View source for CSS Muscogee

{{Short description|Confederate river warship of American Civil War}}
{{About|the ironclad ram that operated on the Chattahoochee River|the converted CSS Jackson that was built on the Mississippi River|CSS Jackson}}
{{good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=CSS Muscogee.jpg
|Ship caption=The incomplete CSS ''Jackson'' on the [[Chattahoochee River]], shortly after December 22, 1864
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Confederate States of America]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|1863}}
|Ship name=''Muscogee''
|Ship namesake=[[Muscogee]] people
|Ship renamed=''Jackson'', sometime in 1864
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Columbus Navy Yard]], [[Columbus, Georgia]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down=1862
|Ship launched=December 22, 1864
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Burned, April 17, 1865
|Ship status=Wreck [[Marine salvage|salvaged]], 1962–1963; on display at the [[National Civil War Naval Museum]], Columbus, Georgia
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Casemate ironclad]]
|Ship tonnage=1,250 tons
|Ship length={{convert|223|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|59|ft|m|abbr=on|0}} 
|Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} 
|Ship depth=
|Ship power=4 × [[boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=2 × propellers; 2 × [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engines]]
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=
|Ship crew=
|Ship armament=*4 × {{cvt|7|in|0}} [[Brooke rifle]]s
*2 × {{cvt|6.4|in|0}} Brooke rifles
|Ship armor= [[Casemate]]: {{cvt|4|in|0}}
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = CSS ''Muscogee'' and ''Chattahoochee''
| nrhp_type =
| added = May 13, 1970
| refnum = 70000212
}}
|}

'''CSS ''Muscogee''''' was an [[casemate ironclad]] built in [[Columbus, Georgia]] for the [[Confederate States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Her original [[paddle steamer|paddle]] configuration was judged a failure when she could not be [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on the first attempt in 1864. She had to be rebuilt to use dual [[propeller]] propulsion. Later renamed CSS ''Jackson'' and armed with four 7-inch (178&nbsp;mm) and two 6.4-inch (163&nbsp;mm) cannons. She was captured while still [[fitting out]] and was set ablaze by [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] troops in April 1865. Her wreck was [[Marine salvage|salvaged]] in 1962–1963 and turned over to the [[National Civil War Naval Museum]] in Columbus for display. The ironclad's remains were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1970.

==Background and description==
''Muscogee'' was originally built as a [[sister ship]] to the casemate ironclad paddle steamer [[CSS Missouri|CSS ''Missouri'']], to a rough design by the Chief Naval Constructor, [[John L. Porter]], as a sternwheel-powered ironclad. She proved to be too heavy to be launched on January 1, 1864, and had to be reconstructed and lengthened to a modified [[CSS Albemarle|CSS ''Albemarle'']]-class design, based on Porter's advice during his visit to the ironclad on January 23.<ref>Bisbee, pp. 162, 176; Holcombe, p. 213</ref><ref name=fan>{{cite web |title=Save the Fantail |url=https://www.portcolumbus.org/article |publisher=National Civil War Naval Museum |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref><ref name=s3/>

As part of the reconstruction, the ironclad was lengthened to {{convert|223|ft|6|in|m|1}} [[length overall|overall]] after a new [[quarterdeck|fantail]] was built on the stern. She had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|59|ft|m|0}} and a [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|8|ft|m|1}}.<ref name=s3>Silverstone, p. 153</ref> The removal of her sternwheel allowed her [[casemate]] to be shortened by {{convert|54|ft|m|1}}, which saved a considerable amount of weight.<ref name=fan/> The ironclad had a [[gross register tonnage]] of 1,250 tons.<ref name=s3/>

As originally designed, ''Muscogee'' was propelled by a sternwheel that was partially enclosed by a recess at the aft end of the casemate; the upper portion of the paddle wheel protruded above the casemate and would have been exposed to enemy fire. The sternwheel was probably powered by a pair of inclined two-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engines]] taken from the steamboat ''Time'' using steam provided by four [[return-flue boiler]]s to the engines. As part of her reconstruction, ''Time''{{'}}s engines were replaced by a pair of single-cylinder, horizontal direct-acting steam engines from the adjacent [[Columbus Naval Iron Works]], each of which drove a single {{convert|7|ft|6|in|m|1|adj=on}} propeller; the original boilers appear to have been retained.<ref>Bisbee, pp. 13–14, 18, 176</ref>

