View source for CSS Virginia II

{{short description|Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ship}}
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|Ship image=File:Virginia II (1864).jpg
|Ship caption=Harper's Weekly sketch of 11 February 1865 of CS Navy sortie 23 January 1865 on the James River; Ironclad at right is the CSS Virginia II; the wreck at the left is the CSS Navy Training Ship "Patrick Henry"
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Confederate States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
|Ship name=CSS ''Virginia II''
|Ship namesake=[[Virginia]]
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|Ship builder=[[William Arthur Graves]]
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|Ship laid down=April 1862?
|Ship launched=June 29, 1863
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|Ship commissioned=May 18, 1864
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|Ship homeport=[[Richmond, Virginia]]
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|Ship reb8=Burned to prevent capture; remains partially raised and salvaged for scrap
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|Ship length={{convert|197|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship complement=150 officers and men
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|Ship armament=1 × 11" Brooke smoothbore, 1 × 8" Brooke rifle, 2 6.4" Brooke rifle
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'''CSV ''Virginia II''''' was a [[Confederate Navy]] steam-powered [[ironclad]] ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in [[Richmond, Virginia]]. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, [[Confederate States Navy|CSN]], was the superintendent in charge of her construction. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's armored [[casemate]] shortened from the specifications given in [[John L. Porter]]'s original building plans; in addition, the ship's iron-plating, while six inches thick on the casemate's forward face, was reduced to five inches on her port, starboard, and aft faces. Due to the shortening of her casemate, the number of her cannon were reduced to a single 11" smoothbore, a single 8" rifle, and two 6.4" rifles.

The ''Virginia II'' was named after the more famous Confederate ironclad, {{ship|CSS|Virginia}}, also called the {{USS|Merrimack|1855|2}} because of the ship's origins as a Union frigate. The original ''Virginia'''s success at the [[Battle of Hampton Roads]] caused "gunboat associations" to emerge around the South, mainly driven by women; their efforts helped with the construction of the ''Virginia II''.<ref name="coski2">Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 82.</ref>

==Construction==
Money to help with the construction of this ironclad was largely contributed by the Richmond chapter of the "Ladies Aid and Defense Society" (called the "National Defense Association"), which adopted the ironclad in early April 1862 for the defense of Richmond. The chairman was Maria Gaitskell Clopton. It is estimated that the society contributed more than $30,000 towards ''Virginia II''{{'}}s construction.<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 82–85</ref>

By November 1862, [[John Mercer Brooke]] was able to report that she was "pretty well advanced, frames up, clamps in, etc...She will be a strong and fine vessel."<ref name="coski2" />

However, after this promising start, significant delays plagued the new ironclad. It was not until more than a year after she was laid down that ''Virginia II'' was finally launched without incident on June 29, 1863. "She glided into the water 'like a thing of life' amid the prolonged cheers of the spectators."<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 86</ref> However, she suffered from further [[fitting-out]] delays and was not fully commissioned until May 18, 1864, almost a year later; she was made the flagship of the [[James River Squadron]] (replacing {{ship|CSS|Richmond}} in this role).<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 153,156</ref>

==Career==

''Virginia II'' went into action on June 21, 1864 as the flagship of [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] [[John K. Mitchell]], CSN, during the engagement between the Confederate [[James River Squadron]] and Federal ships in Trent's Reach. But the ironclad developed mechanical problems when an errant chain from the nearby {{ship|CSS|Richmond}} became entangled in her propeller, and she could no longer participate in the battle.<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 165–166</ref>

On August 13, the Virginia II participated in the attack on the Union forces at Dutch Gap. The [[Canonicus-class monitor|''Canonicus''-class monitor]], {{USS|Saugus|1863|6}}, and her gunboats joined in the battle, but could not effectively train their guns, though they did manage to fire two shots that hit ''Virginia II''.<ref>Scharf, ''History of the Confederate States Navy'', 735</ref> On August 17, she participated in the capture of [[Signal Hill (Henrico County, Virginia)|Signal Hill]], shelling the Union defenses from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. before finally ceasing fire.<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 167</ref>

From September 29 through October 1, the ''Virginia II'' and the rest of the squadron attacked New Market Heights and [[Fort Harrison]] in conjunction with the [[Confederate Army]]; it was the largest operation north of the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] since [[Battle of Cold Harbor|Cold Harbor]] and would remain so until the end of the war. Once again, though, the ''Virginia II'' suffered difficulty, delaying her entrance into the battle. She had just received a new cannon, and in the rush to leave the dock, the supply ship ''Gallego'' became entangled in her anchor chain, causing the ''Gallego'' to sink.<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 168</ref>

In their routine patrol of the James River, the squadron was surprised to discover, on the morning of October 22, that the Union Army had finished fortifying [[Cox Hill]]. To cover the retreat of the Confederate wooden vessels, ''Virginia II'' approached the battery, followed by two ironclads, and effected a retreat upstream to [[Chaffin's Bluff]].<ref name="scharf">Scharf, ''History of the Confederate States Navy'', 736–737</ref> During this, the ''Virginia II''{{'}}s smokestack was riddled by shells.<ref>Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 171</ref> Though caught by surprise, this small action helped determine the effectiveness of the ironclads' armored casemates against close rifled cannon fire, and in the case of the ''Virginia II'', the results were favorable: her casemate withstood 7 direct hits by 100-pound conical iron "bolts," which barely dented her plating.<ref name="scharf" />

