CSS Webb, a 655-ton side-wheel steam ram, was originally built in New York City in 1856 as the civilian steamship William H. Webb. She received a Confederate privateer's commission at New Orleans in May 1861, but was instead employed as a transport until January 1862. Converted to a "cotton clad" ram by the Confederate Army, thereafter served on the Mississippi and Red Rivers. On February 24, 1863, under the command of Captain Charles Pierce, she participated in the sinking of the Federal ironclad USS Indianola. Webb was transferred to the Confederate Navy in early 1865.[2][3] On April 23–24, 1865, under the command of Charles S. Read, Webb broke through the Federal blockade at the mouth of the Red River, Louisiana, and made a dramatic run down the Mississippi toward the Gulf of Mexico. After eluding several United States Navy vessels and passing New Orleans, she was confronted by the powerful steam sloop USS Richmond. Rather than face the veteran ship's broadside, the Webb was run ashore and destroyed by her crew.[4]

An engraving of the burning of the CSS Webb is one of the few known images of the vessel
History
Confederate States
NameWebb
NamesakeWilliam Henry Webb
Operator
BuilderWilliam Henry Webb, New York City[1]
Launched1856
AcquiredMay 1861
Commissioned1865
FateBurned to avoid capture, April 1865
General characteristics
TypeSide-wheel River Steamer
Displacement655 tons
The Webb Running the Blockade, by William Lindsey Challoner
The CSS Queen of the West destroys the Indianola, there is also the Webb and the Black Terror.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gaines, W. Craig. Encyclopedia of Civil War shipwrecks. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6, p.75
  2. ^ Scharf, 1886, pp. 357-358
  3. ^ Stern, 1962, p. 133
  4. ^ Stern, 1962, pp. 140-141

Sources

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  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.