CSS Morgan
| Career | Confederate Navy Jack |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 1861 |
| Launched: | 1862 |
| Commissioned: | 1862 |
| Decommissioned: | May 4, 1865 |
| Fate: | Surrendered to U.S. Navy; sold December 1865 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 863 tons |
| Length: | 202 feet |
| Beam: | 38 feet |
| Draught: | 7 feet 2 inches |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Speed: | 10 knots |
| Armament: | 10 guns |
CSS Morgan was a partially armored gunboat of the Confederate States Navy in the U.S. Civil War.
Morgan was built at Mobile, Alabama in 1861-62. She operated in the waters around Mobile from the time of her completion early in 1862 to the close of hostilities. One reference of October 1862 gave her name as Admiral.
Morgan, commanded by Commander George W. Harrison, CSN, took an active part in the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. Situated well to the right of the Confederate line of battle as the enemy proceeded up the channel, she was able to deliver a telling broadside raking fire against USS Hartford and others. Toward the end of the engagement, she was pursued by USS Metacomet but succeeded in driving her off. Morgan, attempting to avoid capture, then turned toward shallow water, grounded briefly, but continued on her perilous route and reached the guns at Fort Morgan. She dispatched a boat which effected the destruction of the Union gunboat USS Philippi below the fort. Captain Harrison then saved Morgan by boldly running the gauntlet up to Mobile. Although hotly pursued and shelled by cruisers for a large part of the 25-mile starlight voyage, she reached the outer obstructions near Mobile at daybreak, and that afternoon was permitted to pass through.
Morgan continued to serve in the Mobile area. In April 1865 she participated in the battle near Blakely, Georgia, sustaining considerable damage. On May 4, 1865, Commodore Ebenezer Farrand, commanding Confederate Naval Forces in the State of Alabama, ordered the surrender of Morgan to the United States Navy. She was sold the following December.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.