CSS Scorpion

Last updated

History
Naval ensign of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svgConfederate States
NameScorpion
In serviceLate 1864
FateAbandoned and captured
General characteristics
Class and type Squib-class torpedo boat
Length46 feet (14 m)
Beam6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m)
Depth of hold3 feet 9 inches (1.14 m)
Armament1x spar torpedo
ArmorThin iron plates

CSS Scorpion was a Squib-class torpedo boat that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Armed with a single spar torpedo, she originally served guard duty on the James River after being built in late 1864. Along with the rest of the James River Squadron, Scorpion moved downriver on January 23, 1865, and participated in the Battle of Trent's Reach. After performing depth soundings near Union obstructions, Scorpion moved to get a lantern from the ironclad CSS Virginia II, but ran into a hawser and then ran aground. At 07:10 on the morning of January 24, Union fire struck the abandoned tender CSS Drewry, which then exploded. The force of the explosion swept Scorpion out of control downriver. An attempt to rescue her that night failed, and she was captured by Union forces.

Contents

Construction and characteristics

During the American Civil War, the Union blockade was slowly destroying the economy of the rebelling Confederate States of America. The first use of torpedo boats in attempting to break the blockade came in October 1863. The attack damaged a Union vessel, and the partial success led the Confederates to build additional torpedo boats. Multiple designs were used, including a group known as the Squib-class built at Richmond, Virginia. Lieutenant Hunter Davidson playing a significant role in the design. [1]

CSS Scorpion, one of the Squib-class, was constructed in late 1864, and was 46 feet (14 m) long, had a beam of 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), and a depth of hold of 3 feet 9 inches (1.14 m). [2] Tonnage for the class is unknown. [3] The Squib-class ships were powered by two oscillating condensing engines, which had a 7-inch (18 cm) diameter cylinder and a 6-inch (15 cm) stroke, as well a single boiler. According to a Union engineer, she could go at "a fair speed for a boat of her kind". [4] Her crew of five or six [5] operated steer gear that was located towards the front of the vessel. [4] Her armament was a single spar torpedo mounted to a spar shaft that measured 18 feet (5.5 m) [2] or 16 feet (4.9 m) long. [6] The spar could be raised or lowered by the ship's crew using a chain and tackle system. [7] Thin plates of iron served as armor on the ships's sides. [5]

Service history

After construction, Scorpion entered Confederate service with the James River Squadron. [8] Under the command of Lieutenant Edward Lakin, [9] she performed guard duty in the James River. Beginning on January 23, 1865, the James River Squadron began an offensive against the Union supply depot at City Point, Virginia. [2] To reduce the chance of collisions in the narrow river, the wooden vessels of the fleet were lashed to the ironclads. Overall, the Confederates had 11 ships present: three ironclads, three gunboats, three torpedo boats, and two tenders. Scorpion was towed by the tender CSS Torpedo, which was in turn lashed to the ironclad CSS Virginia II. [10] Moving during the night, the Confederate vessels passed a Union shore position known as Fort Brady, which fired upon them. [11] At around 09:00, the Confederate vessels reached Union obstructions in the river at Trent's Reach. [9]

Scorpion was then sent forward to perform depth sounding, with a pilot from Virginia II aboard. The pilot claimed that the channel was not open, but Charles Read, who commanded all of the torpedo boats in the James River Squadron, found that a passage could be made; the pilot may have become unnerved by Union shore fire. [11] The ironclad CSS Fredericksburg then managed to clear the obstructions at around 01:30 on January 24. Read later took Scorpion to look for the gunboat CSS Hampton, but after not finding her, took the ship to Virginia II to get a lantern for lighting the passage. Virginia II had run aground, and the same fate had befallen the ironclad CSS Richmond as well. The tender CSS Drewry then ran aground trying to free Richmond. Moving towards Virginia II, Scorpion ran into a hawser strung between the former ship and the gunboat CSS Beaufort, [12] losing her torpedo and spar in the process. Not long afterwards, she ran aground. [13] The torpedo boat CSS Hornet then ran aground trying to free Scorpion. [12] The Confederate vessels that were not aground withdrew upriver before daylight. [14] At 06:55, the crew of Drewry was taken onto Richmond, and at 07:10, Union fire caused Drewry to explode. The force of the explosion knocked Scorpion downriver out of control; two men on board were killed and four others swept overboard. [15] After dark on January 24, Read tried to take Beaufort downriver to rescue Scorpion, but as Beaufort could not be controlled due to a strong wind, and a smaller vessel was sent to Scorpion. Scorpion was found to have taken on water, and after the Union illuminated the area with a Drummond light, the efforts to rescue the vessel were abandoned. [13] She was later captured by Union forces, [2] [15] and may have been burned. [3] [16]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Galena</i> (1862) American military ship

USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from penetrating. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.

