CSS Junaluska
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | CSS Junaluska |
| Namesake | Junaluska (Cherokee chief) |
| Launched | 1860 |
| Commissioned | 1861 |
| Out of service | August 1862 |
| Fate | Dismantled and sold |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam tug gunboat |
| Displacement | 79 long tons |
| Length | ? |
| Beam | ? |
| Draft | ? |
| Propulsion | Steam engine powering 1 propeller |
| Speed | ? |
| Complement | ? |
| Armament | 2 cannon |
CSS Junaluska, also known as Younalaska, was a small propeller-driven steam tug armed as a gunboat and used by the Confederate States Navy to defend coastal Virginia and North Carolina during the American Civil War. She was built at Philadelphia in 1860 and purchased by the Confederate Navy at Norfolk, Virginia in 1861. She was named for Junaluska, a chief of the Cherokees who once saved Andrew Jackson's life.[1] She assisted CSS Curlew and CSS Raleigh in capturing the United States armed tug Fanny in Loggerhead Inlet, North Carolina on 1 October 1861. She continued to operate along the coast of North Carolina until August 1862, when she was dismantled and sold.[2]
Junaluska was armed with two cannon, displaced 79 long tons, and had a steam engine driving one propeller.[2]
Service history
Junaluska was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships states that Younalaska was an alternate name of the vessel,[3] while naval historian Paul Silverstone states that it was her original name. A screw steamer,[4] she was built as a tugboat and had a tonnage of 79 tons.[3] She had an iron hull.[5] The Confederate States Navy purchased her in 1861 for service in the American Civil War while Junaluska was at Norfolk, Virginia. She then served along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina.[3]
On August 30, Junaluska ferried part of the 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment to Roanoke Island, and on September 1 made a trip to Fort Hatteras and Fort Oregon on the Outer Banks.[6] She was unarmed until September 30, when she was armed with a single 6-pounder cannon.[7] Along with the gunboats CSS Raleigh and CSS Curlew,[8] participated in a naval expedition against the gunboat USS Fanny the next day.[4] At this time, Junaluska was commanded by Midshipman William H. Vernon.[9] Fanny arrived off of Chicamacomico, North Carolina, early in the afternoon.[10] While some of the ship's crew were off the vessel on a launch, the three Confederate vessels approached Fanny at about 4:00 pm. Junaluska was the trailing vessel and was unable to get within range of the Union Navy ship.[11] Fanny's path of retreat was cut off, and she surrendered after a fight of about 35 minutes.[12] Afterwards the action against Fanny, Junaluska continued to serve off the North Carolina coast,[3] although an official Confederate naval report dated May 2, 1862, placed her in the Richmond, Virginia, area.[13] In August 1862, she was sold and broken up.[3]
Citations
- ^ a b CSS Junaluska at Naval History & Heritage Command
- ^ a b c d e "Junaluska". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ a b Silverstone 1989, p. 240.
- ^ Oxford 2010, p. 83.
- ^ Oxford 2010, pp. 83–84.
- ^ Oxford 2010, pp. 97–98.
- ^ Oxford 2010, p. 97.
- ^ Oxford 2010, p. 99.
- ^ Oxford 2010, p. 104.
- ^ Oxford 2010, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Oxford 2010, pp. 108, 110.
- ^ Official Records 1898, p. 781.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. The entry may be found here
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