Editing CSS Richmond

{{Short description|Ironclad of the Confederate States Navy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=CSSRichmond.jpg
|Ship caption=A [[wash (visual arts)|wash]] drawing of ''Richmond'' by R. G. Skerrett
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Confederate States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
|Ship name=''Richmond''
|Ship namesake=[[Richmond, Virginia]]
|Ship operator=[[Confederate States Navy]]
|Ship ordered=1862
|Ship builder=*[[Gosport Navy Yard]]
*Rockett's Shipyard
|Ship laid down=March 1862
|Ship launched=6 May 1862
|Ship completed=
|Ship commissioned=July 1862
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship fate=Burned and [[Scuttling|scuttled]], 3 April 1865
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Richmond|ironclad}}
|Ship length=*{{convert|174|ft|m|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
*{{cvt|150|ft|m|1}} ([[p/p]])
|Ship beam={{convert|43|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} 
|Ship draft={{convert|12|–|13|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} 
|Ship depth=about {{cvt|11|ft|m|1}}
|Ship power=2 × [[fire-tube boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=*1 × shaft
*1 × [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engine]]
|Ship speed={{convert|6|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=150 officers and men
|Ship armament=*4 × {{cvt|7|in|0}} [[Brooke rifle]]s
*1 × [[spar torpedo]]
|Ship armor=*[[Casemate]]: {{cvt|4|in|0}}
*Casemate roof: {{cvt|1|in|0}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{cvt|2|in|0}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''CSS{{refn|Confederate States Ship.<ref>Silverstone, p. xviii</ref>|group=Note}} ''Richmond''''' was the [[name ship]] of [[Richmond-class ironclad|her class]] of six [[casemate ironclad]]s built for the [[Confederate States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Completed during 1862 the ship was assigned to the [[James River Squadron]] where she mostly supported Confederate forces near [[Richmond, Virginia]]. She was burned in April 1865 to prevent her capture by Union forces.

==Background and description==
The ship was built to a design by the Chief Naval Constructor, [[John L. Porter]], based on his earlier work on the ironclad {{ship|CSS|Virginia}}, retaining the traditional curving ship-type [[hull (watercraft)|hull]], but with flat ends to the [[casemate#Naval|casemate]]. As usual for Confederate ships, dimensions vary slightly between sources. The plan showed an [[long overall|overall length]] of {{convert|174|ft|m|1}} and a [[length between perpendiculars]] of {{convert|150|ft|m|1}} with a maximum [[beam (ship)|beam]] of {{convert|43|ft|1}}, a moulded beam of {{convert|32|ft|m|1}} and a [[depth of hold]] of about {{cvt|11|ft|m|1}}.<ref>Canney, pp. 34, 40–41</ref> The consensus figure for the ship's [[draft (hull)|draft]] is {{convert|12|to|13|ft|m|1}}<ref name="DANFS">Marcello</ref><ref>Bisbee, p. 87; Holcombe, p. 16</ref><ref name=s2>Silverstone 2006, p. 152</ref> She was fitted with a [[pilothouse]] at the forward end of the casemate roof.<ref name=c9>Canney, p. 39</ref>

The propulsion systems of the ''Richmond''-class ironclads were different for each of the ships, often depending on what could be sourced locally. ''Richmond''{{'}}s single-cylinder, 80-[[horsepower]] [[marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engine]] had been stored in the [[Gosport Navy Yard]] when the [[brig]] {{USS|Arctic|1855|2}} was converted to a [[Lightvessel|lightship]] in 1859. Seized when the Confederates captured the Navy Yard, the engine used steam provided by a pair of horizontal [[fire-tube boiler]]s built by either the [[Tredegar Iron Works]] or the Shockoe Foundry in Richmond to drive a three-bladed, {{convert|9|ft|adj=on|m|1}} propeller. The boilers were {{convert|11|ft|m|1}} tall, {{convert|10|ft|m|1}} long, and {{convert|6|ft|9|in|m|1}} wide.<ref>Canney, p. 41, Bisbee, p. 189</ref>{{refn|Luraghi states that the ironclad's machinery was built by Tredegar.<ref>Luraghi, p. 48, footnote 147</ref>|group=Note}} ''Richmond'' had a speed of {{convert|6|kn|lk=in}} and 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]].<ref>Coski, p. 113</ref>

