CSS Rappahannock facts for kids
CSS Rappahannock
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | Victor |
| Ordered | 15 May 1855 |
| Builder | Money Wigram & Son, Blackwall |
| Cost | £45,450 |
| Laid down | 24 May 1855 |
| Launched | 2 November 1855 |
| Commissioned | 1 April 1856 |
| Fate | Sold to R. Gordon Coleman as Scylla in November 1863 and resold later the same month to the Confederacy |
 Confederate States |
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| Name | CSS Rappahannock |
| Commissioned | November 1864 |
| Decommissioned | April 1865 |
| Fate | Turned over to United States |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Intrepid-class gunvessel |
| Displacement | 868 49/94 bm |
| Length | 200 ft (61 m) pp |
| Beam | 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Installed power | 1,166 ihp (869 kW) |
| Propulsion |
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| Sail plan | Barque |
| Speed | 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h) |
| Complement | 100 |
| Armament |
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The CSS Rappahannock' was a steam warship that played a small but interesting part in the American Civil War. It was originally built in England in 1855 for the Royal Navy, which is the British navy. At first, it was called HMS Victor.
Contents
From British to Confederate Ship
The HMS Victor was a good-looking ship, but it had many problems. Because of these issues, the British Royal Navy decided to sell it in 1863.
A Secret Purchase
An agent working for the Confederate States Government secretly bought the ship. The Confederate States were a group of southern states that had separated from the United States during the Civil War. The agent claimed the ship was for trading goods with China.
However, British officials suspected the ship was actually going to be used as a "commerce raider." A commerce raider is a warship that attacks and captures enemy merchant ships. Because of these suspicions, the British authorities tried to stop the ship from leaving.
The Escape and Journey to France
Despite the attempts to stop it, the Rappahannock managed to escape from Sheerness, England, on November 24. It left with some workers still on board and only a small crew. The Confederate Navy officers who were supposed to command the ship joined it later in the English Channel.
Commander Matthew F. Maury of the Confederate Navy had bought the ship. He planned for the Rappahannock to replace another Confederate ship, the CSS Georgia. The Rappahannock was perfect for a cruiser because it had a wooden hull, sails like a barque, two engines, and a propeller that could be lifted out of the water.
Stuck in Calais
The ship was officially made a Confederate warship while it was sailing. But as it was leaving the Thames Estuary, a part of its engine broke down. This forced the ship to go to Calais, France, for repairs.
Once in Calais, the French government kept the Rappahannock from leaving for various reasons. Because of these delays, the ship never got to sail the seas as a Confederate commerce raider. When the American Civil War ended, the Rappahannock was handed over to the United States.
