CSS Appomattox

Steamboat

History
Confederate States
Name| Appomattox
Launched| 1850, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commissioned| Norfolk, 1861
Homeport| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fate| Burned on February 10, 1862
General characteristics
Tons burthen| 120 tons
Length| 86 ft (26 m)
Beam| 20.5 ft (6.2 m)
Draft| ?
Propulsion| steam engine, 1 propeller
Speed| ?
Complement| ?
Armament| 2 guns: 1 bow 32-pounder gun, 1 stern howitzer.

CSS Appomattox was a small propeller-driven steamer used early in the war by the Confederate Navy to defend the sounds of northeastern North Carolina. After participating in the battle for Roanoke Island, it was burned to prevent capture on February 10, 1862, near Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

## Early Service

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The Appomattox was originally named the Empire when launched in Philadelphia in 1850. Details of her prewar career are unknown. In May 1861, she was chartered by the Virginia State Navy under Captain Milligan, towing blockships into position to obstruct the channels of the Elizabeth River around Norfolk.[1] In that same month, she twice sailed as a flag-of-truce boat under Captain Thomas T. Hunter of the Virginia Navy to arrange exchanges of wounded Union prisoners and passage north from Norfolk of certain families wishing to return to their Northern friends. In the latter part of June 1861, she again served as the bearer of a flag-of-truce off Fortress Monroe, this time for Brigadier General Huger, CSA.[2]

## Confederate Service in North Carolina

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Renamed Appomattox, she was armed with two guns and assigned to the waters along the North Carolina coast under the command of Lt. C. C. Simms, CSN. Appomattox was used to patrol Pamlico Sound in late January 1862. She was also used to obstruct channels in the Croatan Sound area by towing block-ships to strategic points for sinking. (ORN 6: 787f) On February 6, the eve of Burnside's attack, the Appomattox was sent down Croatan Sound to reconnoiter the invasion force. Burnside allowed her to do this unhindered, because he wished for the Confederates to know what they were up against.[2]

The Appomattox was one of 8 gunboats used to resist the Burnside Expedition's invasion of Roanoke Island on 7–8 February 1862. However, she missed the actual battle, having been sent to Edenton on an unspecified mission.[3]

She retreated with the surviving gunboats to Elizabeth City, N.C. On February 9, the Appomattox and the Sea Bird steamed back to Roanoke Island to see if any further assistance could be given to the defenders, and to evacuate the garrison at Fort Forrest on Redstone Point. They encountered the Union gunboats advancing up the sound, and immediately fled back to Elizabeth City to organize a defense there.[2]

The Confederate gunboats were attacked by the Federal gunboat fleet on February 10. The Appomattox kept up a brisk fire from her bow gun until it was accidentally spiked. She then retreated to the entrance of the Dismal Swamp Canal, using the stern howitzer to fire at pursuers. Upon reaching the first lock it was discovered that her beam was 2 inches too great to let her into the canal. As a result, Lieutenant Simms had to destroy the Appomattox by setting her on fire.[3]

## Rediscovery

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On November 10, 2009 it was announced by the state Underwater Archaeology Branch that the wreck of the Appomattox had been found. The four-member diving team, comprising Philip Madre, Eddie Congleton, Jason Forbes, and Jason Madre, discovered the shipwreck in August 2007 in the Pasquotank River. They had been searching for the Appomattox for more than 10 years. The divers found a silver-plated spoon inscribed with the name of a crew member from Appomattox, thus confirming the ship's identity.[4]

## References

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1. ^ This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
2. ^ a b c United States Navy (1894–1922). Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series I: Volumes 5 & 6. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
3. ^ a b Parker, William (1985). Recollections of a Naval Officer. pp. 254–259.
4. ^ "Spoon confirms discovered shipwreck of CSS Appomattox". NC Department of Cultural Resources. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-11-12. Retrieved November 10, 2009.

* v
* t
* e

Steamers of the Confederate States Navy

* Appomattox
* Atlanta
* Beaufort
* Bombshell
* Curlew
* Ellis
* Fanny
* Forrest
* Ivy
* George Page
* Governor Moore
* Grand Duke
* Jamestown
* Junaluska
* Nashville
* Patrick Henry
* Raleigh
* Sea Bird
* Selma
* Winslow

List of ships of the Confederate States Navy

* v
* t
* e

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1862

Shipwrecks|

* 2 Jan: Northern Light
* 4 Jan: Santi-Pietri
* 9 Jan: USS Meteor, USS Potomac
* 20 Jan: USS Margaret Scott
* 23 Jan: Ocean Chief
* 24 Jan: USS Peri
* 25 Jan: USS New England, USS Stephen Young
* 26 Jan: USS India, USS Timor
* 7 Feb: CSS Curlew
* 8 Feb: CSS Sea Bird
* 10 Feb: CSS Appomattox, CSS Black Warrior, CSS Fanny, CSS Forrest
* 20 Feb: USS Isaac N. Seymour
* 25 Feb: USS R. B. Forbes
* 8 Mar: USS Congress, USS Cumberland
* 9 Mar: CSS George Page
* 10 Mar: USS Whitehall
* March (unknown date): Camilla (or Memphis)
* 4 Apr: CSS Red Rover
* 7 Apr: CSS Grampus
* 8 Apr: CSS New Orleans
* 14 Apr: Erebus
* 19 Apr: USS Maria J. Carlton
* 24 Apr: CSS General Lovell, CSS Governor Moore, CSS Manassas, CSS Stonewall Jackson, Sweepstakes, USS Varuna
* 25 Apr: CSS Mississippi, CSRC Pickens, Pioneer, Washington, CSS Pamlico
* 28 Apr: CSS Louisiana, CSS McRae
* April (unknown date): CSS Jackson, CSS Oregon, CSS Carondelet
* 10 May: USS Cincinnati, CSS Germantown, USS Mound City, CSS Fulton
* 11 May: CSS Virginia
* 15 May: CSS Jamestown
* May (unknown date): CSS United States
* 6 Jun: CSS Colonel Lovell, CSS General Beauregard, CSS General Bragg, CSS General M. Jeff Thompson, CSS General Sterling Price, CSS General Sumter, CSS Little Rebel
* 16 Jun: CSS Maurepas
* 26 Jun: CSS General Earl Van Dorn, CSS Livingston, CSS General Polk
* 28 Jun: USS Island Belle
* 15 Jul: Johanna Wagner, USS Sidney C. Jones
* 21 Jul: USS Sallie Wood
* 24 Jul: Lord of the Isles
* 6 Aug: CSS Arkansas
* 14-15 Aug: USS Sumter
* 23 Aug: USS Adirondack
* 24 Aug: USS Henry Andrew, USS Isaac N. Seymour
* 10 Sep: USS Tigress
* 2 Oct: Iona
* 15 Oct: G. L. Brockenborough
* 25 Nov: USS Ellis
* November (unknown date): USS Mingo
* 12 Dec: USS Cairo
* 31 Dec: USS Monitor
* Unknown date: USS Noble

Other incidents|

* 11 Jan: HMS St Vincent
* January (unknown date): Mona's Queen
* 22 Feb: HMS Defence
* February: USS Vermont
* 8 Mar: USS Minnesota
* 8 May: USS Galena
* 13 May: Planter
* 23 Jun: Memphis
* 7 Aug: USS Oneida
* 17 Aug: Great Eastern
* 15 Nov: Admiral Moorsom
* 22 Nov: USS Bainbridge
* Unknown date: Young America

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