Editing CSS Fredericksburg (section)

==Background and description==
In mid-1862, ''Fredericksburg'' was [[laid down]] by the [[Confederate States Navy]] in the [[Rocketts Landing]] area of [[Richmond, Virginia]] to a plan by the Chief Naval Constructor, [[John L. Porter]]. The ship was one of the ironclads built to Porter's shallow-[[draft (nautical)|draft]] "diamond hull" configuration with a flat bottom and hull sides that met the base of the casemate at a 90° angle. By substituting straight lines and angles for the traditional keel and curving frame of the hull, Porter optimized his design to be quickly built by ordinary carpenters, rather than highly skilled [[shipwright]]s that were in short supply in the Confederacy, at the cost of being able to mount fewer guns than those ironclads built with traditional hulls. Their shallow draft and flat bottom restricted these ships to rivers and inland waters.{{sfn|Canney|2015|pp=47, 56}}

Porter supervised the work of constructing ''Fredericksburg'',{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=85}} but it is uncertain how exactly he followed his design as surviving documents disagree in many ways. The plan showed an [[long overall|overall length]] of {{convert|188|ft|m|1}} and a [[length between perpendiculars]] of {{convert|170|ft|m|1}} with a maximum [[beam (ship)|beam]] of {{convert|40|ft|3|in|m|1}}, a moulded beam of {{convert|34|ft|m|1}} and a [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#depth of hold|depth of hold]] of {{cvt|9|ft|m|1}}.{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=56}} The naval historian Saxon T. Bisbee quotes a beam of {{convert|40|ft|1}} with a depth of hold of {{convert|10|ft|10|in|m}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|9|to|10|ft|m|1}}{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=160}} while US Navy historian Paul J. Marcello provides a figure of {{convert|13|ft|6|in|m}} for the ironclad's draft.<ref name="DANFS">Marcello</ref> She had a [[tonnage]] of 700 [[long tons]].{{sfn|Silverstone|2006|p=154}}{{refn|No surviving document specifies the exact type of tonnage for ''Fredericksburg''.{{sfn|Silverstone|2006|p=xi}}|group=Note}} The ship's [[casemate]] was shaped like a rectangle and Porter's plan showed two [[pilothouses]] on the casemate's roof, although operational reports from her [[captain (nautical)|captain]] make no mention of the rear pilothouse.{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=56}}

The [[Tredegar Iron Works]] in Richmond was contracted to produce her propulsion system,{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=160}} although Bisbee believes that it is possible that the Richmond-based Shockoe Foundry may have produced them.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|pp=89{{en dash}}90}} The ship was propelled by a pair of {{convert|24|in|cm|adj=mid|-diameter|0}} [[marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engines]] that each drove a {{convert|7|ft|adj=on|m|1}} propeller. Porter's plan shows ''Fredericksburg'' as having three horizontal [[steam boiler|boilers]] measuring 7 feet tall, {{convert|5|ft|m|1}} in diameter, and {{convert|15|ft|m|1}} long, but it is not known if the final construction varied from the blueprints or not. Bisbee believes that the boilers probably were of the [[fire-tube boiler|fire-tube]] type.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|pp=193–194}} ''Fredericksburg'' could move at a speed of about {{convert|5|kn|lk=in}} and had a crew of 150.<ref name="DANFS" /> She also carried about 20 to 25 [[Confederate States Marines]] in case of a battle that required [[naval boarding]].{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=113}}

''Fredericksburg'' eventually received her armament of one {{convert|7|in|0|adj=on}} [[Brooke rifle]] on a [[pivot gun|pivot mount]] in the [[bow (ship)|bow]], two {{convert|6.4|in|0|adj=on}} Brooke rifles, one on each [[broadside (naval)|broadside]] and a {{convert|10|in|cm|adj=on|1}} [[Columbiad]] [[Muzzleloader|muzzle-loading]] [[smoothbore]] gun on a pivot mounting in the stern.{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=56}}{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=155}} Naval historian Paul H. Silverstone states that she was armed with one {{convert|11|in|cm|adj=on|1}} smoothbore cannon, an {{convert|8|in|cm|adj=on|1}} [[rifled cannon]], and two {{convert|6.4|in|cm|adj=on|1}} rifled cannons,{{sfn|Silverstone|2006|p=154}} and naval historian W. Craig Gaines states that she was armed with four {{convert|6|in|cm|adj=on|1}} rifled cannons.{{sfn|Gaines|2008|p=180}}

Gaines states that she had {{convert|4|in|cm|1}} of [[wrought iron|wrought-iron]] armor.{{sfn|Gaines|2008|p=180}} The area where the casemate met the [[deck (ship)|deck]] was armored with {{convert|2|in|cm}} of iron, and the armor extended below the [[waterline]].{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=78}} The top of the casemate consisted of 2-inch-thick iron bars, spaced {{convert|9|in|cm|0}} apart. After the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in September–October 1864, the ship's captain recommended that additional iron bars be positioned between the bars to better protect the crew, although it is uncertain if this was ever done.{{sfn|Canney|2015|pp=56–57}} ''Fredericksburg'' had less armor than ''Virginia II'', which gave her a lighter draft but made her comparatively weaker.{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=78}}