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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

CSS Webb

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Screw Tug:
  • Built in New York in 1856 as William H. Webb becoming the property of the Southern Steamship Co.
  • Webb arrived at New Orleans in May 1861 from Havana and was issued a privateer's commission, although never used in that capacity
  • Pressed into service by the Confederate States in mid-January 1862 and converted a ram
  • Webb participated in the sinking of USS Indianola near New Carthage, MS., 24 February 1863
  • Early in 1865 Webb was transferred to the Confederate Navy
  • Webb ran the Union blockade 23 April 1865 at the mouth of the Red River with Federal ships followed in close pursuit
  • Final Disposition ran ashore and fired by her crew to prevent capture by Union forces
    Specifications:
    Displacement 655 t.
    Length 206'
    Beam 32'
    Depth of Hold 13'
    Draft 9'6"
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 130-pdr rifle
    two 12-pdr howitzers
    Propulsion steam
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Webb
    098659102     		70k CSS Webb running the Union blockade, 23 April 1865, at the mouth of the Red River.
    Painting by William Lindsey Challoner, circa 1885. Louisiana State Museum.    		 Robert Hurst
    Webb 129k "Burning of the Rebel Ram 'Webb' Below New Orleans, April 24, 1865"
    Engraving after a sketch by R. Weir, published in Harper's Weekly, 20 May 1865, page 317. It depicts CSS Webb afire on shore some twenty-five miles below New Orleans, LA., after she was trapped by USS Richmond (seen in the right background) while attempting to escape down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico during the night of 24 April 1865.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 43135    		 Tommy Trampp
    CSS Webb
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 18 September 2020