A written order was sent to the commander of the U.S. storeship Falmouth, on January 19, 1861 by the Secretary of the Navy. The order told the commander of the Falmouth to do everything in his power to protect California steam ships. It seems that the North had received information that the South intended to seize these ships, because they were hauling gold, silver and other precious cargo. The South was in a much stronger position than the North at this time and had just seceded the same month. A nation where both sides of a struggle lived on the same piece of land were now using ships in their fight with each other. Although the Southern Armies seemed to be more prepared, when the war started, the Confederate States Navy was no match in numbers for the U.S. Navy. The Confederates tried to make up for this by using the newest technology. They built ironclads, developed a submarine, worked on torpedoes that they called mines and used torpedo boats. The Union Navy had made a terrible mistake that cost them dearly, they abandoned the Norfolk shipyard and even left ships there. It was reasonable to think that they most certainly should have destroyed it before they left. Why they didn't remains a mystery. Perhaps there were Southern sympathizers in the Northern Officer ranks? Maybe the North was in such a hurry to get out and avoid capture, that they felt there was not enough time to destroy the yard and ships? I guess we will never know the reason why the yard, along with the ships was left for the South.

When the war started, there was no Confederate Navy. Stephen Mallory was appointed by the South to the position of Secretary of the Department of the Navy. Before the South broke away, Mallory was chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee as a U.S. Senator. In the beginning the South was able to muster 44 wooden vessels, that had been converted for war. There were another 12 that had been under construction and had been partially destroyed. There were 10 new vessels under construction. As far as ironclads go, there was around 32 more in all various stages of being built, it is hard to get exact figures for these things. To supplement the Confederate Navy, President Jefferson Davis invited privateers to join the ranks. Other great western nations had signed a treaty known as the Declaration of Paris outlawing privateering, but the U.S. had not. There were quite a few officers and sailors who left the U.S. Navy and registered with the Confederate Navy. One source cites the amount as 7 admirals, 101 captains, 300 first lieutenants, 380 second lieutenants, 50 masters; 89 paymasters, 96 assistant. paymasters, 104 surgeons, 110 passed assistant surgeons, 119 assistant surgeons, 1 engineer-in-chief, and 130 engineers. It may have not been enough for really large navy, but it was certainly quite a good start.

Some of the iron clad ships were know as rams and for good reason. An example of this was the CSS Albemarle. She was sent upriver to clear the river of Union ships so that Southern troops could advance without being under fire. To her surprise she spotted two Union ships that had been lashed together with heavy ropes. The idea was that they were going to catch her in the middle and impede her progress. When her captain saw what was coming he took a chance and brought his ship very close to the shore and managed to get on the outside of the trap. He then turned the Albemarle and rammed one of the Union ships, sending it to the bottom. The ram got stuck and almost finished his ship also, but when the Union ship went down, it twisted and eventually released the ram. The USS Miami fired point blank at the the Albemarle and the shell bounced off her armor and exploded on the deck of the Miami. The Union tried everything to defeat this ship. She was even rammed herself by a wooden ship, but to no avail. In 1864 she was the queen of Roanoke and unstoppable. A more conventional method was needed to take her out. A small attack force of troops was formed. She was to be destroyed not by another ship in battle, but by a raiding party and a small boat. They were able to get next to her unseen and blew a giant hole in her side with explosives and she sank almost immediately in eight feet of water. At the end of the war the U.S. Navy raised the ship, repaired her and on 14 August 1865 she was finished. The feared CSS ironclad Albemarle was now a U.S. Navy ship.

Torpedo Boad David
Graphic Source: PD

The Confederacy had a vessel called a torpedo boat. It looked very strange indeed. I guess if one had to describe it, they would have to say that it resembled a submarine riding on the surface of the water. The CSS David was one of those boats. It had a steam powered engine that burned smokeless coal and it was very hard to see in the water. At the tip of the boat was a spar that contained an explosive charge that could be stuck onto a ship. The ship sat extremely low in the water. The charge itself was usually 60 or 70 pounds. On October 5th, 1863, the David sailed up the river to attack a Union ironclad called Newironsides. The Union lookout saw the boat and hailed her as she got closer. That was a fatal mistake on his part, because he was met with a shotgun blast and killed. The David was able to get up next to the Newironsides and stick the explosives on her. When the blast occurred, a huge wave put out the boiler on the David and some sailors abandoned ship, believing she was sinking. A couple remained and relit the boiler and were able to take her home. The Newironsides was badly damaged, but did not sink.

Lest you think that all Confederate ships were warships, I'd better let you know that they had other ships like transports and they also played a very important role. One of these ships was the CSS Bombshell. Unfortunately for the South, this ship only lasted about a month, before the U.S. Navy captured her. The ship was formerly an Erie Canal steamer and then a U.S. Army transport. Confederate shore batteries sunk her on April 18, 1864. The South needing transports, raised and repaired her. Another Confederate transport ship was the CSS Cotton Plant. She faired much better and lasted throughout the war before she was surrendered at war's end to the Union. She sailed with the ironclad Albemarle for protection and I guess that is why she made it to the end of the war. When the war ended, she was given to the U.S. Treasury purchasing agent and was used to transport cotton and provisions, after that she was given to the U.S. Navy.

Contrary to what most of us think, the Confederacy had 3 submarines not just the Hunley. They were the Bayou St. John Confederate Submarine, the Pioneer and the H.L. Hunley. When you think about it, the Confederates were right on the cutting edge of naval engineering in their time. The very first submarine the Confederates acquired was the Pioneer. It had to be scuttled because the Union Army was advancing on it's test sight. The Bayou St. John Confederate submarine has little known about it. We haven't found any documents relating to it. It was found in 1878 during the dredging of Bayou St. John at the intersection with lake Pontchartrain, in New Orleans. Could there be other lost Confederate subs out there? The Hunley is the most famous Confederate submarine and is often referred to as the father of all modern submarines. The H.L. Hunley was the biggest of the three known submarines. It was almost 40 feet long. The Hunley was launched in July, 1863. It was able to sink the USS Housatonic, but in so doing, it also sunk and lay at the bottom for over 136 years, before it was raised in 2004.

The Confederate Navy was organized in a record amount of time and with great professionalism and cutting edge engineering, but it was just no match for the numbers of ships that the Union Navy had and was building. The Union was also developing ironclads and when they sent the Monitor out to sea with the world's first revolving armored gun turret, that changed naval history.