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Ship Information (from DANFS)1,2:
| Name: CSS Roanoke | Type: Steamer | Tonnage: 65 |
| Length: Not Listed. | Beam: Not Listed. | Draught: Not Listed. |
| Speed: Not Listed. | Complement: Not Listed. | Class: Not Listed. |
| Armament: November 5, 1864: 2 guns | ||
| Namesake: Not Listed. | ||
Images:
Image Needed
Captain(s):
Lieutenant Mortimer M. Benton
Captain Image
Lieutenant William W. Pollock
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Acting Master W. Frank Shippey
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Master’s Mate A. E. Albertson
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Captain 5
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First Offensive Order of Battle (June 13-18, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy3
Second Offensive Order of Battle (June 19-30, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy6,7
- Captain: Lieutenant Mortimer M. Benton (June 21-22, 1864)8
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”9
Third Offensive Order of Battle (July 1-31, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy10
- Captain:
- Lieutenant Mortimer M. Benton (July 2, 1864)(detailed to Wilmington, NC on July 2, 1864) 11
- Master’s Mate A. E. Albertson (July 31, 1864)
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”12
Fourth Offensive Order of Battle (August 1-31, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy13
- Captain: Not Listed.14 Station: James River, Virginia15
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”16
Fifth Offensive Order of Battle (September 1-October 13, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy17
- Captain: Acting Master W. Frank Shippey18 Station: James River, Virginia19
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”20
Sixth Offensive Order of Battle (October 14-31, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy21
- Captain: Acting Master W. Frank Shippey22 Station: James River, Virginia23
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”24
Seventh Offensive Order of Battle (November 1-December 31, 1864): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy25,26
- Captain: Master W. Frank Shippey (November & December 1864)27,28
- Crew Strength:
- Armament: 2 x “guns” (November 5, 1864)29
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”30,31
Eighth Offensive Order of Battle (January 1-February 28, 1865): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy32,33
- Captain:
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”36
Ninth Offensive Order of Battle (March 1-April 2, 1865): James River Naval Squadron | Confederate Navy37
- Captain: Not Listed. (March & April 1865)38
- Crew Strength:
- Armament:
- Note: This ship is noted as a “gunboat.”39
Siege of Petersburg Battles:
- Action at Howlett’s Bluff (June 21, 1864)40
Siege of Petersburg Involvement:41
The small steamer Roanoke was chartered in June 1861 from the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Co. by Comdr. F. Forrest to keep open Confederate communications on the Nansemond River in Virginia. She carried on similar duties off the North Carolina coast in 1862.
Bibliography:
Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:
- “The Whole Affair Was a Fiasco”: The Action at Howlett’s Bluff from the Confederate Perspective, June 21, 1864 by William H. Parker
- MAP: Action at Howlett’s Bluff, June 21, 1864
- ORN Series 1, Vol. X: Telegram of Flag Officer Jonathan K. Mitchell to Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory, June 21, 1864
- ORN Series 1, Vol. X: Report of Flag Officer Jonathan K. Mitchell, James River Squadron, June 20-22, 1864
- ORN Series 1, Vol. X: Report of Commander Thomas R. Rootes, CSS Fredericksburg, June 21-22
- ORN Series 1, Vol. X: Report of Lieutenant Mortimer M. Benton, CSS Roanoke, June 21, 1864
Sources:
- “DANFS.” Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html. ↩
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Volume 1, p. 265 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 118 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 118 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 118 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 118 ↩
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 10, p. 186, pp. 186–188, pp. 188–189, pp. 190–191 ↩
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 10, pp. 190–191 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 118 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 127 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 127 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 127 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 136 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 136 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 136 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 136 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 145 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 145 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 145 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 145 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 153 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 153 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 153 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 153 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 161 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 170 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 161 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 170 ↩
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Volume 1, p. 265 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 161 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 170 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 179 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 189 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 179 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 189 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 179 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 198 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 198 ↩
- The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 198 ↩
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 10, p. 186, pp. 186–188, pp. 188–189, pp. 190–191 ↩
- “Roanoke.” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/roanoke.html. ↩