Editing CSS Scorpion

{{Short description|Squib-class torpedo boat procured late in 1864 by the Confederate States Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Scorpion|HMS Scorpion}}

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|Ship country=Confederate States
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|Ship name=''Scorpion''
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|Ship in service=Late 1864
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|Ship class=[[Squib-class torpedo boat|''Squib''-class torpedo boat]]
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|Ship length={{Convert|46|ft|m}}
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|Ship armament= 1x [[spar torpedo]]
|Ship armor=Thin iron plates
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'''CSS ''Scorpion''''' was a [[Squib-class torpedo boat|''Squib''-class]] [[torpedo boat]] that served in the [[Confederate States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]].  Armed with a single [[spar torpedo]], she originally served guard duty on the [[James River]] after being built in late 1864.  Along with the rest of the James River Squadron, ''Scorpion'' moved downriver on January 23, 1865, and participated in the [[Battle of Trent's Reach]].  After performing [[depth sounding]]s near Union obstructions, ''Scorpion'' moved to get a lantern from the [[ironclad]] [[CSS Virginia II|CSS ''Virginia II'']], but ran into a [[hawser]] and then [[ran aground]].  At 07:10 on the morning of January 24, Union fire struck the abandoned [[tender ship|tender]] [[CSS Drewry|CSS ''Drewry'']], which then exploded.  The force of the explosion swept ''Scorpion'' out of control downriver.  An attempt to rescue her that night failed, and she was captured by Union forces.

==Construction and characteristics==
During the [[American Civil War]], the [[Union blockade]] was slowly destroying the economy of the rebelling [[Confederate States of America]].  The first use of [[torpedo boat]]s in attempting to break the blockade came in October 1863.  The attack damaged a Union vessel, and the partial success led the Confederates to build additional torpedo boats.  Multiple designs were used, including a group known as the [[Squib-class torpedo boat|''Squib''-class]] built at [[Richmond, Virginia]].  [[Lieutenant]] Hunter Davidson playing a significant role in the design.{{sfn|Pry|Zeitlin|1984|pp=384{{endash}}385}}

CSS ''Scorpion'', one of the ''Squib''-class, was constructed in late 1864, and was {{convert|46|ft|m}} long, had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m}}, and a [[depth of hold]] of {{convert|3|ft|9|in|m}}.<ref name="DANFS">{{cite web |title=Scorpion |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/scorpion.html |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>  [[Tonnage]] for the class is unknown.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=219}} The ''Squib''-class ships were powered by two [[oscillating engine|oscillating condensing engines]], which had a {{convert|7|in|cm|adj=on}} diameter [[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] and a {{convert|6|in|cm|adj=on}} [[stroke (engine)|stroke]], as well a single [[boiler]].  According to a Union engineer, she could go at "a fair speed for a boat of her kind".{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=105}}  Her crew of five or six{{sfn|Pry|Zeitlin|1984|p=385}} operated steer gear that was located towards the front of the vessel.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=105}}  Her armament was a single [[spar torpedo]] mounted to a spar shaft that measured {{convert|18|ft|m}}<ref name="DANFS" /> or {{convert|16|ft|m}} long.{{sfn|Coski|2005|pp=125{{endash}}126}}  The spar could be raised or lowered  by the ship's crew using a chain and tackle system.{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=126}} Thin plates of iron served as armor on the ships's sides.{{Sfn|Pry|Zeitlin|1984|p=385}}

==Service history==
{{main|Battle of Trent's Reach}}
After construction, ''Scorpion'' entered Confederate service with the [[James River Squadron]].{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=125}}  Under the command of Lieutenant Edward Lakin,{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=111}} she performed guard duty in the [[James River]].  Beginning on January 23, 1865, the James River Squadron began an offensive against the Union supply depot at [[City Point, Virginia]].<ref name="DANFS" />  To reduce the chance of collisions in the narrow river, the wooden vessels of the fleet were lashed to the [[ironclad]]s.  Overall, the Confederates had 11 ships present: three ironclads, three [[gunboat]]s, three torpedo boats, and two [[tender ship|tenders]].  ''Scorpion'' was towed by the tender [[CSS Torpedo|CSS ''Torpedo'']], which was in turn lashed to the ironclad [[CSS Virginia II|CSS ''Virginia II'']].{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=198}}  Moving during the night, the Confederate vessels passed a Union shore position known as Fort Brady, which fired upon them.{{sfn|Coski|2005|pp=199{{endash}}202}}  At around 09:00, the Confederate vessels reached Union obstructions in the river at [[Trent's Reach]].{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=111}}

