CSS ''Rappahannock'', a steam sloop-of-war, was built at the

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

by Money Wigram & Son in 1855 as an for the

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and named HMS ''Victor''. Although a handsomely modeled vessel, numerous defects occasioned her sale in 1863. An agent of the Confederate States Government purchased her ostensibly for the China trade, but British authorities suspected she was destined to be a Confederate

commerce raider Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...

and ordered her detention. Nevertheless, she succeeded in escaping from Sheerness,

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, on November 24, with workmen still on board and only a token crew. Her

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 ...

officers joined in the

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. When he bought her from the

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through his secret agent on November 14, Commander Matthew F. Maury had intended ''Rappahannock'' to replace the cruiser and was about to transfer ''Georgia''s guns to her. She was ideal for a cruiser — wooden-hulled and bark-rigged with two engines and a lifting screw propeller. The Confederate Screw-Steamer Rappahannock lying at Calais Pier - ILN 1863

The Confederate Screw-Steamer Rappahannock lying at Calais Pier - ILN 1863

She was commissioned a Confederate man-of-war underway, but while passing out of the

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her bearings burned out and she had to be taken across to Calais for repairs. There

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C. M. Fauntleroy, CSN, was placed in command. Detained on various pretexts by the

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, ''Rappahannock'' never got to sea and was turned over to the

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at the close of the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rappahannock Cruisers of the Confederate States Navy Ships built by the Blackwall Yard Ships built on the River Thames 1857 ships Victor