CSS ''Nashville'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

-rigged, side-paddle-wheel passenger steamer that served with the Confederate Navy during the Civil War.

History

Originally a United States Mail Service ship, the USMS ''Nashville'' was built at Greenpoint,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1853. Between 1853 and 1861 she was engaged in running between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. During the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

, the USMS ''Nashville'' sailed into Charleston without flying the US national standard and was fired upon by the USRC ''Harriet Lane'' which marked the first shot of the naval war in the Civil War. The ''Nashville'' raised the American flag, and after the surrender of Sumter, the ''Nashville'' docked at Charleston. After the fall of Fort Sumter, the Confederates captured her at Charleston and fitted her out as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

. Under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Robert B. Pegram, CSN, she ran the blockade on October 21, 1861, and headed across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the first ship of war to fly the

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

in English waters. On November 19, 1861, near the British Isles, she boarded and burned an American merchant ship, the ''Harvey Birch'', the first such action by a Confederate commerce raider in the North Atlantic during the war. ''Nashville'' returned to

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, South Carolina) is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina ( ...

on February 28, 1862, having captured two prizes worth

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

66,000 during the cruise. In this interval she was sold for use as a

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

and renamed ''Thomas L. Wragg''. On November 5, 1862, she was commissioned as the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

''Rattlesnake''. After she ran fast aground on the

Ogeechee River The Ogeechee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 26, 2011 blackwater river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and Sout ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, the

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

destroyed her with shell fire from 11-inch (279-mm) and 15-inch (381-mm) turret guns on February 28, 1863. British writer Francis Warrington Dawson (born Austin John Reeks), then a youth of 21, joined the crew of the ''Nashville'' in 1862 in order to make passage from Britain to the Confederacy, with whose cause he sympathized. He later wrote a book about his experience as an expatriate Briton in the Confederacy, ''Reminiscences of Confederate Service, 1861-1865'', the first seven chapters of which detail his observations and experiences aboard the ''Nashville''.Dawson, Francis W., ''Reminiscences of Confederate Service, 1861-1865'' (Charleston, S.C., 1882) (retrieved May 20, 2023).
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References

External links

Machinery from the C.S.S. Nashville
historical marker
Destruction of the C.S.S. Nashville
historical marker
Sinking of CSS Nashville
historical marker Cruisers of the Confederate States Navy Blockade runners of the Confederate States Navy Shipwrecks in rivers Ships built in Brooklyn 1853 ships Shipwrecks of the Georgia (U.S. state) coast Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Maritime incidents in February 1863 Captured ships Naval magazine explosions {{AmericanCivilWar-ship-stub

History

See also

References

External links