CSS Charleston was a casemate ironclad ram built for the Confederate Navy (CSN) at Charleston, South Carolina during the American Civil War. Funded by the State of South Carolina as well as donations by patriotic women's associations in the city, she was turned over to the Confederate Navy and defended the city until advancing Union troops that threatened Charleston caused her to be destroyed in early 1865 lest she be captured. Her wreck was salvaged after the war and the remains have been obliterated by subsequent dredging.
Construction and description
James M. Eason was awarded a contract by the State of South Carolina to build a larger ironclad at Charleston in November 1862 after he finished the casemate ram . Funds were also contributed by the city's "Ladies' Gun-boat Association", which led to Charlestons nickname of the "Ladies' Gunboat". He began construction the next month and completed the ship in September 1863. but her engine had a diameter of and her propeller was in diameter. at the ends of the ship, probably Dahlgren guns, and four muzzle-loading Brooke rifles on the broadside which would make them guns although their exact type is unknown. Charleston was also fitted with a wrought-iron ram. The ship's armor was thick. All together, her ram and armor weighed . The wreck was salvaged to a depth of below low water by Benjamin Maillefort in 1872–73 and the site has been thoroughly dredged to deepen the channel, destroying any remains. Its last known location was at