American Civil War
Naval Timeline 1864

 2 February

Confederate boat expedition led by Commander J. T. Wood captured and destroyed USS Underwriter in the Neuse River, North Carolina.

17 February

Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley sank Union blockader Housatonic off Charleston -- the first submarine to sink a ship in combat.

12 March

Ships of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter's Mississippi Squadron moved up the Red River to commence the unsuccessful Army-Navy campaign to gain a foothold in the Texas interior.

19 April

CSS Albemarle , Commander J. W. Cooke, sank USS Southfield and forced the remainder of the Union squadron at Plymouth, North Carolina, to withdraw. Having gained control of the waterways in the area, the Confederates were able to capture Plymouth on 20 April.

5 May

USS Sassacus, Wyalusing , and Mattabesett engaged CSS Albemarle off the mouth of the Roanoke River as the Union sought in vain to regain control near Plymouth.

6 May

Confederate torpedo destroyed USS Commodore Jones in the James River, Virginia, one of several losses the Union suffered from torpedoes during the year.

13 May

The last of Rear Admiral Porter's squadron, after being trapped by low water, dashed through the hurriedly constructed Red River dams to safety below the Alexandria rapids.

19 June

USS Kearsarge , Commander J. A. Winslow, sank CSS Alabama , Captain R. Semmes, off Cherbourg, France, ending the career of the South's most famous commerce raider.

5 August

Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut's fleet steamed by Forts Morgan and Gaines, through the deadly torpedo field blocking the channel, and into Mobile Bay. In the fierce engagement with the forts and Admiral F. Buchanan's small squadron, Farragut won a victory worthy of his great name.

6 August

CSS Tallahassee , Commander J. T. Wood, put to sea from Wilmington, launching a brief but highly successful cruise against Northern shipping.

23 August

Fort Morgan, the last of the three forts at Mobile Bay to remain in Confederate hands, capitulated.

7 October

USS Wachusett , Lieutenant N. Collins, captured CSS Florida , Lieutenant C. M. Morris, at Bahia, Brazil. Thus, in the same year were the cruises of the dread raiders Alabama and Florida ended.

19 October

CSS Shenandoah , Lieutenant J. I. Waddell, commissioned off the Madeira Islands.

27 October

Torpedo launch commanded by Lieutenant W. B. Cushing destroyed ram CSS Albemarle in the Roanoke River, assuring the North of renewed control of the waters around Plymouth, North Carolina.

4 November

Confederate raiders captured small gunboats USS Key West, Tawah , and Elfin near Johnsonville on the Tennessee River.

13 December

Rear Admiral Farragut arrived in New York City, for a period of rest after his arduous duty in the Gulf of Mexico and was acclaimed as a conquering hero. Ten days later he was promoted to the newly established rank of Vice Admiral.

21 December

Flag Officer W. W. Hunter destroyed the last of the Confederate Savannah Squadron to prevent its capture by the advancing forces of General W. T. Sherman.

24-25 December

A joint Army-Navy operation under Rear Admiral Porter and Major General B. F. Butler unsuccessfully attempted to take the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, by amphibious assault.

Confederate Navy
The Confederate Navy in Europe

Full account of the European activities of the Confederate navy during the American Civil War, including information on the Southerners who procured naval vessels in Great Britain and France, the construction of the ships, and the legal and political impact on the European governments that assisted in the Confederate cause.




Kindle Available
CSS Arkansas
The CSS Arkansas: A Confederate Ironclad on Western Waters

While the Monitor and Merrimack are the most famous of the Civil War ironclads, the Confederacy had another ship in its flotilla that carried high hopes and a metal hull. The makeshift CSS Arkansas, completed by Lt. Isaac Newton Brown and manned by a mixed crew of volunteers, gave the South a surge of confidence when it launched in 1862.



Hunt for the Albemarle
The Hunt for the Albemarle
Anatomy of a Gunboat War

The Confederate ironclad Albemarle was the key to the river wars in North Carolina. Flusser's search for this ship would determine the success or failure of the Union navy in securing the North Carolina coast and rivers.

Civil War Ships and Battles
Battle of the Monitor
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DVD

Halls of Honor
The U.S. Navy Museum takes you on an informed and entertaining romp through one of North America s oldest and finest military museums. The museum has been in continuous operation at the Washington Navy Yard since the American Civil War
DVD

Raise The Alabama
She was known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France
Big Guns
Ironclads and Big Guns of the Confederacy : The Journal and Letters of John M. Brooke
Information about the Confederate Navy's effort to supply its fledgling forces, the wartime diaries and letters of John M. Brooke tell the neglected story of the Confederate naval ordnance office, its innovations, and its strategic vision.
CSS Virginia
Confederate Phoenix
The CSS Virginia

The CSS Virginia of the Confederate States Navy destroyed two of the most formidable warships in the U.S. Navy. Suddenly, with this event, every wooden warship in every navy in the world became totally obsolete
Midshipman
Midshipman in Gray: Selections from Recollections of a Rebel Reefer
Kindle Available
Wolf of the Deep

Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama
In July 1862, the Confederate captain Raphael Semmes received orders to report to Liverpool, where he would take command of a secret new British-built steam warship. His mission: to prey on Union commercial vessels and undermine the North's ability to continue the war
Dual on the Roanoke CSS Albemarle
Duel on the Roanoke - The True Story of the CSS Albemarle
A 158-foot Confederate ironclad ship built in a cornfield 90 miles up North Carolina's Roanoke River, under the direction of an 18-year-old boy, and the deadly cat-and-mouse game between the two opposing captains.
Iron Clad
Ironclad of the Roanoke
Gilbert Elliott's Albemarle

The story of a Confederate Ironcald that was a powerful force until sunk by a Union Torpedo Boat after its brief stormy life. Ironic in the fact it was built in a Cornfield. Confederate Ingenunity at it finest!

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American Military
Marines