CSS Scorpion was a Squib-class torpedo boat procured late in 1864 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...

 and armed with a spar torpedo

Spar torpedo

A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...

 fitted to her stem. She performed picket duty 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...

 under command of Lieutenant E. Lakin, CSN.

On January 23 to January 25, 1865, torpedo boats
Scorpion, CSS Hornet, and CSS Wasp, under overall command of Lieutenant Charles W. Read, CSN, joined Flag Officer J.K. Mitchell's 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...

 in the abortive attack on General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

's main supply base at City Point, Virginia

City Point, Virginia

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...

. Attempting to rejoin her consort, the ironclad 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...

, aground above Trent's Reach, Scorpion ended up fast ashore also and was severely damaged by the magazine explosion which destroyed nearby gunboat 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....

, January 24. Abandoned, she fell into Federal hands.

See also USS Scorpion

USS Scorpion

USS Scorpion may refer to one of six vessels of the United States Navy:, a block sloop in commission from 1812 to 1814 that was part of Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla in the War of 1812, a schooner in commission from 1813 to 1814 serving on the upper Great Lakes in the War of 1812, a...

 and HMS Scorpion

HMS Scorpion

Ten vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Scorpion after the carnivorous arthropod:* HMS Scorpion , a 14-gun sloop which sank in the irish Sea in 1762.* HMS Scorpion , a 16-gun sloop sold in 1802....

.