MAY 25TH, 1865: Rear Admiral Thatcher reported that this date the defensive works at Sabine Pass, Texas, were evacuated and that the United Sates flag was hoisted at Forts Manahasset and Griffin. The flags were raised by men from the USS Owasco.
MAY 25TH, 1865: The USS Vanderbilt arrived at Hampton Roads with the captured Confederate ram Columbia in tow. She was one of the largest ironclads built by the Confederacy but had never seen service as she grounded when be outfitted at Charleston on 12 January.
The Columbia was captured when Charleston capitulated and was subsequently salvaged February 17-18.
--Old B-Runner
Showing posts with label CSS Columbia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSS Columbia. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Charleston Evacuated-- Part 1: Destruction of Confederate Ironclads
FEBRUARY 17-18TH, 1865: Charleston, South Carolina, was evacuated by Confederate troops after having endured 567 days of continuous attack by land and sea. The long siege witnessed some of the most heroic fighting of the war, including the sinking of the USS Housatonic by the valiant, hand-powered submarine H.L. Hunley on 17 February 1864 (one year before Charleston's evacuation).
During the night, Forts Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, Beauregard and Castle Pinckney were abandoned as the Confederates marched northward to join the beleaguered forces of General Lee.
The Southern ironclads Palmetto State, Chicora and Charleston were fired and blown up prior to the withdrawal, but the CSS Columbia, the largest of the ironclads at Charleston, was found aground and abandoned near Fort Moultrie and was eventually salvaged.
--Old B-Runner
During the night, Forts Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, Beauregard and Castle Pinckney were abandoned as the Confederates marched northward to join the beleaguered forces of General Lee.
The Southern ironclads Palmetto State, Chicora and Charleston were fired and blown up prior to the withdrawal, but the CSS Columbia, the largest of the ironclads at Charleston, was found aground and abandoned near Fort Moultrie and was eventually salvaged.
--Old B-Runner
Monday, January 12, 2015
CSS Columbia's Career Cut Short By Running Aground in Charleston
JANUARY 12TH, 1865: The new and formidable Confederate ram Columbia, ready for service, grounded while coming out of her dock in Charleston. Extensive efforts to refloat her failed and she was abandoned when Charleston was evacuated in mid-February.
The Columbia was saved by Union forces after much effort and refloated on 26 April.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren described the ram: "She is 209 feet long (extreme), beam 49 feet, has a casemate 65 feet long, pierced for six guns, one on each side and one at each of the four corners, pivots to point ahead or astern and to the side.
"She has two engines, high pressure, and [is] plated on the casemates with six inches of iron in thickness, quite equal, it is believed, to the best of the kind built by the rebels."
--Old B-R'er
The Columbia was saved by Union forces after much effort and refloated on 26 April.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren described the ram: "She is 209 feet long (extreme), beam 49 feet, has a casemate 65 feet long, pierced for six guns, one on each side and one at each of the four corners, pivots to point ahead or astern and to the side.
"She has two engines, high pressure, and [is] plated on the casemates with six inches of iron in thickness, quite equal, it is believed, to the best of the kind built by the rebels."
--Old B-R'er
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