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CSS ''Tennessee'' was a
casemate ironclad The casemate ironclad was a type of iron or iron-armored gunboat briefly used in the American Civil War by both the Confederate States Navy and the Union Navy. Unlike a monitor-type ironclad which carried its armament encased in a separate ...
ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
built for the
Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. She served as the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
of
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Franklin Buchanan (who would later be captured in the same ship), commander of the Mobile Squadron, after her commissioning. She was captured in 1864 by the Union Navy during the Battle of Mobile Bay and then participated in the Union's subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan. ''Tennessee'' was decommissioned after the war and sold in 1867 for
scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...
.


Design, description and construction

''Tennessee'' was built at Selma,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, where she was commissioned on February 16, 1864. towed her to Mobile, where she was fitted out. ''Tennessee'' was laid down in October 1862, hull and other woodwork turned out by Henry D. Bassett, who launched her the following February, ready for towing to Mobile to be engined and armed. Her steam plant came from the steamer . Her casemate design differed materially from and , but the iron plate was the same 2 by 10 in (50 by 250 mm) as used on and but triple thickness instead of double; her iron plate was made by the Shelby Iron Company in
Shelby, Alabama Shelby is a census-designated place and Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Shelby County, Alabama, Shelby County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 1,044 as of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. The ...
. A fearsome detail of her defensive armament was a "hot water attachment to her boilers for repelling boarders, throwing one water stream from forward of the casemate and one aft." The vicissitudes implicit in creating such an ironclad are graphically conveyed by Admiral Franklin Buchanan, writing September 20, 1863 to Confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory:
The work on the ''Tennessee'' has progressed for some weeks past, under Mr. Pierce, as fast as the means in his power would permit. There is much delay for want of plate and bolt iron. It was impossible to iron both sponsons at the same time, as the vessel had to be careened several feet to enable them to put the iron on. Even then several of the workmen were waist deep in the water to accomplish it — to careen her, large beams 12 feet (3.7 m) square had to be run out of her posts and secured, on which several tons of iron had to be placed, and during the progress of putting on the sponson iron the shield iron could not be put on. The work has been carried on night and day when it could be done advantageously. I visited the ''Nashville'' and ''Tennessee'' frequently and, to secure and control the services of the mechanics, I have had them all conscripted and detailed to work under my orders. Previously, they were very independent and stopped working when they pleased.
(Joseph Pierce, referred to above, was Acting Naval Constructor in the Mobile area.) ''Tennessee'' became flagship of Admiral Buchanan, and served in action in the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. On that morning ''Tennessee'' and wooden gunboats , , and , steamed into combat against Admiral David G. Farragut's powerful fleet of four ironclad monitors and 14 wooden steamers. Unable to ram the Union ships because of their superior speed, ''Tennessee'' delivered a vigorous fire on the Federals at close range. The Confederate gunboats were sunk or dispersed. Farragut's fleet steamed up into the bay and anchored. Buchanan might have held ''Tennessee'' under the fort's protection but steamed after the Federal fleet and engaged despite overwhelming odds. The ram became the target for the entire Union fleet. ''Tennessee'' was rammed by several ships, and her vulnerable steering chains (which, oddly, lay in exposed trenches on the after deck) were carried away by the heavy gunfire. Unable to maneuver, ''Tennessee'' was battered repeatedly by heavy solid shot from her adversaries. With two of her men killed, Admiral Buchanan and eight others wounded, and increasingly severe damage being inflicted on her, ''Tennessee'' was forced to surrender.


USS ''Tennessee''

Immediately following her capture and repair, ''Tennessee'' was commissioned in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Pierre Giraud in command. The ironclad participated in the Federal assault on Fort Morgan on August 23 which resulted in the fort's capitulation that same day. That autumn, she moved from
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
, to
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, for repairs before joining the Mississippi Squadron. She served on the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
through the end of the war in April 1865 and briefly thereafter. On August 19, 1865, ''Tennessee'' was placed out of commission and was laid up at New Orleans. There, she remained until November 27, 1867, when she was sold at auction to J. F. Armstrong for scrapping. Though the remainder of the vessel was scrapped, two 7-inch Brooke rifles and two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles were preserved and are still on display in the Old weapons exhibit in East Willard Park at the
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,
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One of her 6.4-inch (160 mm) double-banded Brooke rifled cannon is on display at the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief U. S. Atlantic Command at the Norfolk, Virginia, Naval base. One of her 7-inch Brooke rifles is on display at the city hall of Selma, Alabama, where it was cast.


See also

* List of captured ships in the American Civil War * Bibliography of American Civil War naval history


Notes


References

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External links

* - Photos of CSS ''Tennessee'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee (1863) Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in Selma, Alabama 1863 ships Vessels captured by the United States Navy