''Richmond'' was armed with four {{convert|7|in|0|adj=on}} [[Brooke rifle]]s, one of which was two banded (reinforced at the [[breech (firearms)|breech]]) and the others were single-banded guns.<ref>Coski, p. 80</ref> Two of the guns were on [[pivot gun|pivot mounts]] at the [[bow (ship)|bow]] and [[stern]] and the others were positioned on each [[broadside (naval)|broadside]].<ref name=c1>Canney, p. 41</ref> The ship was also equipped with a [[spar torpedo]] at her bow.<ref name=DANFS/><ref name=h7>Holcombe, p. 17</ref> Other sources concur with the total of four guns, but state that they consisted of one 7-inch Brooke rifle in the bow, two {{convert|6.4|in|0|adj=on}} Brooke rifles on the broadsides, and a {{convert|10|in|cm|adj=on|1}} [[Muzzleloader|muzzle-loading]] [[smoothbore]] gun on a pivot mounting in the stern.<ref name=s2/><ref name=h7/> Naval historian Raimondo Luraghi states that the ship was armed with four 7-inch Brooke rifles and two smoothbores,<ref name=l8>Luraghi, p. 208</ref> while official historian Paul Marcello simply notes that the ship was equipped with four rifled guns and two smoothbore shell guns.<ref name=DANFS/>

Sources agree that ''Richmond''{{'}}s {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-long|1}} casemate was protected by {{convert|4|in|0}} of [[wrought-iron]] armor in two layers of plates. The casemate structure consisted of {{convert|21|in}},<ref name=h7/> {{convert|22|in}}<ref name=s2/><ref name=l8/> or {{convert|23|in}} of oak and [[yellow pine]]. The roof of the casemate was covered by {{convert|1|in|adj=on}} iron plates, backed by {{convert|15|in}} of wood.<ref name=c1/> One layer of two-inch plates protected the fore and aft [[main deck]]s and extended below the [[waterline]] for several feet.<ref name=h7/> A 10-inch iron casting supposedly defended the pilothouse.<ref name=c9/>

==Construction and career==
Named for the [[Richmond, Virginia|capitol of the Confederacy]],<ref>Silverstone 1984, p. 52</ref> ''Richmond'' was begun at Gosport Navy Yard in March 1862, [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on May 6 and towed up to her namesake that very night to escape Federal forces threatening the yard and the lower [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]. She was sometimes referred to as ''Virginia II'', ''Virginia No. 2'' or ''Young Virginia'' in the South and as ''Merrimack No. 2'', ''New Merrimack'' or ''Young Merrimack'' by [[United States|Union]] writers, months before the actual {{ship|CSS|Virginia II}} was ever laid down. The ironclad was thus finished at Richmond, Virginia, in July 1862 and placed in commission by [[Commander]] [[Robert B. Pegram]], as part of the [[James River Squadron]].

During 1863 and early 1864 the James front was quiet, but from May 1864 momentous events followed in quick succession. The Confederate Navy had three new ironclads in [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[French Forrest]]'s James River Squadron there, and minor actions were frequent.

During 1864 ''Richmond'', under [[Lieutenant]] [[William Harwar Parker]], CSN, took part in engagements at [[Dutch Gap]] on August 13, [[Fort Harrison]] on September 29 – October 1, and [[Chaffin's Bluff]] on October 22. On January 23–24, 1865, she was under heavy fire while aground with ''Virginia II'' above the obstructions at [[Trent's Reach]] — at an angle that caused Federal projectiles to ricochet harmlessly off their casemates. But ''Richmond''{{'}}s unarmored tender, {{ship|CSS|Scorpion}}, being lashed alongside ''Richmond'', was severely damaged by the explosion of {{ship|CSS|Drewry}}{{'}}s magazine. The ironclads were forced to withdraw under the Confederate batteries at Chaffin's Bluff. A few weeks later, however, ''Richmond'' had to be destroyed to avoid capture by order of [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Raphael Semmes]], squadron commander, prior to the evacuation of the Confederate capital on April 3.

==Commanders==
The commanders of the CSS ''Richmond'' were:<ref name=coski>Coski, pp.</ref>

* Commander [[Robert B. Pegram]] (November 1862 – May 1864)
* Commander [[William Harwar Parker]] (May–June 1864)
* Lieutenant [[John S. Maury]] (July–October 26, 1864)
* Commander [[William A. Webb]] (October–November 1864)
* Commodore [[John McIntosh Kell]] (December 30, 1864-February 1865)
* Lieutenant [[Hamilton Henderson Dalton]] (February 1865-)
* Passed Midshipman [[J.A. Peters]] (during February 1865)

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{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=Coski |first1=John M. |title=Capital Navy: The Men, Ships and Operations of the James River Squadron |date=2005 |publisher=Savas Beatie |location=New York|orig-date=1996 |isbn=1-932714-15-4}}
* {{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 |title=The Richmond Class Confederate Ironclads |journal=Confederate Historical Association of Belgium News |date=1978 |volume=6 |pages=16–20 |url=http://chab-belgium.com/pdf/english/CSS%20Richmond.pdf |access-date=19 June 2022}}
*{{cite web |last1=Marcello |first1=Paul J. |title=Richmond 1862–1865 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/richmond.html |website=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=19 June 2022 |date=13 November 2015}}
* {{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}}
* {{cite book|last=Still|first=William N. Jr.|title=Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads|isbn=0-87249-454-3|orig-date=1971|year=1985|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|location=Columbia, South Carolina}}

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond}}
[[Category:Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia]]
[[Category:1862 ships]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in rivers]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1865]]