Here is one I did not know about: The CSS Stonewall, an ironclad warship built for the Navy of the Confederate States of America in Bordeaux, France. Confederate agent James Bulloch convinced French Emperor Napoleon III to break his own laws to construct the ship and her sister. She was intended to break the Union blockade via her iron ram. They were named the Cheops and the Sphinx while being built to imply that they were intended for the Egyptian Navy. The Stonewall was not finished in time to see action and was sold to the Spanish in Cuba when the Captain learned of Lee's surrender. It was then sold to the US Navy and transferred to the Navy of Japan under the new Meiji government and saw service as the KÅtetsu against the remaining forces of the Shogun.
Friday, February 24, 2012
CSS Stonewall
Here is one I did not know about: The CSS Stonewall, an ironclad warship built for the Navy of the Confederate States of America in Bordeaux, France. Confederate agent James Bulloch convinced French Emperor Napoleon III to break his own laws to construct the ship and her sister. She was intended to break the Union blockade via her iron ram. They were named the Cheops and the Sphinx while being built to imply that they were intended for the Egyptian Navy. The Stonewall was not finished in time to see action and was sold to the Spanish in Cuba when the Captain learned of Lee's surrender. It was then sold to the US Navy and transferred to the Navy of Japan under the new Meiji government and saw service as the KÅtetsu against the remaining forces of the Shogun.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
So a Confederate ship ended up fighting for Japan. Real life history is often more amazing than any fiction.
ReplyDelete