CSS Chickamauga
 CSS Chickamauga | |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | Chickamauga |
| Commissioned: | 1864 |
| Fate: | Burned 25 February 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 585 tons |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Complement: | 120 officers and men |
| Armament: | 3 rifled cannons |
CSS Chickamauga, originally the blockade runner Edith, was purchased by the Confederate States Navy at Wilmington, North Carolina in September 1864. In September, when she was nearly ready for sea, the Confederate Army sought unsuccessfully to retain her at that place for use as a troop and supply transport. On October 28, 1864, she put to sea under Lieutenant John Wilkinson (CSN) for a cruise north to the entrance of Long Island Sound, thence to St. George, Bermuda, for repairs and coal. She took several prizes before returning to Wilmington on November 19.
During the bombardment of Fort Fisher, December 24–25, 1864, a portion of Chickamauga's crew served the guns at the fort. Although not immediately engaged in defense of Fort Fisher, the ship rendered further aid in transporting ammunition. She lent support to the fort when it was bombarded again on January 15, 1865.
After the evacuation of Wilmington, Chickamauga went up the Cape Fear River where she was burned to prevent capture on February 25, 1865. Gregory, Mackenzie J. "Ahoy - Mac's Web Log." Ahoy - Mac's Web Log - CSS Chickamauga. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017. <http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/MaraudersCivilWar/CSSChickamauga.html>.
The sister ship, the Edith, from Tallahassee, Florida, became the new Confederate cruiser. Its name was the CSS Chickamauga. CSS stands for Confederate States Ship. Lieutenant John Wilkinson, who was a lieutenant of the new Confederate Navy, commanded the ship. Wilkinson as he was commanding the CSS Chickamauga, ran into the same problems faced by Woods, who was the previous commander. The ship had been a productive blockade runner, but it did not have the qualities needed for a Raider. She (CSS Chickamauga) was fast, but she could only be at sea as long as they had coal supply.
On October 26, the CSS Chickamauga set sail for the open sea. After she also grounded on the bar, backed herself free, tried once more again, she finally cleared the obstruction, and made it out into the open sea. The CSS Chickamauga was once seen by the USS Dumbarton. The USS Dumbarton as well as two more Union ships chased the CSS Chickamauga. However, speed sure saved the ship, and she sailed off into the ocean, once again. US ships reported that another ship, the Tallahassee, was sailing out and about again, and was searching for exactly the same thing as what the CSS Chickamauga was looking for.
The shooting star ship, Albion Lincoln, held prisoners Mark L. Potter and Emily L.Hall, who sent to the ship. Other prisoners were burned, instead of going to Fort Monroe as ordered. On the 4th of November, Secretary Welles learned that he had to search for another raider, but since he did not know anymore information, he telegraphed Rear Admiral Porter: "It is reported that four privateers are out of Wilmington. Three have actually committed depredations, namely, Tallahassee, Chickamauga, and Olustee." The Olustee was actually the Tallahassee, but just under a different new name. The next day, Porter ordered to find the Raiders, so therefore the nine Union warships could be reunited.
Lieutenant John Wilkinson kept busy, he captured the Goodspeed, Otter Rock, and Speedwell. While Porter’s ships were trying to find the CSS Chickamauga, she down down in the Bermuda Triangle looking for coal. Wilkinson, on the 15th of November, he left the Bermuda Triangle and set his course towards “home”. He arrived on the 18th waiting to anchor into safety. Before he reached the haven, four Union blockade runners, USS Clematis, USS Wilderness, USS Cherokee and USS Kansas all fired shots. The CSS Chickamauga herself got into the act, but not a single shot from either side ever found a target.
In three weeks Chickamauga had taken only seven ships, the Olustee only four. The Tallahassee was responsible for capturing more than 55 ships. How did these ships end their days? When the Feds stormed Fort Fisher, it was Chickamauga who took part in this final battle, she then had to retreat up river back to Wilmington, where her crew burned her. The Olustee also had another name change due to its duties as a blockade runner to the Chameleon. Lieutenant John Wilkinson took her out to the Bermuda Triangle to provide Lee’s armies with food and supplies. After that, he sailed off to Liverpool, and when he got there, Lee surrendered, and the British Government seized his ship.
See also
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