CSS <i>Virginia II</i> Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ship

CSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her construction. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's armored casemate shortened from the specifications given in John L. Porter's original building plans; in addition, the ship's iron-plating, while six inches thick on the casemate's forward face, was reduced to five inches on her port, starboard, and aft faces. Due to the shortening of her casemate, the number of her cannon were reduced to a single 11" smoothbore, a single 8" rifle, and two 6.4" rifles.

USS <i>Onondaga</i> (1863) American ironclad river monitor

USS Onondaga was an ironclad river monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned in 1864, the ship spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla covering the water approaches to the Confederate States capital of Richmond, Virginia, although her only notable engagement was the Battle of Trent's Reach. After the war, she was purchased by France where she served as a coastal defense ship in the French Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Randolph Tucker (naval officer)</span>

John Randolph Tucker, an American naval officer who served in the navies of three nations. He was a commander in the United States Navy, captain in the Confederate States Navy, and rear admiral in the Peruvian Navy. As president of the Peruvian Hydrographic Commission of the Amazon, he contributed to the exploration and mapping of the upper Amazon Basin.

CSS <i>Richmond</i> Ironclad of the Confederate States Navy

CSS Richmond was the name ship of her class of six casemate ironclads built for the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Completed during 1862 the ship was assigned to the James River Squadron where she mostly supported Confederate forces near Richmond, Virginia. She was burned in April 1865 to prevent her capture by Union forces.

CSS <i>Jamestown</i> Steamboat

CSS Jamestown, originally a side-wheel, passenger steamer, was built at New York City in 1853, and seized at Richmond, Virginia in 1861 for the Virginia Navy during the early days of the American Civil War. She was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy (CSN) the following July, and renamed CSS Thomas Jefferson but was generally referred to as Jamestown, after Jamestown, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spar torpedo</span> A weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat

A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls. A fuse could then be used to detonate it.

CSS <i>Drewry</i>

CSSDrewry was a gunboat of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. This wooden gunboat had a foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest's James River Squadron sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN, in command.

The CSS Beaufort was an iron-hull gunboat that served in North Carolina and Virginia during the American Civil War. Originally launched as Caledonia at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1854, the ship was owned by James Catchart Johnston. It saw use as a tugboat on the Dismal Swamp Canal. On July 9, 1861, Beaufort was commissioned into the navy of the state of North Carolina for use in the American Civil War. First serving on the North Carolina coast, Beaufort was present at the battles of Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City in February 1862. Escaping the Confederate defeat at Elizabeth City via the Dismal Swamp Canal, Beaufort reached Norfolk, Virginia, where she joined the James River Squadron.

CSS <i>Fredericksburg</i> American Civil War Confederate ironclad

CSS Fredericksburg was a casemate ironclad that served as part of the James River Squadron of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Laid down in 1862 and Launched the following year, she did not see action until 1864 due to delays in receiving her armor and guns. After passing through the obstructions at Drewry's Bluff in May 1864, she participated in several minor actions on the James River and fought in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm from September 29 to October 1. On January 23 and 24, 1865, she was part of the Confederate fleet at the Battle of Trent's Reach, and was one of only two Confederate ships to make it past the obstructions at Trent's Reach. After the Confederate attack failed, Fredericksburg withdrew with the rest of the James River Squadron. On April 3, as the Confederates were abandoning Richmond, Fredericksburg and the other vessels of the James River Squadron were burned. Her wreck was located in the 1980s, buried under sediment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William A. Webb</span>

William Augustin Webb was an American sailor and Mexican–American War veteran who resigned his United States Navy commission after more than 20 years of service to join the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War. Webb was decorated for his service as Captain of the CSS Teaser, part of the James River Squadron, during the Battle of Hampton Roads (1862).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Plum Point Bend</span> Naval battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Plum Point Bend took place on the Mississippi River in Tennessee, U.S., between ships of the Confederate River Defense Fleet and the Federal Western Flotilla on May 10, 1862. Fighting for control of the Mississippi River had been ongoing since the prior year, and Federal forces had pushed downriver to Fort Pillow. The Federals had been using mortar boats to bombard Fort Pillow, and had developed a routine of having a single mortar boat guarded by an ironclad take a position further downriver to bombard the fort, while the rest of the fleet was upriver. On the morning of May 10, the Confederates attacked, in hopes of capturing the guard ironclad and then surprising the rest of the Federal fleet.

