CSS ''Savannah'', later called ''Old Savannah'' and ''Oconee'', was a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

in 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 ...

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 th ...

. ''Savannah'' was formerly the steamer ''Everglade'', built in 1856 at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was purchased early in 1861 by the State of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and converted into a gunboat for coast defense. With Georgia's admission to the Confederacy, ''Savannah'', under Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy. She was attached to the squadron of Flag Officer

Josiah Tattnall III Commodore Josiah Tattnall (November 9, 1795 – June 14, 1871) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War and the Mexican–American War. He later served in the Confederate Navy during the American C ...

, charged with the naval defense of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and Georgia. On November 5–6, 1861, ''Savannah'', flying Tattnall's flag, in company with CSS ''Resolute'', CSS ''Sampson'', and CSS ''Lady Davis'', offered harassing resistance to a much larger Union fleet, under Flag Officer

Samuel Francis Du Pont Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the Ca ...

, preparing to attack Confederate strongholds at

Port Royal Sound Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the estuary of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River. Geograp ...

, South Carolina On November 7, ''Savannah'' fired on the heavy Union ships as they bombarded Fort Walker and

Fort Beauregard Fort Beauregard, located half a mile north of the village of Harrisonburg, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, was one of four Confederate forts guarding the Ouachita River during the American Civil War. In 1863, four Union gunboats attacked it, unsu ...

. Driven finally by the Federal gunboats into Skull Creek, Georgia, Tattnall disembarked with a landing party in an abortive attempt to support the fort's garrison, and ''Savannah'' returned to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

to repair damages. On November 26, 1861, ''Savannah'', in company with ''Resolute'' and ''Sampson'', all under Flag Officer Tattnall, weighed anchor from under the guns of

Fort Pulaski A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Georgia, and attacked Union vessels at the mouth of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

. On January 28, 1862, the same three vessels delivered supplies to the fort while evading Federal ships. ''Savannah'' later assisted in the unsuccessful defense of Fort Pulaski on April 10–11, 1862, and for the remainder of the year served as a receiving ship at the city of Savannah. Her name was changed to ''Oconee'' on April 28, 1863, and in June she was loaded with cotton and dispatched to England to pay for much-needed supplies. After some delay she escaped to sea, only to founder on August 18 during bad weather. A boat with four officers and eleven men was captured two days later; the remainder of her crew escaped.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savannah (gunboat) Gunboats of the Confederate States Navy Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Ships built in New York City 1856 ships Maritime incidents in August 1863

See also

References