CSS Jamestown
Encyclopedia
CSS Jamestown, originally a side-wheel, passenger steamer
, was built at New York City
in 1853, and seized at Richmond
, Virginia
in 1861 for the Commonwealth of Virginia Navy
. She was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy
the following July, and renamed CSS Thomas Jefferson but was generally referred to as Jamestown, after Jamestown, Virginia
.
Brigantine
-rigged Jamestown was designed and constructed by the well-known shipbuilder William H. Webb for the New York and Old Dominion Line as a sister to Yorktown, which became CSS Patrick Henry
.
Joseph Nicholson Barney
, CSN, in command, she was actively employed until the end of her career in May 1862. Her service was highlighted by the Battle of Hampton Roads
on March 8–9 1862, during which she assisted CSS Virginia
in attacking USS Congress
and USS Cumberland
and stood by during the battle between USS Monitor
and Virginia. The Confederate Congress tendered special thanks to the officers and crew of Jamestown for their "gallant conduct and bearing" in combat.
Some 4 weeks later, on April 11, 1862, Jamestown, Virginia and five other Confederate ships sailed from Norfolk, Virginia
, into Hampton Roads
in full view of the Union
squadron there. When it became clear that the Federal ships were not going to attack, Jamestown, covered by Virginia and the others, moved in, captured three merchant ships, and helped by CSS Raleigh
, towed them to Norfolk. The merchant ships were the brigs Marcus of Stockton, NJ and Sabout of Providence, RI and the schooner Catherine T. Dix of Accomac County, VA. Their flags were hoisted "Union-side down" to taunt the Federals into fighting. Later that month Jamestown was despatched from Norfolk to cooperate with Major General
John Bankhead Magruder, CSA
, in the James River
, and early in May she was used to transport army sick and wounded to Richmond, Virginia
.
On the night of May 5, Jamestown and Patrick Henry proceeded to Norfolk and returned the following night with CSS Richmond
, CSS Hampton
and ordnance store boats, passing the Federal battery at Newport News, Virginia
unobserved on both occasions. A second attempt to return to Norfolk met with failure.
On May 8, Jamestown was ordered to notify Stephen Mallory
, Secretary of the Confederate States Navy, of the continuing engagement of two Federal gunboat
s and ironclad USS Galena
with the Confederate batteries at Day's Point. Unable to carry out her assignment, Jamestown retired up the James River as far as Drewry's Bluff, where on May 15, 1862, she was sunk to obstruct the channel.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, was built at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1853, and seized at Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1861 for the Commonwealth of Virginia Navy
Virginia State Navy
A Virginia State Navy existed twice. During the American Revolutionary War, the provisional government of the Virginia Colony authorized the purchase, outfitting, and manning of armed vessels to protect the colony's waters from threats posed it by the Royal Navy.Early in the American Civil War,...
. She was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
the following July, and renamed CSS Thomas Jefferson but was generally referred to as Jamestown, after Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
.
Brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
-rigged Jamestown was designed and constructed by the well-known shipbuilder William H. Webb for the New York and Old Dominion Line as a sister to Yorktown, which became CSS Patrick Henry
CSS Patrick Henry
CSS Patrick Henry was built in New York City in 1859 by the renowned William H. Webb for the Old Dominion Steam Ship Line as the civilian steamer Yorktown, a brigantine-rigged side-wheel steamer. She carried passengers and freight between Richmond, Virginia and New York City...
.
Career
With Lt.Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Joseph Nicholson Barney
Joseph Nicholson Barney
Joseph Nicholson Barney was born in 1818 in Maryland, son of John Barney and Elizabeth Nicholson Hindman. He married Eliza Jacobs Rogers on June 9, 1846 in New Castle County, Delaware. He married a second time to Anne Seddon Dornin...
, CSN, in command, she was actively employed until the end of her career in May 1862. Her service was highlighted by the Battle of Hampton Roads
Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies...
on March 8–9 1862, during which she assisted CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
in attacking USS Congress
USS Congress (1841)
USS Congress — the fourth United States Navy ship to carry that name — was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, .Congress served with distinction in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean...
and USS Cumberland
USS Cumberland
Three ships of the United States Navy have been named Cumberland, after the Cumberland River.*The , a 50-gun sailing frigate launched in 1842.*The , a steel-hulled sailing bark, was launched 17 August 1904....
and stood by during the battle between USS Monitor
USS Monitor
USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
and Virginia. The Confederate Congress tendered special thanks to the officers and crew of Jamestown for their "gallant conduct and bearing" in combat.
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, into Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
in full view of the Union
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
squadron there. When it became clear that the Federal ships were not going to attack, Jamestown, covered by Virginia and the others, moved in, captured three merchant ships, and helped by CSS Raleigh
CSS Raleigh (1861)
CSS Raleigh was originally a small, iron-hulled, propeller-driven towing steamer operating on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. She was taken over by the State of North Carolina in May 1861, and transferred to the Confederate States the following July. Her commanding officer during 1861-1862 was...
, towed them to Norfolk. The merchant ships were the brigs Marcus of Stockton, NJ and Sabout of Providence, RI and the schooner Catherine T. Dix of Accomac County, VA. Their flags were hoisted "Union-side down" to taunt the Federals into fighting. Later that month Jamestown was despatched from Norfolk to cooperate with Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
John Bankhead Magruder, CSA
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
, in the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
, and early in May she was used to transport army sick and wounded to Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
On the night of May 5, Jamestown and Patrick Henry proceeded to Norfolk and returned the following night with CSS Richmond
CSS Richmond
CSS Richmond, an ironclad ram, was built at Gosport Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of Virginia, whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad CSS Virginia. Consequently she was sometimes referred to as Virginia II, Virginia No. 2...
, CSS Hampton
CSS Hampton
CSS Hampton was a wooden gunboat of the Confederate States Navy, one of the few Hampton class gunboats to be built.Hampton was built at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1862 and based there until May 1862, when the yard was abandoned and the fleet moved up the James River...
and ordnance store boats, passing the Federal battery at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
unobserved on both occasions. A second attempt to return to Norfolk met with failure.
On May 8, Jamestown was ordered to notify Stephen Mallory
Stephen Mallory
Stephen Russell Mallory served in the United States Senate as, Senator from Florida from 1850 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the American Civil War. For much of that period, he was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs...
, Secretary of the Confederate States Navy, of the continuing engagement of two Federal gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s and ironclad USS Galena
USS Galena (1862)
USS Galena — an ironclad screw steamer — was one of the first three ironclads, each of a different design, built by the Union Navy during the American Civil War....
with the Confederate batteries at Day's Point. Unable to carry out her assignment, Jamestown retired up the James River as far as Drewry's Bluff, where on May 15, 1862, she was sunk to obstruct the channel.
Commanders
The commanders of the CSS Jamestown were:- Lt. Joseph Nicholson BarneyJoseph Nicholson BarneyJoseph Nicholson Barney was born in 1818 in Maryland, son of John Barney and Elizabeth Nicholson Hindman. He married Eliza Jacobs Rogers on June 9, 1846 in New Castle County, Delaware. He married a second time to Anne Seddon Dornin...
(1861-1862) - Lt. George W. Harrison (May 1862, temporarily)