CSS ''Sea Bird'' was a sidewheel steamer 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 ...

. ''Sea Bird'' was built at Keyport,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1854, was purchased by

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in 1861 and fitted for service with the

. She was assigned to duty along the Virginia and North Carolina coasts with

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Patrick McCarrick, CSN, in command. ''Sea Bird'' served as the flagship of Confederate

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

William F. Lynch Captain William Francis Lynch (1 April 1801 – 17 October 1865) was a naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. Personal life William F. Lynch was born in Virginia. On 2 June 1828, on ...

's "

Mosquito Fleet The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of naval and commercial uses around the world. United States In United States, U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had ten main meanings: #The United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, lead ...

" during the hard-fought battles in defense of

Roanoke Island Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke (tribe), Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the ar ...

on February 7–8, 1862, and

Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It ...

, on February 10 when she was rammed and sunk by USS ''Commodore Perry''. Her casualties were two killed, four wounded, and the rest captured.

References

W. Craig Gaines, ''Encyclopedia of Civil War shipwrecks''. Louisiana State University Press, 2008.

External links

CSS ''Sea Bird'' Muster Roll
Ships of the Confederate States Navy Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Maritime incidents in February 1862 Ships sunk in collisions 1854 ships Ships built in Keyport, New Jersey {{mil-ship-stub