CSS Richmond, an ironclad ram, was built at Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter

John L. Porter

John Luke Porter , whose father was a shipwright at Portsmouth, Virginia, was born in 1813. He became a United States Navy civilian employee during the 1840s and a Naval Constructor in 1859. After resigning from the U.S. Navy in May 1861, he began working for the Confederate States Navy at the...

 with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of 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...

, whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad 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...

. Consequently she was sometimes referred to as Virginia II, Virginia No. 2 or Young Virginia in the South and as Merrimack No. 2, New Merrimack or Young Merrimack by Union

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writers, months before the actual CSS Virginia II

CSS Virginia II

CSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her building. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's...

 was ever laid down.

Begun in March 1862, Richmond was launched May 6 and towed up to the Confederate capital that very night to escape Federal forces again in possession of Norfolk Navy Yard and the lower 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...

. Richmond was thus finished at 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...

 in July 1862 and placed in commission by Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 Robert B. Pegram, CSN

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...

 as part of the James River Squadron

James River Squadron

The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of the State of Virginia as part of the Virginia State Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River, which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond...

. Twenty-two inches of yellow pine and oak plus 4 inches of iron protected her roof and "she is ironed 3½ feet below her load lines," wrote Shipyard Superintendent John H. Burroughs

John H. Burroughs

John H. Burroughs was a naval engineer and shipwright who played an important role in the construction of the Confederate ironclad warships CSS Virginia and CSS Richmond, and who later served as Superintendent of the Gosport Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, while it was under occupation by...

.

During 1863 and early 1864 the James front was quiet, but from May 1864 momentous events followed in quick succession. The Confederates had three new ironclads in Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 French Forrest

French Forrest

French Forrest was an American naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later the Confederate States Navy. His combat experience prior to the American Civil War included service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:Born in Maryland, he became a...

's squadron there and minor actions were frequent.

During 1864 Richmond, under Lieutenant

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...

 William Harwar Parker

William Harwar Parker

William Harwar Parker was an officer in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. His auto-biography, entitled Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841-1865, provides a unique insight into the United States Navy of the mid-19th century during an era when the Age of Sail was...

, CSN, took part in engagements at Dutch Gap

Dutch Gap

Dutch Gap is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia near the site of the lost 17th-century city of Henricus.In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale, according to a method he had learned while campaigning in Holland, cut a ditch across a portion of land behind town...

 on August 13, Fort Harrison

Fort Harrison

Fort Harrison was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the American Civil War. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of fortifications that extended from New Market Road to the James River that also...

 on September 29-October 1, and Chaffin's Bluff

Chaffin's Bluff

Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, along the James River. Chaffin's Bluff on the north side of the river opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond...

 on October 22. On January 23-24, 1865, she was under heavy fire while aground with Virginia II above the obstructions at Trent's Reach — at an angle that caused Federal projectiles to ricochet harmlessly off their casemates. But Richmonds tender, CSS Scorpion

CSS Scorpion

CSS Scorpion was a Squib-class torpedo boat procured late in 1864 by the Confederate States Navy and armed with a spar torpedo fitted to her stem. She performed picket duty in the James River under command of Lieutenant E. Lakin, CSN....

, not thus armored, was severely damaged by the explosion of CSS Drewry

CSS Drewry

CSS Drewry was a wooden gunboat with foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest's James River Squadron sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN, in command....

's magazine as Drewry ended her life, lashed alongside Richmond. The ironclads withdrew under their Chaffin's Bluff batteries for a few weeks but Richmond had to be destroyed by Rear Admiral

Rear admiral (United States)

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...

 Raphael Semmes

Raphael Semmes

For other uses, see Semmes .Raphael Semmes was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 - 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 - 1865. During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama, taking a record sixty-nine prizes...

, CSN, squadron commander, prior to evacuation of the capital on April 3.

Commanders

The commanders of the CSS Richmond were:

• Commander Robert B. Pegram (November 1862-May 1864)
• Commander William Harwar Parker
  William Harwar Parker
  William Harwar Parker was an officer in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. His auto-biography, entitled Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841-1865, provides a unique insight into the United States Navy of the mid-19th century during an era when the Age of Sail was...
  
   (May-June 1864)
• Lieutenant John S. Maury (July-October 26, 1864)
• Commander William A. Webb
  William A. Webb
  William A. Webb was an American sailor and Mexican-American War veteran who resigned his United States Navy commission after more than 20 years of service to join the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War...
  
   (October-November 1864)
• Commodore John McIntosh Kell (December 30, 1864-February 1865)
• Lieutenant Hamilton Henderson Dalton (February 1865-)
• Passed Midshipman J.A. Peters (during February 1865)