''Scorpion'' was then sent forward to perform [[depth sounding]], with a [[maritime pilot|pilot]] from ''Virginia II'' aboard.  The pilot claimed that the channel was not open, but [[Charles Read (naval officer)|Charles Read]], who commanded all of the torpedo boats in the James River Squadron, found that a passage could be made; the pilot may have become unnerved by Union shore fire.{{sfn|Coski|2005|pp=199{{endash}}202}} The ironclad [[CSS Fredericksburg|CSS ''Fredericksburg'']] then managed to clear the obstructions at around 01:30 on January 24.  Read later took ''Scorpion'' to look for the gunboat [[CSS Hampton|CSS ''Hampton'']], but after not finding her, took the ship to ''Virginia II'' to get a lantern for lighting the passage.  ''Virginia II'' had run aground, and the same fate had befallen the ironclad [[CSS Richmond|CSS ''Richmond'']] as well. The tender [[CSS Drewry|CSS ''Drewry'']] then ran aground trying to free ''Richmond''.  Moving towards ''Virginia II'', ''Scorpion'' ran into a [[hawser]] strung between the former ship and the gunboat [[CSS Beaufort|CSS ''Beaufort'']],{{sfn|Coski|2005|pp=201{{endash}}203}} losing her torpedo and spar in the process.  Not long afterwards, she ran aground.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=114}}  The torpedo boat [[CSS Hornet|CSS ''Hornet'']] then ran aground trying to free ''Scorpion''.{{sfn|Coski|2005|pp=201{{endash}}203}} The Confederate vessels that were not aground withdrew upriver before daylight.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=112}} At 06:55, the crew of ''Drewry'' was taken onto ''Richmond'', and at 07:10, Union fire caused ''Drewry'' to explode.  The force of the explosion knocked ''Scorpion'' downriver out of control; two men on board were killed and four others swept overboard.{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=204}}  After dark on January 24, Read tried to take ''Beaufort'' downriver to rescue ''Scorpion'', but as ''Beaufort'' could not be controlled due to a strong wind, and a smaller vessel was sent to ''Scorpion''.  ''Scorpion'' was found to have taken on water, and after the Union illuminated the area with a [[Drummond light]], the efforts to rescue the vessel were abandoned.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=114}}  She was later captured by Union forces,<ref name="DANFS" />{{sfn|Coski|2005|p=204}} and may have been burned.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=219}}{{Sfn|Pry|Zeitlin|1984|p=392}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=R. Thomas |title=Hunters of the Night: Confederate Torpedo Boats in the War Between the States |publisher=Burd Street Press |date=2000 |location=Shippensburg, Pennsylvania |isbn=1-57249-202-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Coski |first=John M. |title=Capital Navy: The Men, Ships, and Operations of the James River Squadron |publisher=Savas Beatie |date=2005 |orig-year=1996 |location=New York |isbn=978-1-932714-15-9}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Pry |first1=Peter |last2=Zeitlin |first2=Richard |title=Torpedo Boats: Secret Weapons of the South |journal=Warship International |date=1984 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=384{{endash}}393}}
* {{cite book |last=Silverstone |first=Paul H. |title=Warships of the Civil War Navies |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |date=1989 |isbn=978-0-87021-783-8}}

{{Squib class torpedo boat}}
{{CSN torpedo boats}}
{{1865 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Virginia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scorpion, CSS}}
[[Category:Torpedo boats of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the James River]]
[[Category:Captured ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1865]]
[[Category:Squib-class torpedo boats]]