CSS Virginia II

CSS "Virginia II", an ironclad ram, was laid down at the William Graves' shipyard at Richmond, Virginia in 1862. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN superintended her building, but in order to conserve scarce metal, shortened the casemate called for in the original John L. Porter plans. The armor-plating was 6" thick on the forward face and 5" on the sides and after face.

The "Virginia II" was named after the more famous Confederate ironclad, the CSS "Virginia", more popularly known as the "Merrimac". In fact, the original "Virginia"'s success caused "gunboat associations" to emerge around the South, mainly driven by women, and their efforts helped with the construction of the "Virginia II".Coski, "Capital Navy", 82.]

Construction

Money to help with the construction of this ironclad was largely contributed by the Richmond chapter of the "Ladies Aid and Defense Society" called the "National Defense Association" which adopted this ironclad in early April 1862 for the defense of Richmond. The chairman was Maria Gaitskell Clopton. It is estimated that the society contributed over $30,000 towards its construction. [Coski, "Capital Navy", 82-85]

By November 1862, John Mercer Brooke was able to report that she was "pretty well advanced, frames up, clamps in, etc... She will be a strong and fine vessel."

However, after this promising start, significant delays plagued the new ship. It was not until over a year after she was laid down that the "Virginia II" was finally launched without incident on June 29, 1863. "She glided into the water 'like a thing of life' amid the prolonged cheers of the spectators." [Coski, "Capital Navy", 86] However, she suffered from further delays in being fitted out and was not fully commissioned until May 18, 1864, almost a year later, and was made the flagship of the James River Squadron (replacing CSS "Richmond" in this role). [Coski, "Capital Navy", 153,156]

Career

"Virginia II", Commander Robert B. Pegram, CSN, went into action on 21 June 1864 as flagship of Commodore John K. Mitchell, CSN, during the engagement between the Confederate James River Squadron and Federal ships in Trent's Reach, however she suffered from mechanical trouble and problems with her propeller when the chain of the CSS "Richmond" got caught up in it and so could not participate in this battle. [Coski, "Capital Navy", 165-166]

On August 13, the Virginia II participated in the attack on the Union forces at Dutch Gap. The USS "Maugus" and her gunboats joined in the battle but could not effectively train her guns, though they did manage to get two shots that hit "Virginia II". [Scharf, "History of the Confederate States Navy", 735] On August 17, she participated in the capture of Signal Hill, shelling the Union defenses from 3 PM until 9 PM. [Coski, "Capital Navy", 167]

From September 29 through October 1, the "Virginia II" and the rest of the squadron attacked New Market Heights and Fort Harrison in conjunction with the Confederate Army in what was the largest operation north of the James River since Cold Harbor, and would remain so until the end of the war. Once again, though, the Virginia II suffered some difficulty which delayed her entrance into the battle. She had just received a new gun and in the rush to leave the dock, got the supply ship "Gallego" caught in her anchor chain, causing the "Gallego" to sink. [Coski, "Capital Navy", 168]

In their routine patrol of the James River, the squadron was surprised on the morning of October 22 to discover that the Union Army had finished fortifying Cox Hill. To cover the retreat of the wooden vessels of the fleet, the Virginia II approached the battery, followed by the other two ironclads, and effected the retreat upstream to Chaffin's Bluff.Scharf, "History of the Confederate States Navy", 736-737] During this, the "Virginia II"'s smokestack was riddled by shells. [Coski, "Capital Navy", 171] Though they were caught by surprise, this small action helped determine the effectiveness of the ironclads' casemates against close rifled fire, and in the case of the "Virginia II" the results were favorable: her armor withstood 7 hits by 100-pound conical bolts, which barely dented its surface.

On December 7, the "Virginia II", along with the "Fredericksburg" and "Richmond", came down to Fort Brady near Trent's Reach, and exchanged fire with the fort near sunset until darkness approached. [Scharf, "History of the Confederate States Navy", 738]

Battle of Trent's Reach

Her final action took place on January 23-January 24 1865 when the Confederate squadron in the James River, including ironclads "Virginia II", CSS "Richmond" and CSS "Fredericksburg", with five smaller vessels, made a second unsuccessful attempt to circumvent obstructions in Trent's Reach. A reliable report indicated that there was a passage through, as a result of a freshet of melting ice. To avoid the risk of collision, the gunboats and tenders were lashed to the starboard sides of the ironclads - Virginia accreted the gunboats "Nansemond" and "Torpedo", with the torpedo boat "Scorpion" in tow, to her bulk. After passing the Union batteries at Fort Brady sometime after 8 PM, the "Virginia II" accidentally beached the "Torpedo" by cutting too close to the shore. The captain of the "Nansemond", untied his ship from Virginia II in an attempt to free the "Torpedo". The fleet continued on and reached the obstructions at Trent's Reach.Coski, "Capital Navy", 198-207] [Scharf, "History of the Confederate States Navy", 740-742]

Again "Virginia II" ran into trouble, this time running aground and the smaller ships tried to free her for three hours. Only two ships made it through, the rest were either running aground or helping the ones who had. Dawn came with most of the squadron in full view of the Union fortifications at Battery Parsons, and they had to suffer the fire until the water was able to rise high enough to allow them to retreat. Just as the water rose high enough to float the "Virginia II" in late morning, the Union fleet arrived and added to the fire, this time more deadly, as the double-turretted monitor USS "Onondaga" was able to pierce her armor. She and the rest of the squadron retreated upstream until they were out of the way and under cover of the Confederate batteries at Battery Dantzler. They attempted to try again that night, but the Union soldiers had erected a huge light illuminating the obstructions, and combined with several other factors, decided to abandon the attempt.

When leaving, the "Hampton" managed to catch her propeller in "Virginia II"'s anchor chain. They suffered more fire on their return upriver from Fort Brady and Virginia II ran aground again before making it to the safety of Chaffin's Bluff. "Virginia II" had at least 6 killed and more than a half dozen wounded from the action, and also suffered damage which required extensive repairs. [Scharf, "History of the Confederate States Navy", 741] Her smokestack was destroyed, her engines were faulty and the iron shielding and wooden framework were damaged. Her repairs had just been finished, when the "Virginia II" was one of the ships destroyed in the James River before the evacuation of Richmond on 3 April 1865.

Commanders

The commanders of the CSS "Virginia II" were: [Coski, "Capital Navy", 254]

* Commander Robert B. Pegram (May 1864-around August 1864)
* Lieutenant Oscar F. Johnston (August 1864, commanding "pro tem")
* Lieutenant Francis E. Shepperd (September 24, 1864-around December 1864)
* Lieutenant John W. Dunnington (December 1864-end of war)

Notes

References

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