CSS Nansemond, a 166-ton twin-screw gunboat, was built at Norfolk, Virginia. Commissioned shortly before Norfolk fell to Federal forces in May 1862, she spent the remainder of the Civil War on the James River. In June-October 1864, Nansemond took part in engagements at Trent's Reach, Dutch Gap and Fort Harrison. She was burned 3 April 1865, at the time the Confederate Government evacuated Richmond.

This page features our only view of the Confederate gunboat Nansemond.

Photo #: NH 73908 CSS Nansemond (1862-1865) Pencil sketch by Lieutenant Walter R. Butt, C.S. Navy, 1865. It depicts Nansemond off Chaffins Bluff, on the James River, Virginia, 22 March 1865. Courtesy of Marshall W. Butt, Director, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1971.

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