CSS Calhoun and Privateer USS Calhoun Civil War Confederate and Union Naval Ship
USS Calhoun (1862-1864). Previously CSS Calhoun (1861-1862). Later U.S. Army steamer General Sedgewick (1864-1865)
USS Calhoun , an 508-ton side-wheel gunboat, was built in 1851 at New York City as the civilian steamer Calhoun . She became a Confederate privateer in May 1861 and operated successfully over the next five months, taking six prizes. The Confederate Navy took her over later in the year for service as a gunboat in the lower Mississippi River area. CSS Calhoun took part
in the attack on Federal warships at the Mississippi River's Head of Passes on 12 October 1861. Three months later, on 23 January 1862, she was captured by USS Samuel Rotan off the river's Southwest Pass.
The U.S. Navy soon acquired the steamer for its own purposes, placing her in commission as USS Calhoun in March 1862. She initially served as a blockader, capturing several vessels off the Mississippi and in inland waters. Beginning in November 1862, she participated in several engagements with Confederate warships and forces ashore, helping to destroy the steamer J.A. Cotton
on 14 January 1863 and the ram Queen of the West on 14 April 1863. She operated in the Mississippi Sound area from mid-1863 and in February 1864 was Rear Admiral Farragut's flagship during a series of bombardments of Fort Powell, at the western entrance of Mobile Bay.
Decommissioned in May 1864, Calhoun was turned over to the U.S. Army in early June. She served as the Army steamer General Sedgewick for the rest of the Civil War. Sold in 1865, she regained her old name and had a long subsequent career as the SS Calhoun
Artwork by Assistant Engineer John Everding, USN, circa 1862-64
This vessel, considerably modified, served as CSS Calhoun in 1861-62, USS Calhoun in 1862-64 and as the U.S. Army steamer General Sedgewick in 1864-65
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.
Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 Every aspect of Confederate ironclads is
covered: design, construction, armor, armament, life on board, strategy, tactics, and actual combat actions.
History Channel Civil War Secret Missions There are about a half-dozen different small arms types, but the Henry is the best for rapid repeating fire and least reloading. The shotgun they give you is useless: you must aim spot-on to affect an enemy, so why not just use the rifle? Grenades are useful at times.
American Civil War Marines 1861-65 Marines wearing blue and grey fought in many
dramatic actions afloat and ashore – ship-to-ship engagements, cutting-out expeditions, and coastal landings. This book offers a comprehensive summary of all such battles, illustrated with rare early photographs
Union River Ironclad 1861-65 At the start of the American Civil War, neither side
had warships on the Mississippi River. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads
The Story of the H.L. Hunley During the Civil War, Union forces blockade the port of
Charleston so the Confederate army seeks a way to attrack the Yankee Ships. George Dixon is part of the group of men given the task of creating and building the "fish boat," a submarine. The H.L. Hunley ultimately sets out on its mission to sink Yankee ships, but fails to return, its whereabouts unknown.
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
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
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers,
a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
Civil War Journal The Conflict Begins These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the
war.
