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Photo # KN-843: CSS Tennessee surrenders at the end of the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 Aug. 1864

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- SHIPS of the CONFEDERATE STATES --

CSS Tennessee (1864-1864) --
in the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864 (part II)

(narrative continued from ...part I)
When Tennessee reached the Federal anchorage area, she was also rammed by the Hartford and subjected to a terrific cannonade. The U.S. monitors Chickasaw and Manhattan then engaged her at close range with their heavy guns, while other Union ships fired from a distance. Tennessee's smokestack and most other exposed fittings were hammered away, further reducing her never very great speed; her gunport shutter chains were cut, closing the ports so the Confederates could not shoot back; and her exposed steering chains were severed, leaving her unmanageable. The Manhattan blew a hole in Tennessee's armor with her massive fifteen-inch gun. The twin-turret monitor Chickasaw stationed herself off the beleagered ship's stern, firing her eleven-inch guns "like pocket pistols" and seriously weakening the after end of Tennessee's armored casemate.

With his flagship unable to fire her guns, steam or steer, and with the collapse of the casemate seemingly imminent, Admiral Buchanan, who had been wounded in the battle, authorized her surrender. The ship's Commanding Officer, Commander James D. Johnston poked a white flag up from the top of the casemate. Firing soon ceased, though USS Ossipee, coming on fast in another ramming attempt and unable to stop in time, struck a post-surrender blow. Federal Navy officers soon took possession of their battered prize, effectively concluding the Battle of Mobile Bay.

This page features all our views of CSS Tennessee during the last stages of the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864.

See CSS Tennessee in the Battle of Mobile Bay (part I) for picures of Tennessee during the earlier stages of the battle.

For other images of, or related to, CSS Tennessee, see:

  • CSS Tennessee (1864-1864).

    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 59148

    Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864


    Line engraving published in "The Soldier in Our Civil War", depicting USS Hartford (center) engaging CSS Tennessee, during the latter part of the action.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 183KB; 710 x 625 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 1055

    "The 'Tennessee' at Bay, in the Battle of Mobile Bay", 5 August 1864


    Halftone reproduction of a Currier & Ives lithograph, published in "Admiral Franklin Buchanan, Fearless Man of Action", by Charles Lee Lewis. The original lithograph was provided by Mr. Franklin Buchanan Owen. Another copy is reportedly held by the Library of Congress.
    This view depicts, none too accurately, the CSS Tennessee in the center at the time she surrendered, surrounded by the Union warships. The latter include (at right) the twin-turret monitors Chickasaw and Winnebago at right. One of the single-turret monitors would be Manhattan. There was no second single-turret monitor present at this stage of the battle. The large ship in the left foreground is presumably USS Hartford. Fort Morgan is shown in the right distance, but much closer to the action than was actually the case.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 405 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 1678

    Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864


    CSS Tennessee surrounded by Union warships, near the end of the battle. The two twin-turret monitors depicted off her bow and stern are USS Winnebago and USS Chickasaw.
    Civil War vintage artwork, photographed by T. Lilienthal, New Orleans, Louisiana.

    Courtesy of the Philibrick Collection, Kittery, Maine.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 97KB; 740 x 515 pixels

     
    Photo #: KN-843 (Color)

    Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864

    Oil on canvas (40" x 66") by Xanthus Smith (1839-1929), signed and dated by the artist, 1890.
    It depicts the surrender of CSS Tennessee to the Union squadron commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut. Identifiable U.S. Navy ships present include: Winnebago (monitor in the left distance), Chickasaw (monitor in the foreground) and Hartford (Farragut's flagship, in the right center, painted light gray).

    Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland. Gift of Henry Huddleston Rogers, 1930.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

    Online Image: 67KB; 740 x 470 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-KN-843

     
    Photo #: NH 1276

    Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864


    Line engraving after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, published in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Volume 4, page 378.
    Entitled "Surrender of the 'Tennessee,' Battle of Mobile Bay", it depicts CSS Tennessee in the center foreground, surrounded by the Union warships (from left to right): Lackawanna, Winnebago, Ossipee, Brooklyn, Itasca, Richmond, Hartford and Chickasaw. Fort Morgan is shown in the right distance.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 179KB; 740 x 540 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 42394

    "Capture of the Confederate ram Tennessee"


    Artwork by J.O. Davidson, depicting the surrender of CSS Tennessee at the conclusion of the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864.
    U.S. Navy ships depicted include monitor Winnebago and sloop Monongahela, in the left background; sloop Ossipee "in collision with Tennessee", in center; monitor Chickasaw "lying across the stern of Tennessee", in right foreground; gunboat Itaska, in right distance; and flagship Hartford further to the right.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 410 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 42395

    "Surrender of Ram Tennessee"


    Photograph of a sketch by 3rd Assistant Engineer Robert Weir, of USS Richmond.
    It depicts the CSS Tennessee surrounded by U.S. Navy warships at the conclusion of the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Ship in the left foreground is USS Hartford. Twin-turret monitors at right are USS Chickasaw and USS Winnebago.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 320 pixels

     

    See CSS Tennessee in the Battle of Mobile Bay (part I) for picures of Tennessee during the earlier stages of the battle.

    For other images of, or related to, CSS Tennessee, see:

  • CSS Tennessee (1864-1864).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 16 September 2000
    Coding updated 5 May 2001