CSS Albemarle CSS " Albemarle " was a steam - powered ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy ( and later the second " Albemarle " of the United States Navy ) , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina . All three locations were named for General George Monck , the first Duke of Albemarle and one of the original Carolina Lords Proprietors . Construction . On 16 April 1862 , the Confederate Navy Department , enthusiastic about the offensive potential of armored rams following the victory of their first ironclad ram CSS " Virginia " ( the rebuilt USS " Merrimack " ) over the wooden - hulled Union blockade rs in Hampton Roads , Virginia , signed a contract with nineteen - year - old detached Confederate Lieutenant Gilbert Elliott of Elizabeth City , North Carolina ; he was to oversee the construction of a smaller but still powerful gunboat to destroy the Union warships in the North Carolina sounds . These men - of - war had enabled Union troops to hold strategic positions that controlled eastern North Carolina . Since the terms of the agreement gave Elliott freedom to select an appropriate place to build the ram , he established a primitive shipyard , with the assistance of plantation owner Peter Smith , in a cornfield up the Roanoke River at a place called Edward ' s Ferry , near modern Scotland Neck , North Carolina ; Smith was appointed the superintendent of construction . There , the water was too shallow to permit the approach of Union gunboat s that otherwise would have destroyed the ironclad while still on its ways . Using detailed sketches provided by Elliott , the Confederate Navy ' s Chief Constructor John L . Porter finalized the gunboat ' s design , giving the ram an armored casemate with eight sloping , 30 - degree angle sides . Within this thick - walled bunker were two Brooke pivot rifles , one forward , the other aft , each capable of firing from three different fixed positions . Both cannons were protected on all sides behind six exterior - mounted , heavy iron shutters . The ram was propelled by twin 3 - bladed screw propellers powered by two steam engines , each of , and built by Elliott . Construction of the ironclad began in January 1863 and continued on during the next year . Word of the gunboat reached the Union naval officers stationed in the region , raising an alarm . They appealed to the War Department for an overland expedition to destroy the ship , to be christened " Albemarle " after the body of water into which the Roanoke emptied , but the Union Army never felt it could spare the troops needed to carry out such a mission ; it was a decision that would prove to be very short - sighted . Ordnance and projectiles . " Albemarle " was equipped with two Brooke rifled cannon ( similar to a Parrott rifle ) ; each double - banded cannon weighed more than with its pivot carriage and other attached hardware . Both cannons were positioned along the ironclad ' s center - line in the armored casemate , one forward , the other aft . The field of fire for both pivot rifles was 180 - degrees , from port to starboard : Each cannon could fire from one of three gun port positions or could deliver a two cannon broadside . " Albemarle " s projectiles consisted of explosive shells , anti - personnel canister shot , grape shot , and blunt - nosed , solid wrought iron " bolts " for use against Union armored ships . Service on the Roanoke . In April 1864 the newly commissioned Confederate States Steamer " Albemarle " , under the command of Captain James W . Cooke , got underway down - river toward Plymouth , North Carolina ; its mission was to clear the river of all Union vessels so that General Robert F . Hoke ' s troops could storm the forts located there . She anchored about three miles ( 5 km ) above the town , and the pilot , John Lock , set off with two seamen in a small boat to take sounding s . The river was high and they discovered ten feet of water over the obstructions that the Union forces had placed in the Thoroughfare Gap . Captain Cooke immediately ordered steam and , by keeping to the middle of the channel , they passed safely over the obstructions . The ironclad ' s armor protected them from the Union guns of the forts at Warren ' s Neck and Boyle ' s Mill . However , two paddle steamers , USS " Miami " and USS " Southfield " , lashed together with spars and chains , approached from up - river , attempting to pass on either side of " Albemarle " in order to trap her between them . Captain Cooke turned heavily to starboard , running dangerously close to the southern shore , and got outboard of " Southfield " . Turning back sharply into the river , he rammed the Union sidewheeler , driving her under ; " Albemarle " s ram became trapped in " Southfield " s hull from the force of the blow , and her bow was pulled under as well . As " Southfield " sank she rolled over before settling on the riverbed ; this action released the death grip that held the new Confederate ram . " Miami " fired a shell into " Albemarle " at point - blank range while she was trapped by the wreck of " Southfield " , but the shell rebounded off " Albemarle " s sloping iron armor and exploded on " Miami " , killing her commanding officer , Captain Charles W . Flusser . " Miami " s crew attempted to board " Albemarle " to capture her but were soon driven back by heavy musket fire ; " Miami " then steered clear of the ironclad and escaped into Albemarle Sound . With the river now clear of Union ships , and with the assistance of " Albemarle " s rifled cannon , General Hoke attacked and took Plymouth and the nearby forts . On 5 May " Albemarle " and CSS " Bombshell " , a captured steamer , were escorting the troop - laden CSS " Cotton Plant " down the Roanoke River ; they encountered four Union warships : USS " Miami " , now supported by USS " Mattabesett " , USS " Sassacus " , and USS " Wyalusing " . All four ships combined mounted more than sixty cannons . " Albemarle " opened fired first , wounding six men working one of " Mattabesett " ' s two 100 - pounder Parrott rifle s , and then attempted to ram her , but the sidewheeler managed to round the ironclad ' s armored bow . She was closely followed by " Sassacus " , which then fired a broadside of solid 9 - inch ( 229 mm ) and 100 - pound shot , all of which bounced off " Albemarle " s casemate armor . However , " Bombshell " , being a softer target , was hulled by each heavy shot from " Sassucus " ' s broadside and was quickly captured by Union forces , following her surrender . Lieutenant Commander Francis Asbury Roe of " Sassucus " , seeing " Albemarle " at a range of about , decided to ram . The Union ship struck the Confederate ironclad full and square , broadside - on , shattering the timbers of her own bow , twisting off her own bronze ram in the process , and jamming both ships together . With " Sassucus " s hull almost touching the end of the ram ' s Brooke rifle , " Albemarle " gun crew quickly fired two point - blank rifled shells , one of them puncturing " Sassucus " s boilers ; though live steam was roaring through the ship , she was able to break away and drift out of range . " Miami " first tried to use her spar torpedo and then to tangle the Confederate ram ' s screw propellers and rudder with a seine net , but neither ploy succeeded . More than 500 shells were fired at " Albemarle " during the battle ; with visible battle damage to her smokestack and other areas on the ironclad , she easily steamed back up the Roanoke the victor , soon mooring at Plymouth . Sinking . " Albemarle " successfully dominated the Roanoke and the approaches to Plymouth through the summer of 1864 . By autumn the U . S . government decided that the situation should be studied to determine if something could be done : The U . S . Navy considered various ways to destroy " Albemarle " , including two plans submitted by Lieutenant William B . Cushing ; they finally approved one of his plans , authorizing him to locate two small steam launch es that might be fitted with spar torpedo es . Cushing discovered two picket boats under construction in New York and acquired them for his mission ( some accounts have them as to 47 - feet ) . On each he mounted a Dahlgren 12 pounder howitzer and a spar projecting into the water from its bow . One of the boats was lost at sea during the voyage from New York to Norfolk , Virginia , but the other arrived safely with its crew of seven officers and men at the mouth of the Roanoke . There , the steam launch ' s spar was fitted with a lanyard - detonated torpedo . On the night of October 27 and 28 , 1864 , Cushing and his team began working their way upriver . A small cutter accompanied them , its crew having the task of preventing interference by the Confederate sentries stationed on a schooner anchored to the wreck of " Southfield " ; both boats , under the cover of darkness , slipped past the schooner undetected . So Cushing decided to use all twenty - two of his men and the element of surprise to capture " Albemarle " . As they approached the Confederate docks their luck turned , and they were spotted in the dark . They came under heavy rifle and pistol fire from both the shore and aboard " Albemarle " . As they closed with the ironclad , they quickly discovered she was defended against approach by floating log boom s . The logs , however , had been in the water for many months and were covered with heavy slime . The steam launch rode up and then over them without difficulty ; with her spar fully against the ironclad ' s hull , Cushing stood up in the bow , pulled the lanyard , detonating the torpedo ' s explosive charge . The explosion threw Cushing and his men overboard into the water ; Cushing then stripped off most of his uniform and swam to shore , where he hid undercover until daylight , avoiding the hastily organized Confederate search parties . The next afternoon , he was finally able to steal a small skiff and began slowly paddling , using his hands and arms as oars , down - river to rejoin Union forces at the river ' s mouth . Cushing ' s long journey was quite perilous and he was nearly captured and almost drowned before finally reaching safety , totally exhausted by his ordeal ; he was hailed a national hero of the Union cause for his daring exploits . Of the other men in Cushing ' s launch , one also escaped , two were drowned following to the explosion , and the rest were captured . Cushing ' s daring commando raid blew a hole in " Albemarle " s hull at the waterline " big enough to drive a wagon in . " She sank immediately in the six feet of water below her keel , settling into the heavy river bottom mud , leaving the upper casemate mostly dry and the ship ' s large " Stainless Banner " ensign flying from the flagstaff at the rear of the casemate ' s upper deck . Confederate commander Alexander F . Warley , who had been appointed as her captain about a month earlier , later salvaged both of " Albemarle " s rifled cannon and shells and used them to defend Plymouth against subsequent Union attack — futilely , as it turned out . Lieutenant Cushing ' s successful effort to neutralize CSS " Albemarle " is honored by the U . S . Navy with a battle star on the Civil War campaign streamer . Raising and later service . The United States Navy then raised and temporarily hull - patched the Confederate ram after the fall of Plymouth . After the end of the war , the Union gunboat USS " Ceres " towed " Albemarle " to the Norfolk Navy Yard where she arrived on 27 April 1865 . On 7 June orders were issued to repair her damaged hull , and she entered dry dock for that purpose soon thereafter . The work was completed on 14 August 1865 ; two weeks later the ironclad was judged condemned by a Washington , D . C . prize court . She saw no active naval service after being placed in ordinary at Norfolk , where she remained until finally being sold at public auction on 15 October 1867 to J . N . Leonard and Company . No record of any subsequent career has been found ; she was likely scrapped for salvage following purchase . One of her double - banded Brooke rifled cannon was on display at the Headquarters of the Commander - in - Chief U . S . Atlantic Command at the Norfolk , Virginia Naval base . Her smokestack is on display at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City , North Carolina . Prize Court Adjudication Replica . A 3 / 8ths scale , 63 foot ( 19 . 2m ) replica of the " Albemarle " has been at anchor near the Port O ' Plymouth Museum in Plymouth since April , 2002 ; the replica is self - powered and capable of sailing on the river . Each year the CSS Albemarle takes to the water during Living History Weekend , the last weekend in April each year .