Anglo-Norman". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  41. ^ "David". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  42. ^ "Gunnison". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  43. ^ "Hornet". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  44. ^ "Juno". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  45. ^ Lettens, Jan. "CSS Midge (+1865)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  46. ^ "Scorpion". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  47. ^ "Squib". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  48. ^ "St. Patrick". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  49. ^ "Torch". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  50. ^ "Wasp". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  51. ^ "Satellite". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Anderson, George W. (1969). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Vol. II. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 584&585.
  53. ^ "White Cloud". Confederate Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command, US Navy. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Coski, John M. Capital Navy: The Men, Ships and Operations of the James River Squadron, Campbell, CA: Savas Woodbury Publishers, 1996, ISBN 1-882810-03-1
  • de Saint Hubert, Christian (1988). "Re: Phantom Fleets: The Confederacy's Unbuilt Warships". Warship International. XXV (3): 225–226. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Gardiner Steam, Steel and Shellfire
  • Lambert A., Iron Hulls and Armour Plate
  • N.A. (1990). "Re: Phantom Fleets: The Confederacy's Unbuilt Warships". Warship International. XXVII (2): 115. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Scharf, J. Thomas. History of the Confederate States Navy: From its Organization to the Surrender of its Last Vessel. New York: Rogers and Sherwood, 1887; repr. The Fairfax Press, 1977.
  • Sullivan, D. M.; Wright, C. C. (1988). "Re: Phantom Fleets: The Confederacy's Unbuilt Warships". Warship International. XXV (3): 226. ISSN 0043-0374.
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