CSS ''Jamestown'', originally a side-wheel, passenger steamer, was built at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1853, and seized at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

in 1861 for the

Virginia Navy A Virginia State Navy (or Virginia Navy) existed twice. During the American Revolutionary War, the provisional government of the Virginia Colony authorized the purchase, outfitting, and manning of armed vessels to protect the colony's waters fro ...

during the early days of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. She was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy (CSN) the following July (after the Virginia Navy was transferred to the CSN), and renamed CSS ''Thomas Jefferson'' but was generally referred to as ''Jamestown'', after

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

Brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Old ...

-rigged ''Jamestown'' was designed and constructed by the well-known shipbuilder

William H. Webb William Henry Webb (June 19, 1816 – October 30, 1899) was a 19th-century New York City shipbuilder and philanthropist, who has been called America's first true naval architect. Early life William Henry Webb was born in New York on June 1 ...

for the New York and Old Dominion Line as a sister to ''Yorktown'', which became CSS ''Patrick Henry''.

Career

With Lt.

Joseph Nicholson Barney Joseph Nicholson Barney (1818 – June 16, 1899) was a career United States Navy officer (1835–1861) who served in the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Personal life and family Barney was born in Baltimore in 18 ...

, CSN, in command, she was actively employed until the end of her career in May 1862. Her service was highlighted by the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8–9 1862, during which she assisted CSS ''Virginia'' in attacking USS ''Congress'' and USS ''Cumberland'' and stood by during the battle between USS ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia''. The

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

tendered special thanks to the officers and crew of ''Jamestown'' for their "gallant conduct and bearing" in combat. Heidler, 2004 p.1250 Some 4 weeks later, on April 11, 1862, ''Jamestown'', ''Virginia'' and five other Confederate ships sailed from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

, into

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

in full view of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

squadron there. When it became clear that the Federal ships were not going to attack, ''Jamestown'', covered by ''Virginia'' and the others, moved in, captured three merchant ships, and helped by CSS ''Raleigh'', towed them to Norfolk. The merchant ships were the brigs ''Marcus of Stockton, NJ'' and ''Sabout of Providence, RI'' and the schooner ''Catherine T. Dix'' of Accomac County, VA. Their flags were hoisted "Union-side down" to taunt the Federals into fighting. Later that month ''Jamestown'' was despatched from Norfolk to cooperate with

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

John B. Magruder John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confeder ...

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

, in the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

, and early in May she was used to transport army sick and wounded to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. On the night of May 5, ''Jamestown'' and ''Patrick Henry'' proceeded to Norfolk and returned the following night with CSS ''Richmond'', CSS ''Hampton'' and ordnance store boats, passing the Federal battery at

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

unobserved on both occasions. A second attempt to return to Norfolk met with failure. On May 8, ''Jamestown'' was ordered to notify

Stephen Mallory Stephen Russell Mallory (1812 – November 9, 1873) was a Democratic senator from Florida from 1851 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the American Civil War. For much of that period, he was chairman of the Committee on Nav ...

, Secretary of the Confederate States Navy, of the continuing engagement of two Federal

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s and

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 ...

USS ''Galena'' with the Confederate batteries at Day's Point. Unable to carry out her assignment, ''Jamestown'' retired up the James River as far as

Drewry's Bluff Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry, ...

, where on May 15, 1862, she was sunk to obstruct the channel.

Commanders

The commanders of the CSS ''Jamestown'' were: Coski, 1996 * Lt.

(1861–1862) * Lt.

George W. Harrison George W. Harrison (September 15, 1867– October 16, 1931) was a prominent journalist, newspaper editor and publisher, and North Dakota Republican Party politician who served as the fourth insurance commissioner of North Dakota from 1899 to 1900 ...

(May 1862, temporarily)

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamestown Ships of the Confederate States Navy Virginia in the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the James River Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Ships built in New York City 1853 ships Maritime incidents in May 1862

Career

Commanders

See also

Bibliography

References