The CSS ''Tallahassee'' was a twin-screw steamer and cruiser 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 ...

, purchased in 1864, and used for commerce raiding off the Atlantic coast. She later operated under the names CSS ''Olustee'' and CSS ''Chameleon''.

History

The iron Confederate cruiser ''Tallahassee'' was named after the Confederate state capital of

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and was built 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 J & W Dudgeon of

Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for London, Chatham & Dover Rly. Co. to the design of Capt. T. E. Symonds,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, ostensibly for the Chinese opium trade. She was previously the blockade runner ''Atalanta'' and made the Dover- Calais crossing in 77 minutes on an even keel. She had made several blockade runs between

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and Wilmington, N.C. before the Confederates bought her. CSS Tallahassee

After the ''Tallahassee'' was commissioned and prepared for sea she was placed under Commander

John Taylor Wood John Taylor Wood (August 13, 1830 – July 19, 1904) was an officer in the United States Navy and the Confederate Navy. He resigned from the U.S. Navy at the beginning of the American Civil War, and became a "leading Confederate naval hero" ...

, CSN. Wood was a grandson of President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

and a nephew of Jefferson Davis, who at the time was President of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. The officers and crew were all volunteers from the Confederate gunboats on the James River and North Carolina waters. The ''Tallahassee'' went through the blockade on August 6, 1864 from her home port of Wilmington,

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 ...

. Her first day out, four cruisers chased the ''Tallahassee'' without incident. She made a 19-day raid off the Atlantic coast as far north as

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. The ''Tallahassee'' destroyed 26 vessels and captured 7 others that were bonded or released. Wood sailed the ''Tallahassee'' into

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

on August 18 to take on bunker

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and water. Neutrality laws limited her stay in Halifax to 24 hours. ''Tallahassee'' was granted an extra 12 hours to fix a broken mast but was only allowed to load enough coal to take her to the nearest Confederate port. Two Federal war ships, the USS ''Nansemond'' and , were rumoured to be waiting for the ''Tallahassee'' at the harbour entrance. Wood hired legendary Halifax

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

John "Jock" Flemming, who guided the warship through the narrow and shallow Eastern Passage between Dartmouth and Lawlor Island, a route only suited for small fishing vessels. ''Tallahassee'' succeeded in negotiating the passage out of the harbour, although no Northern warships were in fact waiting. The first Northern warship, the gunboat USS ''Pontoosuc'', arrived at the harbour entrance several hours after the Confederate cruiser departed. Being unable to procure enough coal to continue, Wood was forced to return to Wilmington where he arrived safely on August 26.

Prizes

#The schooner ''Sarah A. Boice'' of Great Egg Harbor, N.J.; A.S. Adams, master; 381 tons. Her crew and their personal effects were brought on board, and she was

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

. The ''Boice'' failed to sink, however, presumably because she was in ballast. She came ashore at Fire Island Inlet on Long Island, where she was salvaged and was reclaimed by her owners (after being ransacked by her "salvors", resulting in litigation) and was put back into service. #The pilot-boat schooner '' James Funk'', No. 22 of New York; Robert Yates, master; 120 tons. Was turned into a tender of the ''Tallahassee'' using 20 of the ''Tallahassee's'' crew. #The bark ''Bay State'' of Boston; Thomas Sparrow, master; bound from Alexandria to New York, with wood; 199 tons; burned. #The brigantine ''Carrie Estelle'' of Grand Manan, New Brunswick; Mark Thurlow, master; bound from Grand Manan to New York, with logs; 248 tons; burned. #The brigantine ''A. Richards'' of Boston; Charles Dunovant, master; from Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island to New York, with coal; 274 tons; burned. #The schooner ''Carroll'' of East Machias, Maine; ____ Sprague, master; ___ tons; taken by the ''Tallahassee's'' tender ''James Funk''; bonded in the sum of $10,000 and released. #The pilot-boat schooner '' William Bell, No. 24'' of New York; James Callahan, master; 123 tons; burned. #The

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Adriatic'' of New York, from

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

to New York, with emigrants; 989 tons; burned. During the seizure, the ''Tallahassee'' collided with her losing her main mast. #The bark ''Glenavon'' of Thomaston,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

