Home > CSS Manassas
|
|
| Career
|
|
| Launched:
| 1855
|
| Commissioned:
| September 12, 1861
|
| Decommissioned:
| April 24, 1862
|
| Fate:
| Sunk in battle April 24, 1862
|
| General Characteristics
|
| Displacement:
| 387 tons
|
| Length:
| 143 feet
|
| Beam:
| 33 feet
|
| Draught:
| 17 feet
|
| Propulsion:
| Steam engine
|
| Complement:
| 36 officers and men
|
| Armament:
| 1 64-pounder Dahlgren, later replaced by 1 32-pounder
|
CSS Manassas, formerly the steam propeller Enoch Train, was built at Medford, Massachusetts, by J. O. Curtis in 1855. A New Orleans commission merchant, Captain John A. Stevenson , acquired her for use as a privateer and fitted her out at Algiers, Louisiana as an ironclad ram of radically modern design. Covered with 1½-inch iron plating, her hull projected only 2½ feet above the water, and her plated top was convex causing cannon shot to glance off harmlessly. She was provided with sharp irons on her bow to stave holes through enemy vessels. Fast moving, lying low in the water and a difficult target, virtually bomb-proof, she looked like a floating cigar or egg shell and was described by Union intelligence as a "hellish machine."
Commissioned as a Confederate privateer on September 12, 18611861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 1 Benito Juarez captures Mexico City January 2 Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by Wilhelm I January 3 American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United, Manassas was seized soon afterwards by Flag Officer G. N. Rollins , CSNCSS Alabama a famous ship of the Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy was the branch of the Confederate States armed forces, responsible for naval operations during the American Civil War. Among the major tasks of the Navy was breaking the, for use in the lower Mississippi RiverThis page is about the river in the United States; for other uses, see Mississippi River (disambiguation). The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. Taken t. With LieutenantA Lieutenant is a military or paramilitary officer. The word lieutenant derives from French; the lieu meaning "place" as in a position or territory; and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position". The British monarch's representative in Ireland a A. F. Worley , CSN, in command she participated in Flag Officer Rollins' surprise attack on the Federal blockading squadron at Head of Passes , Mississippi River, on October 12October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). There are 80 days remaining. Events 1492 Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean. The explorer believes he has reached East Asia. 1609 " Thr, 1861. In the action Manassas violently rammed USS Richmond , damaging her severely below the water line. Manassas, however, suffered the loss of her prow and smokestack and had her engines temporarily thrown out of gear from the impact. She managed to retire under heavy fire from USS Preble and Richmond whose shells glanced off her armor. Two months after this engagement, Manassas was purchased for direct ownership by the Confederate Government.
Under Lieutenant Worley, Manassas joined the force of Captain John K. Mitchell , CSN, commanding Confederate naval forces in the lower Mississippi. She participated in the engagement of April 24April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). There are 251 days remaining. Events 1184 BC Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional). 1066 Halley's Comet spotted. 1704 The first regular newspaper in th, 1862Events January-March January 10 End of term for John Gately Downey, 7th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Amasa Leland Stanford. January 30 The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched. February 1 Julia Ward Howe's " Battle Hy during which AdmiralThe word admiral comes from the Arabic term amir-al-bahr meaning "commander of the seas. Crusaders learned the term during their encounters with the Arabs, perhaps as early as the 11th century. The Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of t David Farragut, USN, on his way to New Orleans, ran his fleet past the Confederate forts of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip . In the action Manassas attempted to ram USS Pensacola , which turned in time to avoid the blow and deliver a broadside at close range. Manassas then ran into murderous fire from the whole line of the Union fleet. She then charged USS Mississippi and delivered a long glancing blow on her hull, firing her only gun as she rammed. Next she rammed USS Brooklyn, again firing her gun, and injuring her rather deeply, but not quite enough to be fatal.
After this action Manassas followed the Union fleet quietly for a while, but as she drew closer Mississippi furiously turned on her. Manassas managed to dodge the blow but was run aground. Her crew escaped as Mississippi poured her heavy broadsides on the stranded Confederate vessel. Later Manassas slipped off the bank and drifted down the river in flames past the Union mortar flotilla. Commander David Dixon Porter, USN, in command of the mortar boats, tried to save her as an engineering curiosity, but Manassas exploded and immediately plunged under water.
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Manassas
