CSS ''Manassas'', formerly the steam

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to sma ...

''Enoch Train'', was built in 1855 by James O. Curtis as a twin-screw towboat at Medford, Massachusetts. A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John A. Stevenson, acquired her for use as a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

after she was captured by another privateer (later gunboat) . Her

fitting out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her ...

as ''Manassas'' was completed at Algiers, Louisiana; her conversion to a ram of a radically modern design made her the first

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

ship built for the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

Description

Covered with iron plating, her above-water hull was reshaped into a curved "turtle-back" form; at its lowest when fully loaded, the hull projected only feet above the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that ind ...

, not counting her smokestacks (surviving accounts and period illustrations vary showing ''Manassas'' was equipped with either a single or two side-by-side smokestacks, possibly slanted back at a rakish angle). The convex shape of her iron-plated topside was intended to cause

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

shot to glance off harmlessly. She was in length, overall, and had a hull beam and draught. Her bow was fitted with a pointed iron ram to stave holes in Union vessels, and she also carried a forward-firing cannon behind a single gun port with an armored shutter. Her low profile made her a difficult target, while her curved armor iron plate protected her against all but the most well-directed Union cannon fire. Lying low in the water, she looked like a floating cigar or egg and was described by Union

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...

as a "hellish machine."

Service history

Commissioned as a Confederate

on 12 September 1861, ''Manassas'' was seized soon afterwards by

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

George N. Hollins George Nichols Hollins (1799–1878) was an American captain and naval base commander, in the US Navy and later a captain and commodore in the Confederate Navy. He famously won the Battle of the Head of Passes, a naval battle of the American Civ ...

, CSN, for use in the lower

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. With Lieutenant A. F. Warley, CSN, in command, she participated in Flag Officer Hollins' surprise attack on the Federal blockading squadron at Head of Passes on 12 October 1861, the action being known as the

Battle of the Head of Passes The Battle of the Head of Passes was a bloodless naval battle of the American Civil War. It was a naval raid made by the Confederate river defense fleet, also known as the “ mosquito fleet” in the local media, on ships of the Union blockade ...

. In the action ''Manassas'' rammed , but the impact was partly absorbed by a coal barge tied alongside. ''Manassas'', however, suffered the loss of her iron prow and smokestack(s) and had one of her two engines unseated from its mounts, temporarily putting it out of commission. She managed to retire under heavy fire from and ''Richmond'', whose shells glanced off her armor. Two months after this engagement, ''Manassas'' was purchased for direct ownership and re-commissioned in the CSN by the Confederate Government. Under Lieutenant Warley, CSS ''Manassas'' joined the force of Captain John K. Mitchell, CSN, commanding Confederate naval forces in the lower Mississippi. She participated in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, during which Commodore

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...

, USN, on his way to New Orleans, ran his fleet past the Confederate forts of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. In the action ''Manassas'' attempted to ram , which turned in time to avoid the heavy blow and delivered a full broadside at close range. ''Manassas'' then ran into more murderous fire from the whole line of the Union fleet. She then charged and delivered a long glancing blow to her hull, also firing her single cannon as she rammed. Next she rammed , again firing her cannon, injuring her deeply, but not fatally. Mississippi attempts to ram Manassas

After this action ''Manassas'' followed the Union fleet quietly for a while, but as she drew closer ''Mississippi'' furiously turned on her and made an attempt to ram the ironclad. ''Manassas'' managed to dodge the blow but ran aground in the process. Her crew managed to escape as ''Mississippi'' poured heavy broadsides into the stranded Confederate ram. Now on fire, ''Manassas'' slipped off the bank and drifted down the river past the Union mortar flotilla.

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank o ...

, USN, in command of the mortar boats, tried to save her as an engineering curiosity, but ''Manassas'' exploded and immediately plunged under water, a total loss. Years after the war, in the book ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', there was a claim that a ''Manassas'' crewman was knocked off the ironclad by a Union sailor; however Lieutenant Warley reported no casualties among his ''Manassas'' crew in an official report dated 13 August 1863.ORN 1, 18, p. 337
/ref>

References

Notes

;Abbreviations used in these notes: :Official atlas: ''Atlas to accompany the official records of the Union and Confederate armies.'' :ORA (Official records, armies): ''War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies.'' :ORN (Official records, navies): ''Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.''

Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manassas Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Naval magazine explosions Louisiana in the American Civil War Ships built in Medford, Massachusetts Tugboats Steamboats of the United States 1855 ships Maritime incidents in April 1862