AH-WR-0585

CSS Huntsville

Ironclad Floating Battery · Confederate States of America · Lost 1865 · The Gulf of Mexico

A slow, thinly armored Confederate ironclad relegated to floating-battery duty at Mobile, scuttled with her sister ship as the city fell.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

CSS Huntsville was an ironclad built at Selma, Alabama, in 1862-63, but her riverboat-salvaged engine gave her only two to three knots of speed, making her unsuitable for combat maneuvering. She served as a floating battery defending Mobile, taking part in the defense during the 1864 and 1865 campaigns against the city. When Mobile fell in April 1865, retreating Confederates scuttled her in the Spanish River near Fort Blakeley alongside her sister ship CSS Tuscaloosa. The wrecks were rediscovered in 1985 and found remarkably intact.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry
Yard: Selma, Alabama
Material: Wood
Length: 150 ft
Beam: 32 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Confederate States Navy

Loss

Date: April 12, 1865
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Spanish River near Fort Blakeley, Alabama
Water: Spanish River, Mobile Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Assessed in 2019 as one of the most intact Confederate ironclad hulls in the United States.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1985
Protection: CSS Huntsville and CSS Tuscaloosa Historic and Archaeological District, National Register of Historic Places

Position

Coordinates: 30.66° N 88.02° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Mobile River near Mobile, Alabama
Region: The Gulf of Mexico

General area only: coordinate of the mouth of the Spanish River, the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

National Register of Historic Places nomination, CSS Huntsville and CSS Tuscaloosa Historic and Archaeological District
Build, service, scuttling, and wreck condition.
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Service history and specifications.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Spanish River (Alabama)
coordinate of the named place of loss (mouth of Spanish River, citing USGS GNIS)