CSS ''Huntsville'' was a
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
ironclad floating
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
built at
Selma, Alabama, from 1862 to 1863 during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
History
''Huntsville'' was ordered on May 1, 1862, by the
Confederate States 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 ...
. She was launched at the
Confederate Naval Works at Selma on February 7, 1863, and finished in
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
. She was finally delivered on August 1, 1863. She was only partially armored, with the armor plate delivered by the
Shelby Iron Company
The Shelby Iron Company was an iron manufacturing company that operated an ironworks in Shelby, Alabama. The iron company produced iron for the Confederate States of America and was destroyed towards the end of the American Civil War. The company ...
of
Shelby, Alabama
Shelby is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 1,044 as of the 2010 census. The area is near Lay Lake and Waxahatchee Creek. Shelby Iron Park is located at the heart o ...
, and the
Atlanta Rolling Mill.
She had defective engines that were obtained from a river steamer and an incomplete armament, so was assigned to guard the waters around Mobile.
''Huntsville'' escaped up the Spanish River following the
Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...
on August 5, 1864. The city of Mobile held out another eight months, with the upper portion of
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...
remaining in Confederate hands. She, along with the , was scuttled to prevent capture on April 12, 1865, following the surrender of the city. The wreck lies where the
Spanish River splits off from the
Mobile River on the north side of Blakeley Island, just north of Mobile, until being located in 1985.
Notes
References
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Ironclad floating batteries of the Confederate States Navy
Alabama in the American Civil War
Ships built in Selma, Alabama
1863 ships
Maritime incidents in April 1865
Scuttled vessels
Shipwrecks of the American Civil War
Shipwrecks of the Alabama coast
{{AmericanCivilWar-stub