USS Maratanza
Union Navy Steam Gunboat
American Civil War

USS Maratanza (1862-1868)

USS Maratanza , a 786-ton "double-ender" steam gunboat, was built at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts. Commissioned in April 1862, she served for the next five months in the James and York River area of Virginia, supporting the operations of the Union army. She participated in the capture of Yorktown in early May, bombarded enemy positions on several occasions and took the Confederate gunboat Teaser on 4 July.

Maratanza joined the blockading forces off Wilmington, North Carolina, in mid-September 1862 and continued to serve in that area until the Civil War ended. Her captures included two sailing blockade runners and steamers Stag and Charlotte . She also took part in the bombardments of Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865 and of fortifications in the Cape Fear River in February 1865.

USS Maratanza was decommissioned in June 1865 and was sold in August 1868. She subsequently served as a Haitian gunboat under the names Salnave and Union .

Photographed during the Civil War, circa 1862-65. She has windsails rigged for ventilation below decks


Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
Compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Mallory, against his rival in the North, Welles. Mallory used technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers


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American Civil War Naval Book Titles

Ironclad Down: USS Merrimack-CSS Virginia from Design to Destruction
A treasure trove of detailed information about one of history s most famous vessels. Describing  Stephen Russell Mallory, John Mercer Brooke, John Luke Porter, et al.--who conceived, designed and built one of the world's first ironclads

The Civil War on Hatteras Island North Carolina
New light on the experiences of Civil War soldiers stationed on the Outer Banks. It follows the crucial maritime battles along the Outer Banks and the famous Burnsides Expedition. Aa fascinating history of how one of America's most treasured islands played a significant part in the Civil War

Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack
The first ironclad ships to fight each other, the Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimack), were the unique products of American design genius

Battle on the Bay:
The Civil War Struggle for Galveston

Civil War history of Galveston is one of the last untold stories from America's bloodiest war, despite the fact that Galveston was a focal point of hostilities throughout the conflict. Galveston emerged as one of the Confederacy's only lifelines to the outside world.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Halls of Honor
The U.S. Navy Museum takes you on an informed and entertaining romp through one of North America s oldest and finest military museums. The museum has been in continuous operation at the Washington Navy Yard since the American Civil War

Raise The Alabama
She was known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France

The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one

Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.

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U.S. National Park Service
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US Naval Archives


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