CSS William Hewes
Civil War Confederate Navy Ship

Ella and Annie (Blockade Running Steamship, 1860);
Originally SS William G. Hewes and CSS William G. Hewes ; later USS Malvern (1863-1865) and SS William G. Hewes

William G. Hewes , a 747-ton iron side-wheel steamship, was built at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1860 for commerical service between the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. She made her maiden voyage early in 1861, as north-south tensions were expanding toward civil war. The steamer was seized by the State of Louisiana in late April 1861, initially with the idea of converting her into a gunboat, but instead became a blockade runner operating out of New Orleans. She was moved to Carolina ports after Federal Forces captured the lower Mississippi River in April 1862.

Sometime thereafter, William G. Hewes was transferred to private ownership and renamed Ella and Annie . She continued to run the Federal blockade on behalf of the Confederacy until 9 November 1863, when USS Niphon captured her off New Inlet, North Carolina, during an attempt to enter the port of Wilmington. Ella and Annie was subsequently purchased by the U.S. Navy and commissioned as USS Malvern . Sold at auction in October 1865, she reentered civil employment under her original name. Following a long and varied career, the steamship William G. Hewes was wrecked off Cuba on 20 February 1895.

Artwork by R.G. Skerrett, 1900.
Built as the steamship William G. Hewes in 1860, Ella and Annie was captured off New Inlet, North Carolina, in November 1863. She later became USS Malvern .



Civil War Ships and Battles
Civil War Submarines
Civil War Naval Timeline
American Civil War Exhibits
State Battle Maps
Civil War Summary
Civil War Timeline
Women in the Civil War
Battles by Campaign



American Military Gear Recruiter and History
United States Marines gear history and support of Semper Fi Fund

DVD DVD Book Book

Quest for the Monitor
The first group of non-governmental divers to dive the Monitor. All diving operations were conducted under the close supervision of NOAA.This was beautifully photographed by veteran lensman Ric O'Donnell and narrated and written by Jackie Stone. The video shows a lot of action both on the deck of the dive boat as well as wonderfully clear underwater views of the Monitor
Raise the Alabama
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, where the Alabama had gone for repairs.RAISE THE ALABAMA! descends into the murky depths of the English Channel with the marine archeology team led by the renowned Gordon Watts. 200 feet beneath these foreign waters, the legendary Confederate ship is surrendering her secrets, despite weather conditions that make it safe to dive only a few days a year. The program also documents the Alabama's extraordinary career, from her construction in Liverpool to the surprise attacks that made her the scourge of Union shipping and the valiant, 90-minute battle with the Kearsarge
War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor
David Mindell has combined a sensitive and incisive reading of the documentary evidence with insightful historical analysis to illuminate not only his central theme, the experience of battle in an emerging machine age, but also the process of invention, negotiation, and politics that brought the Monitor into existence and the quite different process of narration, memory, and imagination that invested the ship and its exploits so heavily with symbolic meaning.
Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy
Ringle is among the first to examine the many aspects of sailors' lives during the American Civil War. He examines topics such as the recruiting efforts of the U.S. Navy, compensation and promotion, training, entertainment, and disease to name but a few. The extensive research and sheer fact that this is one of the first books to examine this aspect of CW naval history makes it a must for any American naval library

 

The Complete DVD History of U.S. Wars (1700-2004)
War has always been part of the American experience. From the time the first colonists set foot upon North America's shores, they were in conflict with the Native inhabitants. One hundred years later the colonies suddenly found themselves an extension of the conflicts in Europe. Less than a century later, the Revolutionary War freed the fledgling United States from its British overlords and European entanglements. Born and nurtured in war, America grew in strength and power until at the beginning of the 21st century it was the foremost military power in the world.

 

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
US Naval Archives