View source for CSS Clarence

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| Ship caption = The CSS ''Clarence'' drawn by computer.
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| Ship country = Confederate States
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
| Ship name = ''Clarence''
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| Ship captured = May 6, 1863 by the [[CSS Florida|CSS ''Florida'']] and converted to the CSN
| Ship fate = Burned to prevent capture on June 12, 1863
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'''CSS ''Clarence''''', also known as ''Coquette'', was originally a [[brig]] from [[Baltimore]] captured by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] cruiser [[CSS Florida (blockade runner)|CSS ''Florida'']] during the [[American Civil War]] and converted into a Confederate [[cruiser]] for [[commerce raiding]].

Built in 1857 for [[Baltimore, Maryland]] fruit dealer J. Crosby, it was transporting a cargo of coffee from [[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]], to Baltimore when the  CSS ''Florida'' captured the ''Clarence'' off the coast of [[Brazil]]. Lt. [[Charles Read (naval officer)|Charles W. Read]] was appointed commander and a sufficient number of the ''Florida''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew were transferred to the new cruiser to man the ship.<ref name="danfs">{{DANFS}}</ref>

Lieutenant Read had requested that, rather than burn ''Clarence'', he might try, with the ship's papers, to sail into [[Hampton Roads, Virginia]], and if possible destroy or capture a Union [[gunboat]] and burn Union merchant vessels congregated at [[Fortress Monroe]]. ''Florida''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Commander [[John Newland Maffitt (privateer)|John Newland Maffitt]] armed ''Clarence'' with one gun so that Read might capture prizes on his way to Hampton Roads.<ref name="danfs" />

In its brief career as a Confederate cruiser it captured a number of ships: The ''Whistling Wind'', ''Kate Stewart'', ''Mary Alvina'', ''Mary Schindler'' were burned, and the ''Alfred H. Partridge'' was bonded. Its final capture was the [[barque|bark]] [[CSS Tacony|''Tacony'']] on June 12, 1863, which being a better ship suited for [[commerce raiding]], the crew and armaments were transferred to it and the ''Clarence'' was destroyed.<ref name="scharf">{{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, NY | year=1996  | author=J. Thomas Scharf | isbn=0-517-18336-6}}</ref>

== Officers and crew ==
* Lt. [[Charles Read (naval officer)|Charles W. Read]], commander<ref name="scharf" />
* Billups, Matthewson, and Pride, master's mates<ref name="scharf" />
* Brown, engineer<ref name="scharf" />
* 16 men<ref name="scharf" />

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist}}

{{CSN cruisers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarence}}
[[Category:Cruisers of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Raids of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:1857 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1863]]