On December 7 ''Virginia II'', along with the ''Fredericksburg'' and ''Richmond'', steamed down to Fort Brady near Trent's Reach and near sunset exchanged cannon fire with the fort until darkness fell.<ref>Scharf, ''History of the Confederate States Navy'', 738</ref>

===Battle of Trent's Reach===
[[Image:WreckofCSSJamestown.jpg|thumb|244px|Site of the sinking of ''Virginia II'' and other ships in the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]. The part showing above water is from {{ship|CSS|Jamestown}}. ''(Photograph by [[Mathew Brady]])'']]
{{main|Battle of Trent's Reach}}
Her final action took place on January 23–24, 1865 when the Confederate [[James River Squadron|squadron]] in the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], including [[ironclad]]s ''Richmond'', and ''Fredericksburg'', with five smaller vessels, made a second unsuccessful attempt to circumvent obstructions in Trent's Reach. A reliable report indicated there was a passage through, as a result of a [[freshet]] of melting ice. To avoid the risk of collision, the gunboats and tenders were lashed to the starboard sides of the ironclads; ''Virginia II'' accreted to her bulk the gunboats {{ship|CSS|Nansemond||2}} and {{ship|CSS|Torpedo||2}}, with the torpedo boat {{ship|CSS|Scorpion||2}} in tow. After passing the Union batteries at Fort Brady sometime after 8 p.m., the ''Virginia II'' accidentally beached ''Torpedo'' by cutting too close to the shore. The captain of ''Nansemond'' untied his ship from ''Virginia II'' in an attempt to free ''Torpedo''. The fleet continued on and reached the obstructions at Trent's Reach.<ref name="coski">Coski, ''Capital Navy'', 198–207</ref><ref>Scharf, ''History of the Confederate States Navy'', 740–742</ref>

Again ''Virginia II'' ran into trouble, this time running aground; the smaller ships tried to free her for three hours. Only two ships made it through, the rest were either running aground or helping the ones that had already run aground. Dawn came with most of the squadron in full view of the Union fortifications at Battery Parsons, and they had to suffer fire until the water rose high enough to allow them to finally retreat. In late morning, just as the water was high enough to re-float ''Virginia II'', the Union fleet arrived and added its firepower. This time it was much more deadly: the double-turreted monitor {{USS|Onondaga|1864|6}} was able to pierce her armor with its shot. ''Virginia II'' and the rest of the squadron retreated upstream until they were safely under the cover of Confederate Battery Dantzler. They attempted to run past again that night, but Union soldiers had erected a huge light illuminating the obstructions; this, combined with several other factors, forced the attempt to be abandoned.<ref name="coski" />
{{multiple image
| footer    =
| align     = right
| image2    = The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 06 Page 095.jpg
| width2    = 190
| caption2  = A second view of the Battered smokestack from C.S.S. Virginia
| image1    = Battered smokestack from C.S.S. Virginia 023.jpg
| width1    = 180
| caption1  = A view of the Battered smokestack from C.S.S. Virginia
}}

While leaving, ''Hampton'' managed to entangle her screw propeller in ''Virginia II''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s anchor chain. They suffered more heavy fire on their return upriver from [[Fort Brady]], and ''Virginia II'' ran aground again before making it to the safety of [[Chaffin's Bluff]]. ''Virginia II'' had at least 6 killed and more than a half dozen wounded from the action; she also suffered heavy battle damage which required extensive repairs.<ref>Scharf, ''History of the Confederate States Navy'', 741</ref> Her smokestack was destroyed, the engines became faulty, and her iron armor and underlying wooden framework were damaged.<ref name="coski" />

{{Clear}}

==Destruction of ''Virginia II''==

Her repairs had just been completed when ''Virginia II'' and the other Confederate warships of the James River Squadron were ordered destroyed by squadron commander Admiral [[Raphael Semmes]] to prevent their capture by rapidly advancing Union forces during the evacuation and fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865.

Following the war's end, most of the wreck of ''Virginia II'' was raised for salvage.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{DANFS}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bisbee |first1=Saxon T. |title=Engines of Rebellion: Confederate Ironclads and Steam Engineering in the American Civil War |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |isbn=978-0-81731-986-1|date=2018}}
* {{cite book |last1=Canney |first1=Donald L. |title=The Confederate Steam Navy 1861-1865 |date=2015 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing|location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-4824-2}}
* {{cite book|first=John M.|last=Coski|title=Capital Navy: The Men, Ships and Operations of the James River Squadron|location=Campbell, California|publisher=Savas Woodbury Publishers |year=1996 |isbn=1-882810-03-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Olmstead|first1=Edwin|last2=Stark|first2=Wayne E.|last3=Tucker |first3=Spencer C.|date=1997|title=The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon|publisher=Museum Restoration Service|location=Alexandria Bay, New York|isbn=0-88855-012-X|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|title=History of the Confederate States Navy: From the Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel|publisher=Gramercy Books|location=New York |year=1996|last=Scharf|first=J. Thomas | isbn=0-517-18336-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Civil War Navies 1855–1883 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York|year=2006|series=The U.S. Navy Warship Series |isbn=0-415-97870-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships |year=1984 |publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Still |first=William N. Jr. |author-link=William N. Still Jr. |year=1985 |title=Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads |orig-date=1971 |location=Columbia, South Carolina |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=0-87249-454-3}}

{{CSN ironclads}}
{{1865 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virginia II}}
[[Category:Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Ships built in Richmond, Virginia]]
[[Category:1863 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in rivers]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Naval magazine explosions]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1865]]