AH-WR-0586

CSS Tuscaloosa

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

An underpowered Confederate ironclad, built at Selma, scuttled in the Spanish River as Mobile fell in the war's final weeks.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

This second CSS Tuscaloosa (distinct from the earlier commerce-raider tender of the same name) was an ironclad launched at Selma, Alabama, in 1863 and armored with four inches of iron plate. Like her sister ship Huntsville, she proved too slow for combat maneuvering and served instead as a floating battery guarding the approaches to Mobile. When Union forces captured Mobile in April 1865, she could not steam against the current to escape and was scuttled in the Spanish River. The wreck was rediscovered in the 1980s.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: Henry D. Bassett
Yard: Selma, Alabama
Material: Wood
Length: 152 ft
Beam: 34 ft
Tonnage: 500
Propulsion: Steam, twin 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: 1980s
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)