USS Fort Donelson
Confederate Blockade Runner - Robert E Lee
American Civil War

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




Confederate Subs
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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



Engagement Between the Federal Steam-Sloop Kearsarge and the Confederate War-Steamer Alabama
Engagement Between the Federal Steam-Sloop Kearsarge
and the Confederate War-Steamer Alabama

24 in. x 18 in.
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Framed   Mounted

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




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Civil War Ships and Battles


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American Civil War Exhibits

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Civil War Summary

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Women in the Civil War

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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.


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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

 

American Civil War Naval Book Titles
Lincolns Navy
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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

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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.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles
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These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.

 

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



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