CSS Tallahassee The CSS " Tallahassee " was a twin - screw steamer and " cruiser " in the Confederate States Navy , purchased in 1864 , and used for commerce raiding off the Atlantic coast . History . The iron Confederate cruiser " Tallahassee " was named after the Confederate state capital of Tallahassee in Florida and was built on the River Thames by J & W Dudgeon of Cubitt Town , London for London , Chatham & Dover Rly . Co . to the design of Capt . T . E . Symonds , Royal Navy , ostensibly for the Chinese opium trade . She was previously the blockade runner " Atalanta " and made the Dover - Calais crossing in 77 minutes on an even keel . She had made several blockade runs between Bermuda and Wilmington , N . C . before the Confederates bought her . After the " Tallahassee " was commissioned and prepared for sea she was placed under Commander John Taylor Wood , CSN . Wood was a grandson of President Zachary Taylor and a nephew of Jefferson Davis , who at the time was President of the Confederate States of America . The officers and crew were all volunteers from the Confederate gunboats on the James River and North Carolina waters . The " Tallahassee " went through the blockade on August 6 , 1864 from her home port of Wilmington , North Carolina . Her first day out , four cruisers chased the " Tallahassee " without incident . She made a spectacular 19 - day raid off the Atlantic coast as far north as Halifax , Nova Scotia . The " Tallahassee " destroyed 26 vessels and captured 7 others that were bonded or released . Wood sailed the " Tallahassee " into Halifax Harbour on August 18 to take on bunker coal and water . Neutrality laws limited her stay in Halifax to 24 hours . " Tallahassee " was granted an extra 12 hours to fix a broken mast but was only allowed to load enough coal to take her to the nearest Confederate port . Two Federal war ships , the USS " Nansemond " and USS " Huron " , had chased her north and were believed to be waiting for the " Tallahassee " at the harbour entrance . Wood hired a legendary Halifax pilot John " Jock " Flemming , who is believed to have guided the warship through the narrow and shallow Eastern Passage between Dartmouth and Lawlor Island , a route only suited for small fishing vessels . " Tallahassee " succeeded in negotiating the passage out of the harbour , although no Northern warships were in fact waiting . The first Northern warship , the gunboat USS Pontoosuc , arrived at the harbour entrance several hours after the Confederate cruiser departed . Being unable to procure enough coal to continue , Wood was forced to return to Wilmington where he arrived safely on August 26 . Renaming . CSS Olustee . The " Tallahassee " was renamed CSS " Olustee " after the Battle of Olustee in northern Florida and placed under the command of Lt . W . H . Ward , CSN . The " Olustee " ran through the blockade off Wilmington again on October 29 , 1864 but suffered some damage from Federal guns . She captured and destroyed six ships off the Cape of Delaware before having to return for coal . She stopped attempts by USS " Sassacus " to capture her on November 6 , 1864 and by four other United States ships on November 7 , 1864 finally passing into the safety of Wilmington harbor . CSS Chameleon . The " Olustee " was renamed the CSS " Chameleon " with Lt . J . Wilkinson , CSN , commanding . The battery had been removed and she ran through the Union blockade on December 24 , 1864 while the United States fleet was preoccupied with bombarding Fort Fisher . The " Chameleon " proceeded to Bermuda to obtain provisions for the Confederate army . Wilkinson made two attempts to enter one of the southern ports , but finding it impossible , he took Chameleon to Liverpool , England , and turned her over to Comdr . J . D . Bullock , CSN , financial agent of the Confederate Navy Department . On her arrival in England on April 9 , 1865 the " Chameleon " was seized and sold by the British authorities and was about to enter the merchant service when the United States instituted suit for possession . She was awarded to the United States Government and handed over to the consul at Liverpool on April 26 , 1866 . External sources . CSS Tallahassee The Confederate Naval Historical Society ~ 4 - Newsletter Number Six , February 1991