CSS Forrest
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | CSS Forrest |
| Builder | Morgan L. Taylor, New York |
| Launched | 1855 |
| Acquired | 1861 |
| Homeport | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Fate | Burned on February 10, 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | steam tug |
| Tonnage | 109 |
| Length | 93 ft |
| Beam | 17 ft |
| Draft | ? |
| Depth | 7 ft |
| Propulsion | steam engine, 1 propellor |
| Speed | ? |
| Complement | ? |
| Armament | 2 guns: 1 bow 32-pound gun, 1 stern howitzer. |
| Notes | 1 deck, no mast, round stern, no figurehead (Enrollment no.8: February 29, 1856) |
The CSS Forrest was a wood hull Confederate gunboat that saw action in the North Carolina sounds in 1861 to 1862. Despite being considered as "worn out", she saw continuous service until destroyed after the Battle for Elizabeth City in early 1862.
Ship History
The Forrest was originally named the J. A. Smith when launched in 1855. Initially a canalboat, she was converted to steam in 1856. The Smith was bought at Norfolk in 1861 and renamed Weldon N. Edwards in honor of the President of the North Carolina Secession Convention. She was initially used to patrol Hatteras Inlet in North Carolina. Her commander at the time was J. Cooke. In August 1861 Cooke would report to area commander Samual Barron that his ship was "entirely worthless, the boilers worn out and the timbers of his vessel rotten." (ORN 6: 795f)
At some point in late 1861 the Edwards name was changed to Forrest. She participated in the battle of Roanoke Island on February 7, 1862 during which her commanding officer, Lt. J. L. Hoole, CSN, was seriously wounded. Furthermore, Forrest was disabled late in the action "by the displacement of her propellor" and towed to Elizabeth City, N.C., for repairs. (ORN 6: 595ff) There, 3 days later, while out of water on the marine railway, she was burned to prevent capture by Union forces.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- US Navy Department, Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series I: Volume 6. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894-1922.
- William Lytle & Forrest Holdcamper, Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790-1868, Steamship Historical Society, New York, 1975.