Sacrifices of the Confederate Navy:The North Carolina Built Ironclads

The Story of the CSS Albemarle

• The Ship• The Builder• Her Captains• Her Career, Hard Luck

and Sacrifice

CSS AlbemarlePlanned by John L. Porter, Chief Constructor CSN

Built by Gilbert Elliott at Edward’s Ferry, NC

Armor: Two layers of 2” iron plates (one horizontal, one vertical)Backing: 4” vertical oak; 5” horizontal pine; 12”x13” vertical oak

Battery: 2 – 6.4 inch Brooke RiflesLength Between Perpendiculars: 152 feet

Beam above water: 34 feetDraft: 9 feet

Tonnage: 376 tons

Gilbert Elliott

Her Builder

Captain James W. Cooke, CSN

January 1864 – June 1864

Contract Let: October 10, 1862

Launched: October 7, 1863

Construction

Sacrifice and Hard Luck

• “Cornfield Ironclad”• Shortage of materials

(iron and properly dried wood)

• Political tug-of-war between Flag Officer William F Lynch and Governor Zebulon Vance

• Operational tug-of-war between Lynch, Cooke and Elliot

Sacrifice and Hard Luck• Poorly equipped with

machinery that was substandard, constantly needing repair

• Poor working conditions for the crew

• Acting Master Long described the ship to His friend, Hubbard Minor as the “poorest ironclad in the Confederacy” and warned him that “You must not expect too much of the Albemarle”

All Hands to Quarters!

Battle of PlymouthApril 17, 1864

Sacrifice or Bad Luck?

The Deathof

Charles Flusser

Battle of Albemarle SoundMay 5, 1864

• Engaged seven Union gunboats alone• After returning to port, she never faced her foes

again

Commander John N. Maffit, CSN

June 1864 – September 1864

Lt. Alexander F. Warley, CSN

September 1864 – November 1864

The Sinking of the CSS AlbemarleOctober 27, 1864

Sacrificed to the River of Death

• Lt. William B. Cushing• Sentries that were

asleep• Ineffective log boom

The Aftermath

Her Sacrifice was long and injurious………

Teredo Worms

“The termites of the sea”

What’s Left?

• Ship’s bell and one piece of ballast at the Port O’ Plymouth Museum, Plymouth, NC

• Iron plates at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

• Ship’s Smokestack at the Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, NC

• Two Naval Ensigns at the Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, VA

• 6.4 inch Brooke Rifle in front of the old NATO Headquarters, Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, VA

Replicas

Both located at the Port O’ Plymouth Museum, Plymouth, NC

Sources:

• Ironclad of the Roanoke by Robert G. Elliot

• The Hunt for the Albemarle by John Hinds

• Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion