Editing CSS Albemarle (section)

==Sinking==
[[File:WilliamBCushing.jpg|right|thumb|Lt William B Cushing, USN]]
''Albemarle'' successfully dominated the Roanoke and the approaches to Plymouth through the summer of 1864. By autumn the U. S. government decided that the situation should be studied to determine if something could be done: The U. S. Navy considered various ways to destroy ''Albemarle'', including two plans submitted by Lieutenant [[William B. Cushing]]; they finally approved one of his plans, authorizing him to locate two small [[steam launch]]es that might be fitted with [[spar torpedo]]es. Cushing discovered two {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} picket boats under construction in New York and acquired them for his mission [some accounts have them as 45 to 47 feet (14 m)]. On each he mounted a [[Dahlgren gun|Dahlgren]] 12-pounder [[howitzer]] and a {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} spar projecting into the water from its bow. One of the boats was lost at sea during the voyage from New York to [[Norfolk, Virginia]], but the other arrived safely with its crew of seven officers and men at the mouth of the Roanoke. There, the steam launch's spar was fitted with a lanyard-detonated torpedo.

On the night of October 27 and 28, 1864, Cushing and his team began working their way upriver. A small cutter accompanied them, its crew having the task of preventing interference by the Confederate sentries stationed on a schooner anchored to the wreck of ''Southfield''; both boats, under the cover of darkness, slipped past the schooner undetected. So Cushing decided to use all twenty-two of his men and the element of surprise to capture ''Albemarle''.

[[File:CSS Albemarle Image (9).jpg|thumb|left|The torpedo explodes against the ''Albemarle'']]
[[File:CSS Albermarle Image (8).jpg|thumb|left| The Sunken ''Albemarle'']]

As they approached the Confederate docks their luck turned, and they were spotted in the dark. They came under heavy rifle and pistol fire from both the shore and aboard ''Albemarle''. As they closed with the ironclad, they quickly discovered she was defended against approach by floating [[log boom]]s. The logs, however, had been in the water for many months and were covered with heavy slime. The steam launch rode up and then over them without difficulty; with her spar fully against the ironclad's hull, Cushing stood up in the bow and pulled the lanyard, detonating the torpedo's explosive charge.

The explosion threw Cushing and his men overboard into the water; Cushing then stripped off most of his uniform and swam to shore, where he hid undercover until daylight, avoiding the hastily organized Confederate search parties. The next afternoon, he was finally able to steal a small [[skiff]] and began slowly paddling, using his hands and arms as oars, down-river to rejoin Union forces at the river's mouth. Cushing's long journey was quite perilous and he was nearly captured and almost drowned before finally reaching safety, totally exhausted by his ordeal; he was hailed a national hero of the Union cause for his daring exploits. Of the other men in Cushing's launch, one man, Seaman Edward Houghton, also escaped, two others [A.M.M. John Woodman and 1/C fireman Samuel Higgins] were drowned following the explosion, and the remaining eleven were captured.<ref>"Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" Vol IV pp.641. Lt Cushing's own account can be found in this reference source "The Destruction of the "Albemarle" .pp.634-640]</ref>

Cushing's daring [[commando]] raid blew a hole in ''Albemarle''{{'}}s hull at the waterline "big enough to drive a wagon in." She sank immediately in the six feet of water below her [[keel]], settling into the heavy river bottom mud, leaving the upper casemate mostly dry and the ship's large [[Flags of the Confederate States of America#Second flag: the "Stainless Banner" (1863–1865)|Stainless Banner]] ensign flying from the [[flagpole|flagstaff]] at the rear of the casemate's upper deck. Confederate commander Alexander F. Warley, who had been appointed as her captain about a month earlier, later salvaged both of ''Albemarle''{{'}}s rifled cannon and shells and used them to defend Plymouth against subsequent Union attack.

Lieutenant Cushing's successful effort to neutralize CSS ''Albemarle'' is honored by the [[U.S. Navy]] with a [[battle star]] on the Civil War [[campaign streamer]].