CSS ''Nashville'' was a large side-wheel

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

casemate ironclad built by the Confederates late in the American Civil War.

Description

The ship was long overall, had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draft of . The side wheels were powered by two

steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

with a

bore Bore or Bores often refer to: *Boredom * Drill Relating to holes * Boring (manufacturing), a machining process that enlarges a hole ** Bore (engine), the diameter of a cylinder in a piston engine or a steam locomotive ** Bore (wind instruments), ...

and a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. She was armed with three Brooke rifles and a 24-pounder

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

.Silverstone, pp. 154–55

Construction and career

''Nashville'' was laid down at Montgomery, Alabama, because of the availability of riverboat engines there. Launched in mid-1863, ''Nashville'' was taken to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, for completion in 1864. Part of her armor came from the . Her first commander was Lieutenant Charles Carroll Simms, CSN. Still fitting out, she took no part in the Battle of Mobile Bay on 5 August 1864. She helped fend off attacks on Spanish Fort, Alabama, on 27 March 1865, supported Confederate commander

Randall L. Gibson Randall Lee Gibson (September 10, 1832 – December 15, 1892) was an attorney and politician, elected as a member of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Ar ...

until driven away by Federal batteries, and shelled Federal troops near Fort Blakely on 2 April 1865. The ships retreated up the Tombigbee River 10 days later when Mobile surrendered. She was one of the vessels formally surrendered by Commodore

Ebenezer Farrand Ebenezer Farrand (1803 – March 17, 1873) was an American Commodore that served the Confederate States Navy and was notable for his service at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff as well as his ship construction at Selma, Alabama. Biography Early Milit ...

, CSN, at

Nanna Hubba Bluff Nanna Hubba Bluff is a bluff above the Tombigbee River near Calvert in northeastern Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The historic site is known to have been occupied by Native Americans at least as far back as 1000 BC, but gained its nam ...

on 10 May 1865. Although never quite finished, she had been heavily armored with triple 2-inch plating forward and around her pilot house, only a single thickness aft and there had been some doubts expressed that her builders might have overestimated her structural strength.

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Henry K. Thatcher Henry Knox Thatcher (26 May 1806 – 5 April 1880) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served during the American Civil War. Biography Early life and career He was born in Thomaston, Maine Thomaston (formerly known as Fort St. ...

, USN, wrote on June 30, 1865, after survey, "She was hogged when surrendered and is not strong enough to bear the weight of her full armor." He was certain "she could not live in a seaway." Following her surrender, ''Nashville'' was laid up until 22 November 1867, when she was sold for scrap at New Orleans, Louisiana, her armor having previously been stripped for reuse in other vessels.

Commanders

* Lieutenant Charles Carroll Simms (1864) * Lieutenant John W. Bennett (late 1864 - May 1865) Image:Sketch Ram Nashville.jpg, Sketch Ram CSS ''Nashville''

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nashville (1864) Nashville-class ironclads Ships built in Alabama 1863 ships