CSS Wilmington

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A speculative computer model of CSS Wilmington had she been completed
History
Confederate States of America
NameWilmington
NamesakeWilmington, North Carolina
BuilderBerry Brothers shipyard, Wilmington, North Carolina
Laid down1864
FateBurned, c. 22 February 1865
General characteristics
TypeCasemate ironclad
Length233 ft 4 in (71.1 m) (
o/a
)
Beam41 ft (12.5 m)
Draft9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Depth12 ft (3.7 m)
Installed power4 × boilers
Propulsion2 × propellers; 2 × geared direct-acting steam engines
Armament2 × guns

CSS Wilmington was an unnamed casemate ironclad built for the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was never officially named and is referred to by historians by the name of the city in which she was built. Wilmington was still under construction during the February 1865 Battle of Wilmington and was destroyed to prevent her capture by Union troops after their victory.

Background and description

Original plan of CSS Wilmington, c. June 1864

Wilmington was designed by the Chief Naval Constructor, John L. Porter, as a replacement for the rotten ironclad CSS North Carolina and the wrecked ironclad CSS Raleigh for the defenses of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina in 1864. Unlike those ships, Wilmington may have been designed to force engagements on the Union blockaders as her sleek lines and powerful propulsion machinery suggest something more than a defensive role.[1]

The ship had an

pilot houses, one each fore and aft of the casemates, that were shaped like truncated pyramids.[2]

She was powered by a pair of high-pressure horizontal single-cylinder direct-acting steam engines that had a 28-inch (710 mm) bore and a 24-inch (610 mm) stroke. Each engine drove an 8-foot (2.4 m) propeller via 4-foot-6-inch (1.4 m) and 3-foot (0.9 m) gears, using steam provided by four tubular boilers. The propellers were connected by an idler shaft which prevented them from rotating at different speeds, which would have significantly inhibited the ship's maneuverability. All of the propulsion machinery was built by the Columbus Naval Iron Works in Columbus, Georgia, but had not been delivered before Wilmington was destroyed.[3]

The ship's

pivot mounts,[4]
each of which was housed in a small octagonal casemate. Each casemate had seven
wrought-iron armor is unknown.[4]

Construction and fate

Porter visited

laid down at the Berry Brothers shipyard on Eagles Island across the river from the city.[2] Although she reportedly used armor salvaged from the two earlier ironclads, Wilmington was still on the stocks when the Union captured the city on 22 February 1865. She was burned by the retreating Confederate troops to prevent her capture.[6]

Citations

  1. ^ Bisbee, pp. 179–180
  2. ^ a b Bisbee, p. 179
  3. ^ Bisbee, pp. 13–14, 16, 18–19, 179–180
  4. ^ a b Silverstone, p. 154
  5. ^ Canney, p. 72
  6. ^ a b Coombs, Edwin L. (2006). "Wilmington, CSS". NCpedia. State Library of North Carolina. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. ^ Canney, pp. 44–45

Bibliography

Further reading
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