Naval battles of the American Civil War

Naval battle

A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...

of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

changed the foundations of naval warfare due to the first-time use of ironclads and submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s, and the introduction of newer and more powerful naval artillery

Naval artillery

Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...

.

The first shots of the naval war were fired on April 13, 1861, during the Battle of Fort Sumter

Battle of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...

, by the Revenue Service cutter USRC Harriet Lane and the final on June 22, 1865, by the Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full rigged ship, with auxiliary steam power, captained by Commander James Waddell, Confederate States Navy, a North Carolinian with twenty years' service in the United States Navy.During 12½ months of 1864–1865 the ship...

, in the Bering Strait

Bering Strait

The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...

, more than two months after General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

's surrender of the Confederate Army.

Battles

Battle	Start date	End date	Notes
First Battle of Fort Sumter Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...	April 13, 1861	April 14, 1861	First shots of the naval war fired, first battle of the war
Battle of Gloucester Point Battle of Gloucester Point (1861) The Battle of Gloucester Point, Virginia was an inconclusive exchange of cannon fire on May 7, 1861 between a shore battery on the York River manned by Virginia forces and the Union gunboat USS Yankee, three weeks after the start of the American Civil War...	May 7, 1861	May 7, 1861	First naval battle of the war
Battle of Sewell's Point Battle of Sewell's Point The Battle of Sewell's Point was an inconclusive exchange of cannon fire between the Union gunboat USS Monticello, supported by the USS Thomas Freeborn, and Confederate batteries on Sewell's Point that took place on May 18, 19 and 21, 1861, in Norfolk County, Virginia in the early days of the...	May 18, 1861	May 19, 1861
Battle of Aquia Creek Battle of Aquia Creek The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries in Stafford County, Virginia which took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861 during the early days of the American Civil War...	May 29, 1861	June 1, 1861	First use of torpedos Naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel... by Confederate forces in combat
Battle of Pig Point Battle of Pig Point The Battle of Pig Point, Virginia was an engagement between the Union gunboat USRC Harriet Lane and a shore battery and rifle company of the Confederate States Army on June 5, 1861 in the third month of the American Civil War. Pig Point is located in Portsmouth, Virginia at the mouth of the...	June 5, 1861	June 5, 1861
Battle of Mathias Point Battle of Mathias Point The Battle of Mathias Point, Virginia was an engagement between the Union gunboats USS Thomas Freeborn and USS Reliance, together with a landing party of about 36 Union sailors or marines, and Confederate States Army defenders at Mathias Point on the Potomac River in King George County, Virginia,...	June 27, 1861	June 27, 1861
Sinking of the Petrel Sinking of the Petrel The Sinking of the Petrel occurred in July of 1861 during the American Civil War. While cruising off the coast of South Carolina the United States Navy warship USS St. Lawrence encountered the Confederate privateer named Petrel. The engagement ended in a Union victory and the survivng rebels were...	July 28, 1861	July 28, 1861	One of the last naval battles in history involving a privateer Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers... ship
Battle of Cockle Creek Battle of Cockle Creek The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia early in the American Civil War.-Background:...	October 5, 1861	October 5, 1861
Battle of the Head of Passes Battle of the Head of Passes The Battle of the Head of Passes was a bloodless naval battle of the American Civil War. It was a naval raid made by the Confederate river defense fleet, also known as the “mosquito fleet” in the local media, on ships of the Union Blockade squadron anchored at the Head of Passes...	October 12, 1861	October 12, 1861
Battle of Port Royal Battle of Port Royal The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...	November 7, 1861	November 7, 1861	First major naval battle of the war
Battle of Cockpit Point Battle of Cockpit Point The Battle of Cockpit Point, the Battle of Freestone Point, or the Battle of Shipping Point, took place on January 3, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the blockade of the Potomac River during the American Civil War....	January 3, 1862	January 3, 1862
Battle of Lucas Bend Battle of Lucas Bend The Battle of Lucas Bend took place on January 11, 1862 near Lucas Bend, four miles north of Columbus on Mississippi River in Kentucky as it lay at the time of the American Civil War. In the network of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio rivers, the Union river gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew...	January 11, 1862	January 11, 1862	Last naval battle in history involving the use of timberclad warships performing a major combat role