''Muscogee''{{'}}s casemate was built with ten [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#G|gun ports]], two each at the bow and stern and three on the [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]. The ship was armed with four {{convert|7|in|adj=on|0}} and two {{convert|6.4|in|adj=on|0}} [[Brooke rifle]]s. The fore and aft cannons were on [[pivot gun|pivot gun mounts]]. The 7-inch guns weighed about {{convert|15300|lb|kg}} and fired {{convert|110|lb|adj=on}} shells. The equivalent statistics for the 6.4-inch gun were {{convert|10700|lb|kg}} with {{convert|95|lb|adj=on}} shells.<ref>Silverstone, p. xx</ref> The casemate was protected by {{convert|4|in|mm|0}} of [[wrought-iron]] armor,<ref name=s3/> and the armor plates on the deck and sides of the fantail were {{convert|2|in|mm}} thick.<ref name=fan/>

==History==
[[File:NH 45769 CSS Muscogee.jpg|thumb|The hull of ''Jackson'' after recovery]]
[[File:21-18-103-propeller.jpg|thumb|CSS ''Jackson''{{'}}s propeller at the [[National Civil War Naval Museum]]]]
''Muscogee'' was [[laid down]] during 1862 at the [[Columbus Naval Yard]] at Columbus, Georgia, on the banks of the [[Chattahoochee River]].<ref name=s3/> The first attempt to launch her failed on January 1, 1864, despite the high water on the river and the assistance of the steamboat ''Mariana''. Porter came down afterwards to examine the ironclad and recommended that she be rebuilt with screw propulsion rather than the sternwheel. She was finally launched on December 22, having been renamed ''Jackson'' at some point during the year.<ref name=fan/> A shortage of iron plate greatly hindered the ironclad's completion.<ref>Canney, p. 68</ref>

On April 17, 1865, after the Union's [[Wilson's Raid]]ers captured the city during the [[Battle of Columbus, Georgia]], ''Jackson'' was set ablaze by Union troops while still fitting out and had her [[Mooring (watercraft)|moorings]] cut. The ship drifted downriver some {{convert|30|mi}} and ran aground on a [[sandbar]]. She was not thought to be worth salvaging because of the fire damage, but the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] [[dredging|dredged]] around her wreck in 1910 and salvaged her machinery.<ref>Bisbee, p. 177</ref> A Union cavalry officer's report of the ironclad's condition at the time of her capture said that she had four cannon aboard and had a solid oak [[naval ram|ram]] {{convert|15|ft|m|1}} deep. The only detail about her armor that he recorded was that it curved over the edge of the deck and extended below the [[waterline]].<ref>Canney, p. 69</ref>

=== Recovery ===
CSS ''Jackson''{{'}}s remains were raised in two pieces; the {{convert|106|ft|m|1|adj=on}} stern section in 1962 and the {{convert|74|ft|m|1|adj=on}} bow section the following year. They were then placed on exhibit at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vance |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Voreis |first2=Sarah |title=Civil War Naval Museum |url=http://www.chattahoocheeheritage.org/2013/04/civl-war-naval-museum/ |website=Chattahoochee Heritage Project |publisher=Auburn University School of Communication |access-date=21 August 2020 |date=16 April 2013}}</ref> A thick metal white frame outline, indicating the various dimensions of ''Jackson''{{'}}s original fore and aft deck arrangements and armored casemate, is now erected directly above the hull's wooden remains to simulate for visitors the ironclad's original size and shapes.<ref>{{cite web |title=CSS Jackson |url=https://www.portcolumbus.org/exhibits-events?lightbox=dataItem-isj1xzso |publisher=National Civil War Naval Museum |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref> The ship's fantail, which was stored outside in a [[pole barn]], was partially destroyed in a fire on 1 June 2020.<ref name=fan/>

The ironclad was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on May 13, 1970.<ref name="focus">{{Cite web |title=C.S.S. Muscogee and Chattahoochee (gunboats) |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/70000212 |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
*[[Bibliography of early American naval history#American Civil War|Bibliography of American Civil War naval history]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book |last1=Bisbee |first1=Saxon T. |title=Engines of Rebellion: Confederate Ironclads and Steam Engineering in the American Civil War |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |isbn=978-0-81731-986-1|date=2018}}
*{{cite book|last1=Canney|first1=Donald L.|title=The Confederate Steam Navy 1861–1865 |date=2015 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-4824-2}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Holcombe |first1=Robert|year=1988|title=Question 17/86|journal=Warship International|volume=XXV|issue=2|pages=213–214|issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite book|last=Silverstone |first=Paul H.|title=Civil War Navies 1855–1883 |publisher= Routledge|location=New York|year=2006|series=The U.S. Navy Warship Series|isbn=0-415-97870-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships |year=1984 |publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

===Further reading===
*{{cite book|last=Still|first=William N. Jr. |title=Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads|isbn=0-87249-454-3|orig-year=1971|year=1985|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|location=Columbia, South Carolina}}

{{CSN ironclads}}
{{1865 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muscogee}}
[[Category:Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:1864 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1865]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in rivers]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Muscogee County, Georgia]]