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