CSS Texas (1865)

	One of the few pictures of CSS Texas in existence; a cross-section drawing through the boiler area.
History
Name	CSS Texas
Launched	January 1865
Stricken	15 October 1867
Fate	sold
General characteristics
Length	217 ft (66 m)
Beam	48.5 ft (14.8 m)
Draft	13.5 ft (4.1 m)
Complement	50 officers and men
Armament	four pivots, two broadside guns

The CSS Texas (Confederate States Ship Texas), was a twin-screw ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy, named for the state of Texas. She was sister ship to CSS Columbia.

History

The keel for the CSS Texas was laid down at Richmond, Virginia. She was launched in January 1865. At the time of Robert E. Lee's evacuation of Richmond on 3 April 1865, she was left unfinished but intact in an outfitting berth at the Richmond Navy Yard, one of only two vessels which escaped destruction by the departing Confederate forces. Captured when the city fell the following day, the ironclad was taken into the United States Navy, but saw no service. Texas was laid up at Norfolk until 15 October 1867 when she was sold to J.N. Leonard & Co.^[1] of New Haven, Connecticut.

Design

From a technological view, the CSS Texas was one of a series of three 'Tennessee class' ironclads. (The other two being the CSS Tennessee II and CSS Columbia) which embodied the latest developments in Confederate shipbuilding technology. Her casemate was diamond-shaped rather than being a sloped box as on earlier ships and fitted snugly around the front, aft and side cannon placement. Instead of bolted on, the pilot house almost formed a seamless natural extension of the side armor. Details of her armament are sketchy, but her sister ship, the CSS Tennessee II ported four 6.4 in. Brooke rifles, two 7 in. Brooke rifles and a bolted-on spar torpedo. Also for the Tennessee II, Armor was given as 3 layers of 2 in, top speed as 5 knots and crew as 133 men. It is unclear however in how far the CSS Texas resembled the Tennessee II as other sources give her a (projected) speed of no less than 10 knots and note that both the Tennessee II and the Texas differed from the original design due to availability of key materials (in particular guns and engines) and due to improvements made during construction from lessons learned in combat^[2].

CSS Texas in fiction

In the 2005 film Sahara based on Clive Cussler's 1992 novel Sahara, a fictional CSS Texas is supposed to have made the crossing to Africa during the end of the American Civil War and travelled up the Niger River before being buried in the deserts of Mali.