; James Watt, master; from Greenock, Scotland, to New York; 789 tons; scuttled. #The ship ''James Littlefield'' of Bangor,

; H.N. Bartlett, master; from Cardiff, Wales, to New York, with coal; 547 tons; scuttled. #The schooner ''Atlantic'' of Addison, Maine; P.W. Look, master; from Addison to New York; 156 tons; burned. #The schooner ''Spokane'' of Fremont, ? ; C.H. Sayer, master; from Calais, Maine to New York, with lumber; 126 tons; burned. #The schooner ''Billow'' of Salem, Mass.; M.A. Reed, master; from Calais, Maine to New York, with lumber; 173 tons; scuttled. #The bark ''Suilote''; (no other information given); bonded and released. #The schooner ''Robert E. Packer'' of Bath, Maine; Joseph E. Marston, master; from Baltimore to Richmond, Maine, with lumber; 222 tons; burned. #The schooner ''Lamont Du Pont'' of Wilmington, Del.; L. C. Corson, master; from Cow Bay. Cape Breton Island, to New York, with coal; 194 tons; burned. #The bark ''P.C. Alexander'' of Harpswell, Maine; A.B. Merryman, master; from New York to Pictou, Nova Scotia in ballast; 283 tons; burned. #The brig ''Neva'', of East Machias, Maine; E.J. Tolbert, master; from Lingan, Nova Scotia, to New York, with coal; 286 tons; bonded in the sum of $17,500 and loaded with prisoners from the previous captures. #The brig ''Roan'', of ?; C.E. Phillips, master; sailing to Cape Breton Island in ballast; 127 tons; burned. #14 small schooners ranging from 39 tons to 148 tons, sunk.

Renaming

CSS ''Olustee''

The ''Tallahassee'' was renamed CSS ''Olustee'' after the

Battle of Olustee The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Union General Truman Seymour had landed troops ...

in northern Florida and placed under the command of Lt. W. H. Ward, CSN. The ''Olustee'' ran through the blockade off Wilmington again on October 29, 1864 but suffered some damage from Federal guns. She captured and destroyed six ships off the Cape of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

before having to return for coal. She stopped attempts by USS ''Sassacus'' to capture her on November 6, 1864 and by four other United States ships on November 7, 1864 finally passing into the safety of Wilmington harbor.

CSS ''Chameleon''

The ''Olustee'' was renamed the CSS ''Chameleon'' with Lt. John Wilkinson (CSN) commanding. The battery had been removed and she ran through the Union blockade on December 24, 1864 while the United States fleet was preoccupied with bombarding

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

. The ''Chameleon'' proceeded to

to obtain provisions for the Confederate army. Wilkinson made two attempts to enter one of the southern ports, but finding it impossible, he took ''Chameleon'' to Liverpool, England, and turned her over to Comdr. J. D. Bullock, CSN, financial agent of the Confederate Navy Department. On her arrival in England on April 9, 1865 the ''Chameleon'' was seized and sold by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

authorities and was about to enter the merchant service when the United States instituted suit for possession. She was awarded to the United States Government and handed over to the consul at Liverpool on April 26, 1866. ''Chameleon'' was sold at

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

on orders from the consul on 14 June 1866. She sold for £6,400. On 21 July 1869,

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

s were received at New York stating that she had been wrecked near

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan with the loss of 22 lives.

Legacy

In 1958, a new school in

Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia Eastern Passage is an unincorporated suburban community in Halifax Regional Municipality Nova Scotia, Canada. Eastern Passage has historically been tied to the fishing industry. Its waterfront has several small wharves and piers. The constru ...

, near Lawlor Island, was named after the ''Tallahassee'' to commemorate Flemming's 1864 navigational feat. After a replacement school with the same name was built in 1992, the name grew controversial due to the Confederacy's support of slavery. Following several community meetings, the Tallahassee Community School was renamed Horizon Elementary School in 2021.

References

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
*

External links

CSS Tallahassee
The Confederate Naval Historical Society ~ 4 – Newsletter Number Six, February 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallahassee Cruisers of the Confederate States Navy Ships built in Cubitt Town Culture of Tallahassee, Florida 1864 ships Military history of Nova Scotia Maritime incidents in July 1869