Today in History:

Chattahoochee (1863-1864)

CSS Chattahoochee, at twin-screw steam gunboat built at Saffold, Georgia, entered service in February 1863. Serving on the inland rivers and coast of Georgia and northern Florida, she suffered from serious problems with her steam powerplant. On 27 May 1863, a boiler explosion killed many of her crew and disabled the ship. She was taken to Columbus, Georgia, for repairs in June 1864 and was scuttled near there in December of that year to prevent capture by Union forces. About a century later, her remains were salvaged for preservation and exhibit.

This page features our only view related to CSS Chattahoochee.

Photo #: NH 55226

CSS Chattahoochee (1863-1864)


Ship's engines and lower portion of the after hull, photographed following recovery in the vicinity of Columbus, Georgia, circa the early or middle 1960s.
Note the engines' horizontal cylinders, with the shafts of her twin screws beyond them. This machinery had been wrecked with sledge hammers when the ship was scuttled in December 1864.

Courtesy of the Confederate Salvage Association, Inc., Columbus, Georgia.