USS Fort Donelson (1864-1865).
Previously the British steamship Giraffe (built 1860) and the Confederate Blockade Runner Robert E. Lee .

USS Fort Donelson , a 642-ton iron-hulled side-wheel gunboat, was built in 1860 at Glasgow, Scotland, as the commercial steamer Giraffe . In 1862 she became the Confederate blockade runner Robert E. Lee and, during the next year, successfully penetrated the Federal blockade of the South more than twenty times. While attempting to reach Wilmington, North Carolina, on 9 November 1863, the ship was captured by the U.S. Navy ships James Adger and Iron Age .

Purchased in January 1864, converted to a warship and placed in commission in June 1864, Fort Donelson was sent back to the waters off North Carolina as a unit of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Her most notable action was participation in the mid-January 1865 operation that captured Fort Fisher, thus eliminating Wilmington as a blockade-running port.

Some months later, when ordered to the Gulf of Mexico, she was found to be in poor condition and was sent back north. USS Fort Donelson was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in August and sold in October 1865. She subsequently returned to civilian employment under the name Isabella and, in 1869, became the Chilean Navy ship Concepcion .

At anchor, circa 1864-1865.

Built in Scotland in 1860 as the commercial steamship Giraffe , Robert E. Lee was captured on 9 November 1863 and later became USS Fort Donelson .

Confederate Ironclad 1861-65
Every aspect of Confederate ironclads is covered: design, construction, armor, armament, life on board, strategy, tactics, and actual combat actions.





Confederate Submarines and Torpedo Vessels 1861-65
Interesting information and many excellent illustrations. It addresses the CSA David class torpedo boats and the Hunley (and its predecessors), as well as Union examples such as the Alligator and the Spuyten Duyvil

1860 Enfield Civil War Musketoon
This piece is a full-size non-firing reproduction of the rifle used in the Civil War. The body is made of European hardwood





Civil War Cannon
Collectible Models and childrens playsets
Miniature Collectible Civil War Cannon12 pound Civil War field cannon replica weapon

Sid Meier's Civil War Collection
Take command of either Confederate or Union troops and command them to attack from the trees, rally around the general, or do any number of other realistic military actions.



History Channel
Civil War A Nation Divided
Rally the troops and organize a counterattack -- Your strategic decision and talent as a commander will decide if the Union is preserved or if Dixie wins its independence

Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy
A tantalizing glimpse into the hardships endured by the naval leadership to build and recruit a fighting force. The seaman endured periods of boredom, punctuated by happy social times and terrifying bouts of battle horror

Kindle Available

Glory in the Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy
From Norfolk to Hampton Roads, from Roanoke Island to the nighttime battle on the river below New Orleans, Glory in the Name tells the story of the Confederate States Navy, and the brave men who carried forward against overwhelming odds

Ironclad Down: USS Merrimack-CSS Virginia from Design to Destruction
A treasure trove of detailed information about one of history s most famous vessels. Describing Stephen Russell Mallory, John Mercer Brooke, John Luke Porter, et al.--who conceived, designed and built one of the world's first ironclads

American Civil War Fortifications
Coastal Brick and Stone Forts
The design, construction and operational history of fortifications, such as Fort Sumter, Fort Morgan and Fort Pulaski. Stone and brick forts stretched from New England to the Florida Keys, and as far as the Mississippi River. A handful of key sites remained in Union hands throughout the war, the remainder had to be won back through bombardment or assault.

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.