Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

CSS Sumter

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Screw Steamer:

Built as the bark-rigged steamer SS Habana or New Orleans at Philadelphia, PA., for McConnell's New Orleans & Havana Line

Purchased by the Confederate Navy at New Orleans in April 1861 and converted to a cruiser by CAPT. Raphael Semmes, CSN

Commissioned CSS Sumter, 3 June 1861

During the Civil War CSS Sumter cruised the West Indies and south to Maranhao, Brazil, capturing eighteen prizes in six months.

Forced to run for Gibraltar in December 1861

Disarmed and laid up at Gibraltar in January 1862

Sold at auction 19 December 1862 to the Fraser-Trenholm interests

Sumter quietly continued her service to the Confederacy under British colors as the blockade runner SS Gibraltar

Gibraltar, laid up at Liverpool, 10 July 1864

Sold at auction at Liverpool, 14 June 1866 for Ł 1,150 to new owners based in Hull, East Riding, Yorkshire

Final Disposition, On 10 February 1867 Gibraltar sprang a leak during a voyage from Helsingborg, Sweden to Grimsby, Lincolnshire. She foundered in the Dogger Bank, 14 February. Her crew were rescued by a fishing smack. (References Shipping News". Belfast News-Letter (33402). Belfast. 18 June 1866 and "Loss of the ex-Confederate Cruiser Sumter". The Times (25738). London. 19 February 1867. col D, p. 7.)

Specifications:
Displacement 473 t.
Length 184'
Beam 30'
Depth of Hold 12'
Draft unknown
Speed 10 kts
Complement unknown

Armament

one 8" 68-pdr in pivot

four 32-pdrs

Propulsion

steam engine(s)

boiler(s)

screw(s)

Size	Image Description	Source
23k	*Namesake* Thomas Sumter, (born August 14, 1734, Hanover county, Virginia [U.S.]—died June 1, 1832, South Mount, South Carolina, U.S.), legislator and officer in the American Revolution, remembered for his leadership of troops against British forces in North and South Carolina, where he earned the sobriquet “the Carolina Gamecock.” Sumter served in the French and Indian War and later moved to South Carolina. After the fall of Charleston (1780) he escaped to North Carolina, where he became brigadier general of state troops. After successes over the British at Catawba and at Hanging Rock (Lancaster county), he was defeated the same year at Fishing Creek (Chester county). He defeated Mayor Wemyss at Fishdam Ford and repulsed Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Blackstock (both in Union county) in November 1780. After the war Sumter served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1789–93; 1797–1801) and in the U.S. Senate (1801–10). He was the last surviving general officer of the Revolution. Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was named for him. Text from the Encyclopedia Britannica	Bill Gonyo
69k	Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1951 of the steamship *Habana* (also called *Havana), painted for use in his book "Early American Steamers", Volume I. SS Havana, of McConnel's New Orleans & Havana Line, became CSS Sumter* in 1861 and the blockade runner *Gibraltar* in 1862. US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 63844. Courtesy Erik Heyl.	Robert Hurst
103k	Confederate blockade runner CSS Sumter running the blockade out off New Orleans. June 1861. Note the Union sloop of war USS Brooklyn in the background. US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 54479.	Robert Hurst
194k	*"The Pirate '[CSS] Sumter' Firing at the Brig 'Joseph Parks,' of Boston."* was published in Harper's Weekly. New York, February 1, 1862.	Tommy Trampp
129k	CSS Sumter running the blockade of Pass a l' Outre, by USS Brooklyn, 30 June, 1861. Lithograph by A. Hoen & Co., Baltimore, MD., copied from "Memoirs of Service Afloat", by Raphael Semmes. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 51797	Robert Hurst Tommy Trampp
142k	CSS Sumter leaving New Orleans, 30 June 1861. Line engraving by Evans, from a sketch made at the time, published in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Volume II, page 14. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 42201	Robert Hurst
112k	CSS Sumter coaling at the Dutch island of Curacoa, in the Caribbean Sea. Line engraving from a photograph by S.J. Nathans, published in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper", 24 August 1861. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 42202	Robert Hurst
120k	CSS Sumter running the blockade of St. Pierre, Martinique, by USS Iroquois, on the 23 November 1861. Lithograph by A. Hoen & Co., Baltimore, Maryland, copied from Memoirs of Service Afloat, by Raphael Semmes. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59352	Robert Hurst
75k	*"The Capture by the Confederate war ship Sumter of two Federal merchantmen. Captain Semmes."* Oil on hardboard, 18 7/8" x 12 7/16", bearing the above title on its back. It is signed and dated on the front: "W.H. Moody, 1877"; and on the back "W.H. Moody, 3/3/77". The painting depicts CSS Sumter flying what appears to be an Argentine flag. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 91859-KN (Color). Courtesy of Nigel Burgess, 1981.	Robert Hurst
76k	Wash drawing of CSS Sumter under way by Clary Ray, 1894. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 98.	Bill Gonyo
168k	Line engraving of CSS Sumter after a drawing by Theodore R. Davis, published in "Harper's Weekly", 16 August 1862, depicting the Confederate Cruiser Sumter at sea. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 59564.	Bill Gonyo
155k	CSS Sumter entering the Bay of Gibraltar - Her Last Voyage as a "Confederate" Steamer, December 1861. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1862.	Tommy Trampp
112k	CSS SumterCSS Sumter, USS Kearsarge and USS Tuscarora at Gibraltar. Artwork published in "Service Afloat: or, the Remarkable Career of the Confederate Cruisers Sumter and Alabama" ..., by Admiral Raphael Semmes, CSN, 1887. It depicts the *Tuscarora* and *Kearsarge* keeping watch on the Confederate cruiser *Sumter, on 12 April 1862. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59410*	Robert Hurst
135k	CSS Sumter Ship's officers on deck: Seated, left to right: First Lieutenant William E. Evans; Commander Raphael Semmes, Commanding Officer; and First Assistant Engineer Miles J. Freeman. Standing, left to right: Surgeon Francis L. Galt; Lieutenant John M. Stribling; Lieutenant John M. Kell, Executive Officer; Lieutenant Robert T. Chapman; and First Lieutenant Becket K. Howell (Marine Corps). US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 42383	Bill Gonyo
125k	Line engraving by H.B. Hall, Jr., New York, featuring portraits of seven officers who served with CAPT. Raphael Semmes in CSS Sumter In center is First Lieutenant John McIntosh Kell The others are (clockwise from top): First Lieutenant Robert T. Chapman; First Assistant Engineer Miles J. Freeman; Paymaster Henry Myers; Lieutenant John M. Stribling; Surgeon Francis L. Galt; and First Lieutenant William E. Evans. Kell, Freeman and Galt also served with Semmes in CSS Alabama and were present during her engagement with USS Kearsarge. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 57264.	US Naval History and Heritage Command

CSS Sumter
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Semmes, Raphael CSN	3 June 1861 - 19 December 1862	CSS Sumter
02	LT. Chapman, Robert T. CSN (XO)	no dates	CSS Sumter
02	CAPT. Reid, E. C. CSN	July 1863 - 10 July 1864	CS Gibraltar


Courtesy Bill Gonyo

Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page

Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.

This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 4 December 2020