CSS Missouri CSS " Missouri " was a Confederate States Navy casemate ironclad paddle steamer deployed on the Red River during the American Civil War . For most of the war she was trapped in the Shreveport , Louisiana area by low water on the Red River . The ship was surrendered in June 1865 to the United States Navy and sold in November . Description . " Missouri " was long overall , had a beam of and a draft of . Her casemate extended for most of the length of the ship and was long . It partially enclosed her diameter center paddle wheel in a recess at the aft end of the casemate ; the upper of the paddle wheel protruded above the casemate and was totally unprotected . The stern wheel was powered by two steam engines taken from the steamboat " Grand Era " ; four boilers provided steam to the engines and were connected to a single funnel . The ship had a maximum speed of . " Missouri " s armor consisted of railroad " T - rails " , laid alternately with the crowns up and down . They were spiked to the backing of of yellow pine , but not closely together enough to give them a solid surface . On the sides of the ship , they were laid diagonally , but were vertical on the bow and stern faces of the casemate . The armor extended approximately below the waterline . The casemate was sloped at an angle of 30° . The deck fore and aft of the casemate was also protected by " T - rails " . At the forward end of the casemate was a pilothouse that was raised above the deck . She was built of green timber , caulked with cotton and leaked like a sieve . Despite her three rudders , her stern wheel made her difficult to steer . The casemate had eight gun ports , two in the bow face and three on each side , although only three guns were mounted in the ship . A smoothbore Dahlgren pivot gun was mounted in the starboard forward position . It could fire out of the starboard bow port or the forward starboard broadside port . It weighed approximately and could fire a shell up to a range of at an elevation of 15° . An old 32 - pounder ( 14 . 5 kg ) siege gun was in the equivalent position on the port side of the ship . The characteristics of this gun cannot be reliably determined because the United States produced a multitude of 32 - pounder guns before the Civil War , but none of them were designated as siege guns . The third gun was a smoothbore Dahlgren pivot gun that could fire out of either of the two aft broadside gun ports . It weighed approximately and could fire a shell up to a range of at an elevation of 15° . Construction and service . The Confederate Navy Department authorized the construction of one or more ironclad warship s at Shreveport on 3 October 1862 and Lieutenant Jonathan H . Carter signed a contract for two ships on 1 November . The keel of the first ship was laid the following month and she was launched on 14 April 1863 . The ship was commissioned on 12 September 1863 with the name of " Missouri " , after the high water season on the Red River had ended . Lieutenant Commander Charles Fauntleroy was appointed as her captain , although he told Lieutenant Carter that " he hoped the damned boat would sink " and that he " never intended to serve on her if he could help it " . The low water prevented " Missouri " from playing any part in the Red River Campaign of early 1864 . In September , Lieutenant Carter commanded an unsuccessful attempt to seize the gunboat using men from the crews of " Missouri " and CSS " Webb " . In March 1865 , the river began to rise and " Missouri " was able to leave the Shreveport area for the first time . She reached Alexandria , Louisiana on 8 April and anchored where she could defend the town . Lieutenant Carter surrendered the ship to Union forces on 3 June , the last Confederate ironclad to surrender . After her armor was removed , " Missouri " was sold at public auction on 29 November .