The CSS Florida - A Bright Star of the Confederate Fleet
In late 1861, the keel of the SS
Oreto was laid at the shipyards of William Miller and Sons in
Liverpool, England. The ship was designed to be one of the fastest
ships afloat in the 1860's. She was fitted with her engines by the
preeminent firm of Faucett, Preston and Company, which was known for
building some of the fastest maritime engines in the 19th
century.
On March 22, 1862, the SS Oreto
was sent on her maiden voyage as a civilian ship. She was bound for
the port of Nassau, Bahamas. The ship was possibly carrying war
supplies for the Confederate States on this voyage. It would have a
short career as a civilian merchant ship but would later make her
place in history as a Confederate cruiser.
Upon arrival in the Bahamas, the SS
Oreto was quickly purchased by agents of the Confederate Navy and
was outfitted with weapons and an able crew. The ship was renamed the
CSS Florida. It would be the first of several Confederate
commerce raiders that would come to wreak havoc on the merchant fleet
of the United States over the next several years.
Under the guidance of the Confederate
Navy's agents in Nassau, the ship was armed with six 6-inch rifles on
the port and starboard sides, two 7-inch rifles mounted on fore and
aft swivel mounts, and a 12 pound cannon that could be used as a bow
or stern chaser gun. The crew was to be 146 officers and men.
However, the CSS Florida didn't get its career off to a quick start.
Yellow fever was raging in the Bahamas in the spring and summer of
1862, as the ship was being outfitted. This disease decimated the
crew and forced the ship to seek refuge in the port of Cardenas,
Cuba, in an effort to escape the disease.
Because of the situation with the crew
being incapacitated by disease the CSS Florida was forced to leave
before being fully equipped with all of its equipment. While the
cannons were mounted, it didn't have the ammunition and implements
needed to operate as a warship. As a result of this situation the
daring commander, Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, decided to run the
Union blockade into the nearest southern port that could supply naval
stores.
The port that was selected was that of
Mobile, Alabama. In a hail of shells, shot, and rockets, the CSS
Florida ran full steam into the harbor of Mobile in the fall of 1862.
The move was especially daring considering that most of the crew was
barely recovering from the yellow fever disease. When the men and
officers arrived in Mobile, after braving the blockade, they were
received as heroes.
While in Mobile, the ship was fully
equipped and received her full crew. On January 16, 1863 with the
ship fully prepared, the CSS Florida ran the gauntlet of the United
States Navy's blockade and exited the harbor of Mobile. Now would
begin an extraordinary career over about the next year and a half
that would see the cruiser cross the Atlantic twice while destroying
ships of the US merchant fleet.
The spring and summer of 1863 saw the
CSS Florida destroy and US ship it came across in the West Indies and
the mid Atlantic. During this time it would make Nassau, Bahamas its
main base of operations. As a result of the large number of ships the
Confederate raider was sinking or capturing the US Navy sent a large
squadron to pursue the ship. Because of this the officers of the ship
decided to move the base of operations to Europe in the late summer
of 1863.
Continuing to capture and sink ships on
the cruise to Europe, the CSS Florida arrived in August of 1863
needing to make repairs. The ship docked in the port of Brest, France
where it was impounded for the next few months under France's
neutrality laws but was secretly repaired at the same time. In
February 1864, the ship left France under the command of Lieutenant
Charles M. Morris.
Under the command of Lieutenant Morris,
the ship would sail back across the Atlantic to the shores of Brazil.
The CSS Florida continued to wreak havoc on the US merchant fleet for
the next 6 months. The ship would meet its final end as a Confederate
cruiser through an intelligence move and violation of international
law by the US Government.
In the October of 1864, the CSS Florida
found itself docked in the port of Bahia, Brazil refitting and
allowing the crew to relax. The US Consulate in Bahia began
operations spying upon the activities of the ship and then
communicated with the US Navy ships operating in the area. In
violation of international laws respecting the rights of neutral
powers in a conflict, Commander Napoleon Collins of the USS
Wachusett attacked the CSS Florida while it was at anchor in Bahia.
Catching the CSS Florida
unprepared for combat, the USS Wachusett rammed the ship and
forced it to surrender. The USS Wachussett then towed the CSS
Florida to the US Navy's base at Hampton Roads, VA. While the CSS
Florida was at anchor in Hampton Roads, diplomats of Brazil and
several other countries filed legal protests against the US and the
actions of Commander Collins. The US courts held that Commander
Collins had indeed violated the international laws and treaties of
the US and ordered the ship to be returned to Brazil. Before this
could happen however, the CSS Florida was sunk in a
questionable collision with the US Army Transport Alliance in
late November of 1864. Commander Collins for his actions was
court-martialed, but was held up as a hero by the public of the
north.
The CSS Florida, in spite of meeting
such an ignominious end, did have a stellar career as a Confederate
cruiser. She was directly credited with 37 US ships either sunk or
captured. In addition to this her crew took two ships that were
commissioned as Confederate cruisers, the CSS Tacony and CSS
Clarence. These two ships were credited with another 23 US ships sunk
or captured. Through these daring and bold actions, the officers and
crew of the CSS Florida ensured a place for themselves and their ship
in the annals of naval warfare history.
Sources
“CSS Florida”, Civil War Wiki
“USS Cumberland and CSS Florida”,
Naval Heritage and History Command – Underwater Archeology Branch
“CSS Florida”, Dept. of the Navy –
Naval Historical Center
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