Confederate "armoured" gunboats

[Ptarmigan]

Here is a report made in the Dublin Evening Mail on 7th September 1864, perhaps someone will know the names of these vessels and let us know if they were armoured.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Sir, the Wilmington boats MIGHT be CSS Raleigh and CSS North Carolina. Raleigh broke her back in May of '64 and was stripped of valuables. North Carolina was riddled with shipworm, deemed unseaworthy and was stripped of guns and ammo. She sank in Sept '64. Since your article is dated 07 Sept 1864, would word of Raleigh's demise gotten to Britain by then? It might also be the unnamed vessel CSS 'Wilmington' which was started in '64 but burned before completion in Feb '65. Also maybe CSS Arctic? But she was stripped of her machinery in late '62 for CSS Richmond.

CSS Tallahassee / CSS Chickamauga? While not 'ironclads', both were armed iron ships based in Wilmington. If reporting then is anything like it is now, every gun an assault rifle and every warship a battleship, who knows?

Please see...

Confederate Shipbuilding on the Cape Fear River
Edwin L. Combs III
The North Carolina Historical Review
Vol. 73, No. 4 (OCTOBER 1996), pp. 409-434 (26 pages)
North Carolina Office of Archives and History

...article can be accessed on post #112 of thread https://civilwartalk.com/threads/civil-war-naval-papers.191020/

@rebelatsea would have a much better handle on this...

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

Sir, there is no Kingston, North Carolina, (There is a Kingstown but that is over 250 miles from the coast and west of Charlotte). This seems to be referring to Kinston, NC. There the CSS Neuse was stationed. And Neuse rhymes with 'Moose'. Maybe, given accents and linguistic differences, the 'gentleman mechanic' and the recorder of the above events got some words crossed? Was it George Bernard Shaw that said we are two countries separated by a common language?

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

While she wasn't built there - CSS Albemarle.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

Sir, please see thread https://civilwartalk.com/threads/css-pee-dee-cannons-raised.120006/

Post #30...

Mars Bluff Navy Yard
Christopher F. Amer
University of South Carolina

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

 

[rebelatsea]

Here is a report made in the Dublin Evening Mail on 7th September 1864, perhaps someone will know the names of these vessels and let us know if they were armoured. View attachment 560786

Trying to get my mind round a four inch ironclad !!

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Sir, the Wilmington boats MIGHT be CSS Raleigh and CSS North Carolina. Raleigh broke her back in May of '64 and was stripped of valuables. North Carolina was riddled with shipworm, deemed unseaworthy and was stripped of guns and ammo. She sank in Sept '64. Since your article is dated 07 Sept 1864, would word of Raleigh's demise gotten to Britain by then? It might also be the unnamed vessel CSS 'Wilmington' which was started in '64 but burned before completion in Feb '65. Also maybe CSS Arctic? But she was stripped of her machinery in late '62 for CSS Richmond.

View attachment 560804

CSS Tallahassee / CSS Chickamauga? While not 'ironclads', both were armed iron ships based in Wilmington. If reporting then is anything like it is now, every gun an assault rifle and every warship a battleship, who knows?

Please see...

Confederate Shipbuilding on the Cape Fear River
Edwin L. Combs III
The North Carolina Historical Review
Vol. 73, No. 4 (OCTOBER 1996), pp. 409-434 (26 pages)
North Carolina Office of Archives and History

...article can be accessed on post #112 of thread https://civilwartalk.com/threads/civil-war-naval-papers.191020/

@rebelatsea would have a much better handle on this...

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

Good information, @USS ALASKA!

 

[Ben Ford 987]

Here is a report made in the Dublin Evening Mail on 7th September 1864, perhaps someone will know the names of these vessels and let us know if they were armoured. View attachment 560786

Sounds enough like the Neuse to explain the confusion.

 

[DixieRifles]

Sir, there is no Kingston, North Carolina, (There is a Kingstown but that is over 250 miles from the coast and west of Charlotte). This seems to be referring to Kinston, NC. There the CSS Neuse was stationed. And Neuse rhymes with 'Moose'. Maybe, given accents and linguistic differences, the 'gentleman mechanic' and the recorder of the above events got some words crossed?

There was a stern wheeler Tinclad USS Moose (34) armed with six(6) 24Lb that passed Fort Pillow, TN within a day of the April 12, 1864 battle.
I wasnt sure if you were including tinclads as part of this discussion of "armoured" gunboats.

Source: Tinclads in the Civil War , By Myron J. Smith.

 

[bdtex]

View attachment 560793

Sir, there is no Kingston, North Carolina, (There is a Kingstown but that is over 250 miles from the coast and west of Charlotte). This seems to be referring to Kinston, NC. There the CSS Neuse was stationed. And Neuse rhymes with 'Moose'. Maybe, given accents and linguistic differences, the 'gentleman mechanic' and the recorder of the above events got some words crossed? Was it George Bernard Shaw that said we are two countries separated by a common language?

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

That's some good sleuthing right there. Always gotta be prepared to search alternate spellings in Civil War research. No spell-check back then and lotsa spell it like it sounds.

 

[USS ALASKA]

There was a stern wheeler Tinclad USS Moose (34) armed with six(6) 24Lb that passed Fort Pillow, TN within a day of the April 12, 1864 battle.
I wasnt sure if you were including tinclads as part of this discussion of "armoured" gunboats.

Source: Tinclads in the Civil War , By Myron J. Smith.

Yes sir, however I was attempting to stay within the confines of Confederate vessels as posted in the news clipping in the OP.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[DixieRifles]

Yes sir, however I was attempting to stay within the confines of Confederate vessels as posted in the news clipping in the OP.

I just wanted to mention this one as I don't know its history and if it had ever served in the CS Navy or what. Sometimes I wonder where do they come up with the names of these ships.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Sirs, please see the excellent synopsis of North Carolina projects provided by @rebelatsea here - https://civilwartalk.com/threads/css-albemarle.130399/page-6#post-2904590

Cheers,
USS ALASKA