| The second Tennessee -- a casemated, ironclad ram -- was
laid down at Selma, Alabama, sometime in October 1862 by Henry D. Bassett;
and she was launched late in February 1863. The ironclad was towed by steamboat
Southern Republic, whose calliope played "Dixie" as the two steamers tied
up at a landing each night during the week-long, 150-mile trip down river.
At Mobile, the ironclad's machinery, armament, and armor were installed.
The ram was commissioned in the Confederate States Navy on 16 February 1864,
Lt. James D. Johnston, CSN, in command. |
| Tennessee then became flagship for Admiral Franklin Buchanan
and proved to be a potent deterrent to any attempts by the Federal Navy to
enter Mobile Bay. Though he had wished to force the entrance two years earlier,
Rear Admiral Farragut could not seriously entertain such notions until May
1864. On the 25th, he made a run inshore to reconnoiter the defense to the
entrance and to get a good look at the South's newest ironclad.
Tennessee impressed him so much that he concluded that his wooden
ships would be no match for her -- particularly in the narrow channel dominated
by the guns of Fort Morgan. Consequently, he decided to wait for reinforcements
in the form of Union ironclads, which did not arrive on the scene until late
in July. |
| On the morning of 5 August 1864, Farragut's fleet -- strengthened
by the recently arrived single - turret monitors, Tecumseh and
Manhattan, and the double - turret monitors Chickasaw and
Winnebago -- began its move toward the entrance to Mobile Bay. As
the Union ships steamed past the guns of Fort Morgan, Tennessee and
the gunboats Gaines, Morgan and Selma moved forward
to engage them. The ironclad ram's underpowered engines gave her insufficient
speed to head the invaders off before they steamed into the bay. She exchanged
shots with the Federal ships as they moved to a point some three or four
miles up the bay, knocking the three Confederate gunboats out of the fight
in the process. |
| At that point, Tennessee headed up the bay to take on the
Federal fleet single handed. In response, every ship of that fleet tried
to grab the glory of sinking the Confederate ram. During the ensuing melee,
at least three Union ships succeeded in ramming Tennessee but failed
to damage her appreciably. Instead, she suffered her most significant damage
from Federal gunfire. Both her forward and after gun port covers jammed in
the closed position restricting her ability to fire, and her stack was first
holed and then shot away making it impossible to keep up sufficient steam
to maneuver properly. An 11-inch shell for Chickasaw spelled her doom. That
shot severed and blew away her rudder chains exposed on the after deck. Robbed
of her ability to maneuver and unable to bring a gun to bear,
Tennessee struck her colors and surrendered at about 1000. |
| Immediately following her capture, on 5 August, Tennessee
was commissioned in the United States Navy Acting Volunteer Lt. Pierre Giraud
in charge, The ironclad participated in the Federal assault on Fort Morgan
on 23 August which resulted in the for's capitulation that same day. That
autumn, she moved from Mobile to New Orleans for repairs before joining the
Mississippi Squadron. She served on the Mississippi through the end of the
war in April 1865 and briefly thereafter. On August 1865, Tennessee
was placed out of commission and was laid up at New Orleans. There, she remained
until 27 November 1867 when she was sold at auction to J. F. Armstrong for
scrapping. |
Tonnage, 1,273; Length, 209'; Beam, 48'; Draft,
14'; Speed, 6 knots; Armament, two 7-1/8" Brooke Rifles, four 6" Brooke
Rifles. |
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