Battle of Fort Henry Battle of Fort Henry The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater....	February 6, 1862	February 6, 1862
Battle of Elizabeth City Battle of Elizabeth City The Battle of Elizabeth City of the American Civil War was fought in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Roanoke Island. It took place on February 10, 1862, on the Pasquotank River near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The participants were vessels of the U.S...	February 10, 1862	February 10, 1862
Battle of Hampton Roads Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies...	March 8, 1862	March 9, 1862	First naval battle involving ironclad warships
Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet...	April 16, 1862	April 28, 1862	Led to the Union capture of New Orleans
Battle of Island Number Ten Battle of Island Number Ten The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, was held by the Confederates...	February 28, 1862	April 8, 1862	First Confederate defeat on the Mississippi River
Battle of Plum Point Bend	May 10, 1862	May 10, 1862
Battle of Drewry's Bluff Battle of Drewry's Bluff The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, or Fort Drewry, took place on May 15, 1862, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Five American warships, including the ironclads and , steamed up the James River to...	May 15, 1862	May 15, 1862
Battle of Memphis Battle of Memphis The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Rebels, and marked the...	June 6, 1862	June 6, 1862	Last time in history civilians with no military or naval experience were permitted to command warships in combat
Battle of Saint Charles Battle of Saint Charles The Battle of St. Charles was a naval engagement and infantry battle during the American Civil War. It was fought on June 17, 1862, between 8 Union ships including the USS Mound City, and several Confederate shore guns. A Confederate gun hit the Mound City's steam drum, causing an explosion which...	June 17, 1862	June 17, 1862
Battle of Tampa Battle of Tampa The Battle of Tampa was a minor engagement of the American Civil War fought June 30 – July 1, 1862, between the United States Navy and a Confederate artillery company charged with protecting the ports of Tampa, a small but notable trade hub for the Confederacy, now facing a full-scale Union...	June 30, 1862	July 1, 1862
Battle of Corpus Christi Battle of Corpus Christi The Battle of Corpus Christi was fought on August 12 to August 18, 1862, during the American Civil War. United States Navy forces blockading Texas fought a small land and sea engagement with Confederate forces in and around Corpus Christi Bay and bombarded Corpus Christi...	August 12, 1862	August 18, 1862
Battle of Galveston Harbor	October 4, 1862	October 4, 1862
Battle of Crumpler's Bluff Joint Expedition Against Franklin The Joint Expedition Against Franklin was a joint engagement between the United States Army & Navy against the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The engagement was intended to move Union forces into an area where Confederate forces were gathering as they prepared to move on...	October 3, 1862	October 3, 1862
Battle of Fort Hindman Battle of Fort Hindman The Battle of Fort Hindman, or the Battle of Arkansas Post, was fought January 9–11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...	January 9, 1863	January 11, 1863	Led to the largest surrender of Confederate troops west of the Mississippi River prior to the end of the war
Battle off Galveston Lighthouse Action off Galveston Light The Action off Galveston Light was a short naval battle fought during the American Civil War in January 1863. Confederate raider CSS Alabama encountered and sank the United States Navy steamer USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas....	January 11, 1863	January 11, 1863
Battle of Fort McAllister	March 3, 1863	March 3, 1863
Battle of Fort Pemberton Yazoo Pass Expedition The Yazoo Pass Expedition was a joint operation of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Grant's objective was to get his troops into a flanking position against the...	March 11, 1863	March 11, 1863
First Battle of Charleston Harbor First Battle of Charleston Harbor The First Battle of Charleston Harbor was an engagement near Charleston, South Carolina that took place April 7, 1863, during the American Civil War. The striking force was a fleet of nine ironclad warships of the Union Navy, including seven monitors that were improved versions of the original ....	April 7, 1863	April 7, 1863
Battle of Wassaw Sound Battle of Wassaw Sound The Battle of Wassaw Sound was an American Civil War naval battle between the Confederate ram CSS Atlanta and the Passaic-class ironclad monitors USS Weehawken and USS Nahant, which took place on 17 June 1863 in Wassaw Sound, a bay in the present day state of Georgia...	June 17, 1863	June 17, 1863
Battle of Portland Harbor Battle of Portland Harbor The Battle of Portland Harbor was a naval battle of the American Civil War, fought in June of 1863, in the waters off Portland, Maine. Two United States Navy warships engaged two vessels under Confederate States Navy employment.-Background:...	June 27, 1863	June 27, 1863
First Battle of Fort Wagner	July 10, 1863	July 11, 1863
Second Battle of Fort Wagner	July 18, 1863	July 18, 1863
