View source for CSS Savannah (gunboat)

{{other ships|CSS Savannah}}
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| Ship caption = Model of the Confederate gunboat ''Savannah''.
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| Ship country = Confederate States
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
| Ship name = ''Savannah''
| Ship namesake = [[Savannah, Georgia]]
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| Ship decommissioned = August 18, 1863
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| Ship fate = Foundered in bad weather August 18, 1863
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| Ship displacement = 406 tons
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'''CSS ''Savannah''''', later called '''''Old Savannah''''' and '''''Oconee''''', was a [[gunboat]] in the [[Confederate States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]].

''Savannah'' was formerly the steamer ''Everglade'', built in 1856 at [[New York City]]. She was purchased early in 1861 by the State of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and converted into a gunboat for coast defense. With Georgia's admission to the [[Confederate States|Confederacy]], ''Savannah'', under Lieutenant [[John Newland Maffitt (privateer)|John Newland Maffitt]], was commissioned by the Confederate States Navy. She was attached to the squadron of Flag Officer [[Josiah Tattnall III]], charged with the naval defense of [[South Carolina]] and Georgia.

On November 5–6, 1861, ''Savannah'', flying Tattnall's flag, in company with [[CSS Resolute|CSS ''Resolute'']], [[CSS Sampson|CSS ''Sampson'']], and [[CSS Lady Davis|CSS ''Lady Davis'']], offered harassing resistance to a much larger Union fleet, under Flag Officer [[Samuel Francis Du Pont]], preparing to attack Confederate strongholds at [[Port Royal Sound]], South Carolina On November 7, ''Savannah'' fired on the heavy Union ships as they bombarded [[Fort Walker (Hilton Head)|Fort Walker]] and [[Fort Beauregard]]. Driven finally by the Federal gunboats into Skull Creek, Georgia, Tattnall disembarked with a landing party in an abortive attempt to support the fort's garrison, and ''Savannah'' returned to [[Savannah, Georgia]] to repair damages.

On November 26, 1861, ''Savannah'', in company with ''Resolute'' and ''Sampson'', all under Flag Officer Tattnall, weighed anchor from under the guns of [[Fort Pulaski National Monument|Fort Pulaski]], Georgia, and attacked Union vessels at the mouth of the [[Savannah River]]. On January 28, 1862, the same three vessels delivered supplies to the fort while evading Federal ships. ''Savannah'' later assisted in the unsuccessful defense of Fort Pulaski on April 10–11, 1862, and for the remainder of the year served as a receiving ship at the city of Savannah.

Her name was changed to ''Oconee'' on April 28, 1863, and in June she was loaded with cotton and dispatched to England to pay for much-needed supplies. After some delay she escaped to sea, only to founder on August 18 during bad weather. A boat with four officers and eleven men was captured two days later; the remainder of her crew escaped.

==See also==
* [[Battle of Fort Pulaski]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/savannah.html}}

{{CSN gunboats}}
{{1863 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savannah (gunboat)}}
[[Category:Gunboats of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Ships built in New York City]]
[[Category:1856 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1863]]