Construction on the CSS Wilmington began almost immediately. Most of the timber came from South Carolina and iron plating was salvaged from the CSS Raleigh and North Carolina. Work progressed quickly, but the ship was still unfinished when Fort Fisher fell January 15, 1865.
The ship was destroyed by fire on the stocks the day before Union forces occupied Wilmington on February 22, 1865.
From the Cape Fear Historical Institute.
The CSS Wilmington was 226 feet long and built by Beery's Shipyard. When burned, it was 95% complete and its machinery made at Columbus Naval Works in Georgia.
It was to be different from the usual Confederate ironclads in that instead of a large casemate to house the guns, it was to have two small casemates and would resemble more the Union double turret monitors.
I have come across pictures of what it was to look like and will put it on this blog next week. I can't put a picture up on this laptop.
An Ironclad of a Different Sort. --Old B-Runner
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