The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War. The squadron was part of the Virginia Navy before being transferred to the Confederate States Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River, which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond. It had two phases: early war, when it consisted mostly of wooden ships which ended with the Battle of Drewry's Bluff on May 15, 1862; and its later ironclad composition with the flagship CSS Virginia II.

USS Alpha was a side wheel paddle steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Althea was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The Union Navy used her as a tugboat, a torpedo boat, and as a ship's tender in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS <i>Sumter</i> (1862) 525-ton sidewheel paddle streamer

USS Sumter was a 525-ton sidewheel paddle steamer captured by the Union Navy during the Union blockade of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Trent's Reach</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Trent's Reach was one of the final major naval battles of the American Civil War. Beginning on January 23, 1865, a powerful flotilla of Confederate warships bombarded Fort Brady along the James River and engaged four Union Navy ships with the intention of breaking through the blockade to attack City Point, the base of General Ulysses S. Grant who was besieging Petersburg, Virginia. After two days of fighting, the rebels withdrew back up the river without completing their objectives.

CSS <i>Squib</i> American torpedo boat

CSS Squib, also known as CSS Infanta, was a Squib-class torpedo boat that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Squib was laid down in 1863, and was launched in early 1864. Her design was a form of launch armed with a spar torpedo. Her commander was Lieutenant Hunter Davidson. Initially serving on the James River as a flag of truce boat, she attacked the Union Navy gunboat USS Minnesota early on the morning of April 9, 1864. Minnesota was damaged but not sunk, and Squib was able to escape back upriver. At an unknown time in mid-1864, Squib was moved by rail to the Wilmington, North Carolina area, where she served on the Cape Fear River. Records of her service at Wilmington after November 1864 are not extent, but she may have resupplied a Confederate forticiation during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in January 1865. The next month, the Confederates withdrew from Wilmington, and Squib was scuttled off of Cape Fear.

<i>Squib</i>-class torpedo boat Confederate States Navy ships

The Squib class torpedo boats were built for the Confederate States Navy during the later stages of the American Civil War. After the torpedo boat CSS David attacked and damaged the ironclad USS New Ironsides, the Confederates continued building torpedo boats with hopes of breaking the Union blockade. Four vessels of the class – CSS Hornet, CSS Wasp, CSS Squib, and CSS Scorpion – were constructed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1864. All were armed with a single spar torpedo and were powered by steam engines. Squib damaged the gunboat USS Minnesota in an attack on April 9, 1864, and was later sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she was scuttled in February 1865. The other three vessels of the class were all part of the James River Squadron and participated in the Battle of Trent's Reach on the night of January 23 and 24, 1865. Scorpion ran aground during the battle, and was forced downriver and out of control after the tender CSS Drewry exploded on January 24. She was later captured by Union forces and may have been burned. Hornet was sunk in a collision with another vessel on January 27, and Wasp was scuttled on the night of April 2/3, as the Confederates were abandoning Richmond.

References

  1. Pry & Zeitlin 1984, pp. 384–385.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Scorpion". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 Silverstone 1989, p. 219.
  4. 1 2 Campbell 2000, p. 105.
  5. 1 2 Pry & Zeitlin 1984, p. 385.
  6. Coski 2005, pp. 125–126.
  7. Coski 2005, p. 126.
  8. Coski 2005, p. 125.
  9. 1 2 Campbell 2000, p. 111.
  10. Coski 2005, p. 198.
  11. 1 2 Coski 2005, pp. 199–202.
  12. 1 2 Coski 2005, pp. 201–203.
  13. 1 2 Campbell 2000, p. 114.
  14. Campbell 2000, p. 112.
  15. 1 2 Coski 2005, p. 204.
  16. Pry & Zeitlin 1984, p. 392.

Sources