The first weekend I moved out here this summer I went down to the water and watched one of the ships leave for a tour. It was really amazing seeing the guys/gals standing on the deck of ship as it passed by all the boats and sailboats in the harbor.
Thank you for all you do!
Matt
1L Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Today's classic warship, CSS Stonewall
Stonewall class ironclad ram
Displacement. 900
Lenght. 171' 10"
Beam. 32' 8"
Draft. 14' 4"
Speed. 10 k.
Armament. 1 300-pdr., 2 70-pdr.
STONEWALL, a powerful armored seagoing ram, was built by L. Arman at Bordeaux, France, in 1863-64 for the Confederate States Government; however, the French authorities refused to permit her delivery, following strong protests by American Ministers Dayton and Bigelow. The vessel was eventually sold to Denmark, via a Swedish intermediary, for use in the Schleswig-Holstein War. Because she failed to reach Copenhagen before the sudden termination of the war, the Danes refused acceptance, and title to the ram, now known as SPHINX, was returned to her builder who then sold her to the Confederates.
In December 1864 Capt. T. J. Page, CSN, took command, renamed the vessel STONEWALL, and in January 1865 sailed from Copenhagen for Quiberon Bay, France, to receive supplies. In this period she was called STAERKODDER and OLINDE to allay suspicion of her actual ownership and mission. STONEWALL was assigned the considerable tasks of dispersing the Federal blockading fleet off Wilmington, N.C., intercepting Northern commerce between California and Northern ports, attacking New England coastal cities, and destroying the Yankee fishing fleet on the Newfoundland Banks.
Unable to replenish fully in French waters, STONEWALL sailed for Madeira, but ran into a severe storm and had to put in to Ferrol, Spain, for coal and repairs. While she was there USS NIAGARA and USS SACRAMENTO arrived at Coruna, only 9 miles distant. On 24 March STONEWALL steamed out of Ferrol and prepared for battle; however when the Federals, believing her gun power to be too great, declined to close she bore away for Lisbon to coal before crossing the Atlantic.
She reached Nassau, New Providence, on 6 May 1865 and went from there to Havana where Page learned of the war's end. STONEWALL was turned over to the Captain General of Cuba in return for money needed to pay off her crew. In July 1865 the Cuban authorities voluntarily delivered her to the United States Government. She was laid up at the Washington Navy Yard, D.C., for the next two years, and then sold to Japan.
She was delivered to the Japanese Shogun's government in April 1868, then reverted to American ownership and in 1869 was turned over to the forces backing the Japanese Emperor. Under the name Kôtetsu, she took part in the the civil war then raging in Japan and played an important role in the naval battle of Hakodate in June 1869. In 1871, after the victory of the Imperial cause, she was renamed Azuma. The ship remained a part of Japan's combat fleet until January 1888, when she was reduced to harbor service as an accomodation hulk.
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