 Capture of the CSSResolute inSavannah river, Georgia. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Confederate States | |
| Name | Resolute |
| Launched | 1858 |
| Commissioned | 1861 |
| Fate | Grounded and destroyed 12 December 1864 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 322 tons |
| Propulsion | steam engine |
| Complement | 35 officers and men |
| Armament | none |
CSSResolute was atugboat built in 1858 atSavannahGeorgia as theAjax[1] which served in theConfederate States Navy during theAmerican Civil War.
Resolute entered Confederate service in 1861 and operated as a tow boat, transport, receiving ship, and tender to the sidewheelerCSS Savannah on the coastal and inland waters of Georgia andSouth Carolina.
On 5–6 November 1861,Resolute, underLieutenantJohn Pembroke Jones, CSN, in company withCSS Lady Davis,CSS Sampson, andSavannah, under the overall command ofFlag OfficerJosiah Tattnall III, CSN, offered harassing resistance to a much largerUnion fleet preparing to attack Confederate strongholds atPort Royal Sound, S.C.
During November 7, whileResolute had been sent to Savannah with dispatches, the Union fleet under Flag OfficerSamuel Francis du Pont,USN, pounded the ConfederateFort Walker andFort Beauregard until they were abandoned. Upon her return,Resolute helped evacuate the garrison of Fort Walker and then returned to spike the Confederate guns atPope's Landing onHilton Head Island.
Later that month, on November 26,Resolute, in company withSampson andSavannah, under Flag Officer Tattnall, weighed anchor from under the guns ofFort Pulaski, S.C., and made a brief attack on Union vessels at the mouth of theSavannah River. On January 28, 1862, accompanied bySampson andSavannah, she delivered supplies to the fort despite the spirited opposition of Federal ships.
While on an expedition to destroy the Charleston and Savannah Railway bridge spanning the Savannah River, in cooperation withgunboatsCSS Macon andSampson, under Flag OfficerWilliam W. Hunter, CSN, on December 12, 1864,Resolute received heavy fire from battery I, First New York Artillery. Although hit twice, she was not seriously damaged until she was disabled in collision with the two gunboats during their retreat. Although the gunboats escaped,Resolute grounded onArgyle Island on the Savannah River. She was captured on the same day by soldiers of Company F of[2] the 3rd Wisconsin Veteran Infantry, commanded by Captain Charles Ransom Barrager, underColonelW. Hawly, USA, in the army ofGeneralWilliam T. Sherman, and destroyed.[1]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.32°10′34″N81°07′40″W / 32.17611°N 81.12778°W /32.17611; -81.12778