Best/worse name for Civil War ship?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Forum Host
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Aug 25, 2012
What is the best and worse names for a Civil War ship? I will start with Union ships.

Worse:
1. USS Snow Drop, well this is a name that will inspire fear in the enemy.
2. USS Violet ,what some little flower of a ship?

Best:
1. USS Water Witch, who wants to fight against a ship who can use magic to win?
2. USS Avenger, a super hero ship?

Other odd names:
USS Ice Boat, it will melt in Southern waters
USS Two Sisters, never mess with two sisters or date two sisters

I am sure others can come up with great or horrible ship names and I will have to give some thought about best/worse name for a Confederate Ship.
 
A number of odd names were the direct result of converting existing vessels without changing their prewar civilian names.

For some reason, the Union Navy liked to name steam tugs after flowers. Not sure of the rationale there, but at least we're not confronted with something like, "Around the bend came the mighty and dreaded ironclad Daffodil..."
 
Not bad are the names of these Confederate gunboats:

CSS Black Warrior
CSS Bombshell
CSS Huntress


Ouch - these sound less intimidating:
CSS Fashion - and all that are named after girls: CSS Diana, Fanny, Helen, Ivy, Selma

And to me the most inappropriate name for a warship ever:
CSS Harmony

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_ships_of_the_Confederate_States_Navy&oldid=781081005

Great thread!!

As a class, I'd like to nominate the never-finished Union seagoing monitors Kalamazoo, Quinsigamond, Passaconaway, and Shackamaxon for worst names. As wits noted, all of the easier Native American-derived names were used and only the "polysyllabic and cacophonous" ones were left.

I do like Harmony, kind of a hippy name.
In modern times a Kalamazoo is a kind of flat bed scooter.
 
As a class, I'd like to nominate the never-finished Union seagoing monitors Kalamazoo, Quinsigamond, Passaconaway, and Shackamaxon for worst names. As wits noted, all of the easier Native American-derived names were used and only the "polysyllabic and cacophonous" ones were left.
Just imagine what the ever inventive sailor would have made of each of those !
 
The Brits had their Flower class of corvettes during WWII - to include Buttercup and Petunia...but when you are being depth charged by one I guess that isn't foremost in your mind. :wink:

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

Also in WWI, although those Flowers were called sloops.

I do feel a bit sorry for the U-boat sailors, bad enough to be sunk, but then to find out that you were done in by HMS Bluebell or Gardenia....how cute
 
As a class, I'd like to nominate the never-finished Union seagoing monitors Kalamazoo, Quinsigamond, Passaconaway, and Shackamaxon for worst names. As wits noted, all of the easier Native American-derived names were used and only the "polysyllabic and cacophonous" ones were left.

It was a defensive measure; by the time the Confederate officers told their men to "Engage the Shacka - wacka - haxa -----" they would have missed their shot.
 
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Or a real one from WWII in the Straits of Dover. Signal made from OIC minesweepers to Dover Harrbour asking for assistance :
"Gracie Fields is making water"
She was a converted trawler minesweeping, and had "put one up" almost underneath herself.
 
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