CSS New Orleans

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For ships with similar names, see USS New Orleans.
New Orleans, as portrayed by the Union The Philadelphia Inquirer on April 11, 1862[1]
History
Confederate States of America
NameNew Orleans
CommissionedOctober 14, 1861
FateScuttled, April 8, 1862
NotesCaptured by Union forces and used as a floating drydock. Burned by the Confederates in August or September 1863
General characteristics (as designed)
TypeFloating battery
Armament
  • 1 × 9 in (23 cm) gun
  • 17 × 8 in (20 cm) guns
  • 2 × 32-pounder rifles
ArmorIron sheathing

CSS New Orleans was a

scuttled that day. Not fully sunk, the floating battery drifted downriver to the New Madrid area, where it was captured by Union
forces. In Union hands, New Orleans was used as a floating drydock until the Confederates burned her in August or September 1863.

Construction and characteristics

In early 1861, the secessionist

New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the premier ports of the Confederate states, and the city was one of the points of focus for the Confederates when building their navy.[2] Control of the Mississippi River was considered to be an important facet of the American Civil War by both sides.[3] In September 1861, Confederate troops commanded by Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, Kentucky, violating the state's official neutrality.[4] Columbus became the northernmost major Confederate defensive point on the Mississippi River.[5] The Confederates initiated a shipbuilding effort at New Orleans, part of which were two floating batteries – CSS New Orleans and CSS Memphis.[6]

Both floating batteries were converted from existing

CSS Red Rover was used to tow the floating battery around and house her crew. The two vessels shared most of their crew.[11]

Service history

Map of the Confederate defenses at New Madrid and Island No. 10

New Orleans was commissioned on October 14, 1861, commanded by Lieutenant Samuel W. Averett.[12] First Lieutenant John J. Guthrie commanded Red Rover.[11] On November 20, New Orleans was sent up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, towed by CSS Ivy. Red Rover left New Orleans five days later, and later met Ivy at Columbia, Arkansas, where it took over the process of towing New Orleans. The floating battery reached Columbus on December 11.[13] The total crew of the floating battery numbered nine officers and about 25 enlisted men at the time that it left New Orleans.[14] At this time, it was armed with six 8-inch columbiads;[10] this differed from the designed armament of 20 guns.[11] On January 7, 1862, New Orleans prepared for action upon the approach of Union Navy warships, but the Union vessels withdrew after sighting the floating battery.[15] Four days later, Red Rover towed New Orleans to accompany three other Confederate vessels in an operation that became the Battle of Lucas Bend. Red Rover came under Union fire, and returned to Columbus, still towing New Orleans.[16]

The Confederates abandoned Columbus on March 2 after Union victories at the battle of

Island No. 10.[17] Three 8-inch Columbiads were taken from New Orleans for use in the land batteries at Island No. 10.[18] March 7 saw a cannon on the gunboat CSS McRae burst, and one of the floating battery guns was taken to replace it.[19] On March 13, New Orleans was reported to have been armed with a single 32-pounder rifled cannon and eight 8-inch columbiads.[20] At Island No. 10, the vessel was positioned in a location near the island where it could fire on the north river channel that went past.[21] New Madrid was captured by Union troops on March 14, leaving the Confederates at Island No. 10 with only a tenuous supply route through a swamp to Tiptonville, Tennessee.[22] The same day, the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment arrived at Island No. 10, and a company of the regiment was assigned to the floating battery to help serve the artillery.[23] Union artillery fired on New Orleans on the night of March 17/18, although the Confederates claimed New Orleans silenced the guns with return fire.[24]

April 2 saw the floating battery moved to another position where it could fire on Union shore batteries. The Confederate fire was ineffective, and New Orleans was returned to her prior location. The Union Navy responded by bombarding the floating battery with three vessels, resulting in the floating battery suffering significant damage and one gun disabled. Its mooring cable was shot away, and the battery had to be retrieved by the transport Ohio Belle.

scuttled by her crew by opening valves that allowed water in.[28] This resulted in the battery becoming partially submerged.[29] The abandoned New Orleans then floated downstream, where it was fired on by Union batteries at New Madrid. It ran aground on the Missouri bank of the river.[30] When Union troops examined her, they found five 8-inch Columbiads and a 32-pounder rifled gun aboard.[31] She was captured by Union forces and again used as a floating drydock; she was burned by Confederate forces in August or September 1863.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Chatelain 2020, p. 70.
  2. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 7–10.
  3. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 1.
  4. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 39.
  5. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 92.
  6. ^ Hearn 1995, pp. 78–79.
  7. ^ a b Canney 2015, p. 176.
  8. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 13.
  9. ^ Canney 2015, pp. 176–177.
  10. ^ a b c Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 14.
  11. ^ a b c d e Chatelain 2020, p. 71.
  12. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 70–71.
  13. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 75.
  14. ^ Dufour 1994, p. 106.
  15. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 92–93.
  16. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 93.
  17. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 98.
  18. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 30.
  19. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 57.
  20. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 34.
  21. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 109.
  22. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 108.
  23. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 35.
  24. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 110.
  25. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, pp. 120–122.
  26. ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 115.
  27. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 126.
  28. ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 116–117.
  29. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 136.
  30. ^ Daniel & Bock 1996, p. 138.
  31. ^ Canney 2015, p. 177.
  32. ^ Gaines 2008, pp. 100–101.

Sources

  • Canney, Donald L. (2015). The Confederate Steam Navy 1861–1865. Atglen, Pennsylvania:
    ISBN 978-0-7643-4824-2
    .
  • Chatelain, Neil P. (2020). Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865. El Dorado Hills, California:
    ISBN 978-1-61121-510-6
    .
  • Daniel, Larry J.; Bock, Lynn N. (1996). Island No. 10: Struggle for the Mississippi Valley. Tuscaloosa, Alabama:
    ISBN 0-8173-0816-4
    .
  • Dufour, Charles L. (1994) [1960]. The Night the War Was Lost. Lincoln, Nebraska:
    ISBN 0-8032-6599-9
    .
  • Gaines, W. Craig (2008). Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
    ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6
    .
  • Hearn, Chester G. (1995). The Capture of New Orleans 1862. Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
    ISBN 0-8071-1945-8
    .

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