Editing CSS Raleigh (1861)

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{{Other ships|CSS Raleigh}}
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Gun-boat-fanny.jpg
| Ship caption = CSS ''Raleigh'', [[CSS Curlew|''Curlew'']] and [[CSS Junaluska|''Junaluska'']] attacks [[CSS Fanny|''Fanny'']].
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = Confederate States
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
| Ship name = ''Raleigh''
| Ship namesake = [[Raleigh, North Carolina]]
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| Ship acquired = May 1861
| Ship commissioned = May 1861
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| Ship fate = Destroyed to prevent capture 4 April 1865
| Ship notes = 
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Ship class = 
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| Ship displacement = 65 tons
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| Ship propulsion = Steam engine
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| Ship armament = 1 to 4 guns
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'''CSS ''Raleigh''''' was originally a small, iron-hulled, propeller-driven towing [[Steamboat|steamer]] operating on the [[Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal]]. She was taken over by the State of [[North Carolina]] in May 1861, and transferred to the [[Confederate States]] the following July. Her commanding officer during 1861–1862 was Lieutenant [[Joseph W. Alexander]]. Her entire service was in coastal waters of [[North Carolina]] and [[Virginia]] and in the James River as part of the [[James River Squadron]].

''Raleigh'' supported [[Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries|Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark]] on August 28–29, 1861; took part in an expedition on October 1 to capture [[United States Army]] steamer ''[[CSS Fanny|Fanny]]'' with valuable stores on board; and accompanied [[CSS Sea Bird|CSS ''Sea Bird'']] when she reconnoitered [[Pamlico Sound]] on January 20, 1862. She was also active in defense of [[Roanoke Island]] against an amphibious assault by overwhelming Federal forces on February 7–8, 1862, and at [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]] 2 days later. Thence ''Raleigh'' escaped through [[Dismal Swamp Canal]] to [[Norfolk, Virginia]].

On March 8–9, 1862, ''Raleigh'' was tender to [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia'']] during the historic [[Battle of Hampton Roads]], for which she received the thanks of the [[Confederate Congress]].

With the Federal recapture of [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] in May 1862, ''Raleigh'' steamed up the James River, but thereafter a shortage of crew members restricted her to flag-of-truce or patrol service.

''Raleigh'', renamed ''Roanoke'' near the end of the war, was destroyed by the Confederates on April 4, 1865 upon the evacuation of [[Richmond, Virginia]].

== Commanders ==
The commanders of the CSS ''Raleigh'' were:<ref name=coski>Coski (1996), John M. ''Capital Navy: The Men, Ships and Operations of the James River Squadron'', Campbell, CA: Savas Woodbury Publishers. {{ISBN|1-882810-03-1}}.</ref>

* Lieutenant Joseph W. Alexander (1861–1862)
* Lieutenant [[Maxwell T. Clarke]] (1863-June 1864)
* Lieutenant [[Mortimer Murray Benton]] (during June 1864)
* [[master's mate|Master's Mate]] [[A.E. Albertson]] (July 31, 1864-)
* Acting Master [[W. Frank Shippey]] (October–December 1864)
* Lieutenant [[William Wonder Pollock]] (January 1865-end of war)

==References ==
{{Reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/cfa8/raleigh.htm}}

{{CSN Steamers}}
{{Battle of Hampton Roads|state=autocollapse}}
{{1865 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|Virginia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh CSS (1861)}}
[[Category:Ships of the Confederate States Navy|Raleigh (1861)]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in rivers]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:1860s ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1865]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]