CSS Spray
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | CSS Spray |
| Laid down | New Albany, Indiana |
| Maiden voyage | 1850 |
| In service | 1863-1865 |
| Captured | May 12, 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Steam gunboat |
| Type | Tugboat |
| Tonnage | 118 |
| Draft | 6.5 ft (2.0 m) |
| Installed power | 70 h.p. |
| Propulsion | 1 high pressure steam boiler, side paddle wheels |
| Speed | 12 knots (cruising) |
| Armament | 2 or 3 light cannons |
The CSS Spray was a steam powered, side-paddle wheel tugboat built in New Albany, Indiana originally fitted as a mercantile ship before becoming a gunboat in the Confederate States Navy and used in the St. Marks, Newport, Florida area.
History
As the civilian Spray
In 1850, Daniel Ladd, a Newport, Florida cotton and general mercantile businessman, purchased the Spray for $15,000. The Spray operated as far south as Cedar Key, Florida, up the Apalachicola River to Columbus, Georgia, up the Suwannee River and west to New Orleans transporting cotton, naval stores, hides, tobacco, beeswax. It first sailed into St. Marks, Florida in 1850.[1]
As CSS Spray
As a confederate vessel and refitted, the Spray operated in the vicinity of the naval station at St. Marks during 1863-1965, and was the object of much attention by the Federal forces in that vicinity. On September 12, 1863 the captain of the USS Stars and Stripes reported an unsuccessful attack on the Spray up river on the St. Marks River. The CSS Spray was said to be the only Confederate States Navy vessel to operate exclusively in Florida waters.
In February 1864, Federal troops in two naval expeditions of 14 ships landed at St. Marks. Their mission was to capture Fort Ward, Port Leon, and burn the nuisance gunboat CSS Spray.[2]
March 6, 1865, the Spray participated in the Battle of Natural Bridge with a compliment of 25 men.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Commanders
Henry Lewis was born in Virginia and appointed to the CSN from Virginia. He was formerly a lieutenant with the U.S. Navy. Lewis also commanded the CSS Rappahannock from 1862-1863 before taking command of the Spray in 1864.[4] [5]
References
- ^ Ladd Family History
- ^ De Quesada, A. M., A history of Florida forts: Florida's Lonely Outposts, History Press, 2006, ISBN-13: 9781596291041]
- ^ Muster Roll of the Confederate Steam Boat Spray
- ^ Library of Virginia, Military Records
- ^ Haze Gray: Naval History
- Gaines, W. Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War shipwrecks, LSU Press, April 2008, ISBN-13: 9780807132746