The Odyssey of the CSS Stonewall

THE ODYSSEY OF THE CSS STONEWALL Edwin Strong Thomas Buckley Annetta St. Clair Rarely has the course of history turned upon the proverbial "want of a nail for a horseshoe" or upon any isolated set of events. The outcome of the Civil War is not an exception, although controversy continues about the potential impact of a single weapon which,"after interminable delays , almost played a role in the final days of the war. During thewar, the Confederacy attempted to acquire iron-clad rams which were intended for use initially as blockade-breakers. Upon that success they were to become floating fortresses in Northern harbors which in turn would become virtual hostages under the guns of the Confederate warships. Of course, the South failed to achieve its objectives. Only one of the ironclad rams, the CSS Stonewall, made the voyage to American waters and it arrived several days after the war ended. The North was understandably zealous in its attempts to prevent the rams from reaching Southern hands and committed considerable diplomatic resources and energy along with naval components in the Atlantic Ocean to achieve that end. Early in the war the South contracted for a British firm to build rams for its use, but Union diplomatic pressure and victories caused the British to seize the rams before they were able to sail. These Laird rams were the source of espionage, intrigue, and threats on the part of both the North and the South. The primary agent of the Confederates in Europe was James Bulloch who, after failing in Great Britain, eventually moved his efforts across the channel to France to have the warships built there. The French gave every appearance that they would abide by the terms of neutrality which international law dictated.1 An examination of the diplomatic correspondence of the United States indicates that the Union was less than confident of the French posture of neutrality. However, the diplomatic correspondence and the historians who have examined the French role are in agreement that a shipbuilder of Bordeaux, France, Lucien Arman, was clearly responsible for the Confederates' acquisition of a ram. Arman built two iron-clad rams but only one of them, which 1 Lynn M. Case and Warren F. Spencer, The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy , (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1970) 429-66. CSS STONEWALL307 the South eventually named the Stonewall, would ever cross the Atlantic.2 Even though the Stonewall never put Northern ships to the test, she did, nonetheless, challenge Union diplomacy and patiencein its dealings with Denmark, France, Spain, and Portugal, the four foreign nations who became involved in the South's desperate efforts to get the ship across the Atlantic. The extensive diplomatic maneuverings on both sides not only point to the Union's abilities and the Confederacy's determination , but also to thenature and extent ofthe European aid which interjected an external and disruptive element into the war. Moreover, the examination of the diplomacy relating to the Stonewall offers a microcosmic insight into the workings and failings of diplomatic communications in the Civil War. Arman had contracted to build two rams and two clippers which were intended for use in the war between Denmark and Prussia. One ironclad ram was to be sold to Denmark and the other three ships were for Prussia. Three of the ships were delivered on time to Prussia, but the second ram was not completed until after the war had ended disastrously for Denmark in late October 1864. The Danes conducted sea trials on the ram in the late fall but Arman realized that the crushing defeat they suffered at the hands of Prussia would make the sale very unlikely. The American Confederate agents in Europehad assumed earlier that the rams were beyond their reach and made no efforts to acquire them. When Arman realized his plight, he sent an agent, Henry A. de Riviere, to contact Bulloch in hopes of stimulating his interest in the ram. Riviere quickly succeeded and on December 16, 1864, Bulloch signed an agreement to acquire the ship. This iron-plated steamer was brig-rigged with a top-gallant forecastle . She had a ram or spur, which, according to incorrect...