Second Battle of Charleston Harbor Second Battle of Charleston Harbor The Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the Siege of Charleston Harbor, Siege of Fort Wagner, or Battle of Morris Island, took place during the American Civil War in the late summer of 1863 between a combined Union Army/Navy force and the Confederate defenses of Charleston, South...	August 17, 1863	September 8, 1863
Second Battle of Sabine Pass Second Battle of Sabine Pass The Second Battle of Sabine Pass took place on September 8, 1863, and was the result of a Union expedition into Confederate-controlled Texas during the American Civil War...	September 8, 1863	September 8, 1863	Most one sided Confederate victory of the war
Second Battle of Fort Sumter Second Battle of Fort Sumter -References:*...	September 9, 1863	September 9, 1863
Attack on USS New Ironsides Attack on USS New Ironsides The Attack on USS New Ironsides in October 1863 was one of the first successful torpedo boat engagements in history. Confederate forces in Charleston, South Carolina deployed the newly built semi-submersible CSS David to attach a spar torpedo to the hull of USS New Ironsides...	October 5, 1863	October 5, 1863	CSS David CSS David CSS David was a Civil War-era torpedo boat built as a private venture by T. Stoney at Charleston, South Carolina in 1863, and put under the control of the Confederate States Navy. The cigar-shaped boat carried a 60- or 70-pound explosive charge on the end of a spar projecting forward from her bow... becomes the first torpedo boat to make a successful attack on an enemy warship in combat
Battle of Fort Brooke Battle of Fort Brooke The Battle of Fort Brooke was a minor engagement fought October 16–18, 1863, near Tampa, Florida, during the American Civil War.Two Union Navy ships, USS Tahoma and USS Adela, bombarded Fort Brooke on October 16, 1863, as a diversion, while a landing party under Acting Master T.R...	October 16, 1863	October 18, 1863
Sinking of USS Housatonic	February 17, 1864	February 17, 1864	H. L. Hunley H. L. Hunley (submarine) H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare... becomes the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat
Battle of Fort Pillow Battle of Fort Pillow The Battle of Fort Pillow, also known as the Fort Pillow Massacre, was fought on April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in Henning, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. The battle ended with a massacre of surrendered Federal black troops by soldiers under the command of...	April 12, 1864	April 12, 1864
Battle of Plymouth Battle of Plymouth (1864) The Battle of Plymouth was an engagement during the American Civil War that was fought from April 17 through April 20, 1864, in Washington County, North Carolina.-Battle:...	April 17, 1865	April 20, 1864
Battle of Albemarle Sound Battle of Albemarle Sound The Battle of Albemarle Sound was an inconclusive naval battle fought in May of 1864 along the coast of North Carolina during the American Civil War. Three Confederate warships, including an ironclad, engaged eight Union gunboats...	May 5, 1864	May 5, 1864
Battle of Cherbourg	June 19, 1864	June 19, 1864	Led to the sinking of the Confederate raider CSS Alabama CSS Alabama CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
Battle of Mobile Bay Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...	August 2, 1864	August 23, 1864	Greatest Union naval victory of the war
Bahia Incident Bahia Incident The Bahia Incident was a naval skirmish fought in late 1864 during the American Civil War. A Confederate States Navy warship was captured by a Union warship in Bahia Harbor, Brazil...	October 7, 1864	October 7, 1864	Led to the capture of the Confederate raider CSS Florida CSS Florida At least three ships of the Confederate States Navy were named CSS Florida in honor of the third Confederate state:* The blockade runner was commissioned in January 1862, captured by the U.S. Navy in April 1862, and became... , international incident with Brazil
Capture of Plymouth Capture of Plymouth The Capture of Plymouth was a battle of the American Civil War, fought in October 1864. Following the sinking of CSS Albemarle during a commando raid led by Lieutenant William B. Cushing, Union naval forces attacked Plymouth, North Carolina, which was defended by Confederate artillery...	October 29, 1864	October 31, 1864
Jamesville Incident Rainbow Bluff Expedition The Rainbow Bluff Expedition took place on December 9, 1864 during the American Civil War. The Confederate Water mines overwhelmed the Union Expedition, and the Union had to call the Expedition quits.-The Expedition:...	December 9, 1864	December 9, 1864
Second Battle of Fort Fisher Second Battle of Fort Fisher The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War...	January 13, 1865	Januery 15, 1865	Largest amphibious assault of the war
Battle of Trent's Reach Battle of Trent's Reach The Battle of Trent's Reach, or the Second Battle of Fort Brady, was one of the final major naval battles of the American Civil War. Beginning on January 23, 1865, a powerful flotilla of Confederate warships bombarded Fort Brady along the James River and engaged four Union Navy ships with the...	January 23, 1865	January 25, 1865	One of the final major naval battles of the war
Blockade of the South Union blockade The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...	1861	1865	Part of the Anaconda Plan Anaconda Plan The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi...

Battles

See also