 CSS Manassas | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Confederate States of America | |
| Name | Manassas; originallyEnoch Train |
| Namesake | Battle of First Manassas;Enoch Train |
| Owner | Boston Steam Tow-Boat Co.[1] |
| Builder | James. O. Curtis,Medford, Massachusetts[1] |
| Launched | 1853[1] or 1855 |
| Commissioned | September 12, 1861 |
| Decommissioned | April 24, 1862 |
| Fate | Sunk in battle April 24, 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Steam tug,[1]Ironclad |
| Displacement | 387 tons |
| Tons burthen | 384+1⁄2 tons[1] |
| Length | 143 ft (44 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Complement | 36 officers and men |
| Armament | One 64-pounder Dahlgren, later replaced by one 32-pounder |
CSSManassas, formerly the steamicebreakerEnoch Train, was built in 1855 by James O. Curtis as a twin-screw towboat atMedford, Massachusetts. ANew Orleans commission merchant,Captain John A. Stevenson, acquired her for use as aprivateer after she was captured by another privateer (later gunboat)CSS Ivy. Herfitting out asManassas was completed atAlgiers, Louisiana; her conversion to aram of a radically modern design made her the firstironclad ship built for theConfederacy.
Covered with 1.25-inch (32 mm) iron plating, her above-water hull was reshaped into a curved "turtle-back" form; at its lowest when fully loaded, the hull projected only6+1⁄2 feet above thewaterline, not counting hersmokestacks (surviving accounts and period illustrations vary showingManassas was equipped with either a single or two side-by-side smokestacks, possibly slanted back at a rakish angle). The convex shape of her iron-plated topside was intended to causecannon shot to glance off harmlessly. She was 128 feet (39 m) in length, overall, and had a 26-foot (7.9 m)hull beam and 11-foot (3.4 m)draught. Her bow was fitted with a pointed iron ram to stave holes in Union vessels, and she also carried a forward-firing cannon behind a single gun port with an armored shutter. Her low profile made her a difficult target, while her curved armor plating protected her against all but the most well-directed Union cannon fire. Lying low in the water, she looked like a floating cigar or egg and was described byUnionintelligence as a "hellish machine."[3][4][5]: 68–9
Commissioned as aConfederateprivateer on 12 September 1861,Manassas was seized soon afterwards byFlag OfficerGeorge N. Hollins,CSN, for use in the lowerMississippi River. With LieutenantAlexander F. Warley, CSN, in command, she participated in Flag Officer Hollins' surprise attack on the Federal blockading squadron atHead of Passes on 12 October 1861, the action being known as theBattle of the Head of Passes. In the actionManassas rammedUSS Richmond, but the impact was partly absorbed by a coal barge tied alongside.Manassas, however, suffered the loss of her iron prow and smokestack(s) and had one of her two engines unseated from its mounts, temporarily putting it out of commission. She managed to retire under heavy fire fromUSS Preble andRichmond, whose shells glanced off her armor. Two months after this engagement,Manassas was purchased for direct ownership and re-commissioned in the CSN by the Confederate Government.[6]
Under Lieutenant Warley, CSSManassas joined the force of Captain John K. Mitchell, CSN, commanding Confederate naval forces in the lower Mississippi. She participated in theBattle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, during whichCommodoreDavid Farragut,USN, on his way to New Orleans, ran his fleet past the Confederate forts ofFort Jackson andFort St. Philip. In the actionManassas attempted to ramUSS Pensacola, which turned in time to avoid the heavy blow and delivered a full broadside at close range.Manassas then ran into more murderous fire from the whole line of the Union fleet. She then chargedUSS Mississippi and delivered a long glancing blow to her hull, also firing her single cannon as she rammed. Next she rammedUSS Brooklyn, again firing her cannon, injuring her deeply, but not fatally.[7]
After this actionManassas followed the Union fleet quietly for a while, but as she drew closerMississippi furiously turned on her and made an attempt to ram the ironclad.Manassas managed to dodge the blow but ran aground in the process. Her crew managed to escape asMississippi poured heavy broadsides into the stranded Confederate ram. Now on fire,Manassas slipped off the bank and drifted down the river past the Union mortar flotilla.CommanderDavid Dixon Porter, USN, in command of the mortar boats, tried to save her as an engineering curiosity, butManassas exploded and immediately plunged under water, a total loss.[8] In 1981, theNational Underwater and Marine Agency located the suspected wreckage of theManassas under a current levee on the bank of the Mississippi.[9]
Years after the war, in the bookBattles and Leaders of the Civil War,[10] there was a claim that aManassas crewman was knocked off the ironclad by a Union sailor; however Lieutenant Warley reported no casualties among hisManassas crew in an official report dated 13 August 1863.[11]
Manassas is a similarly named clipper, formerly the U.S. Revenue CutterAfinot,[12] was seized by the Confederates atNew Bern, North Carolina, on 27 August 1861. With the launchesMosquito and SandFly, she was placed under Lt. W. H. Murdaugh, CSN, who was seriously wounded in the Federal attack onFort Hatteras the next day, and was unable to assume his command.Manassas was active on the coast ofNorth Carolina during 1861-62 and then dismantled by the Confederates.[13]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Media related toCSS Manassas (ship, 1855) at Wikimedia Commons29°21′35″N89°27′07″W / 29.35972°N 89.45194°W /29.35972; -89.45194
