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During the summer of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the Anaconda Plan\u2014an extensive naval blockade of Southern ports meant to exploit the Confederacy\u2019s limited industrial capacity and discourage foreign commercial assistance. To counteract this mounting economic pressure, the Confederacy employed blockade runners\u2014swift vessels that evaded Union patrols to transport raw materials overseas and import manufactured goods. Given its inherent risks and potential profits, blockade running quickly became a high-stakes enterprise for the Confederate war effort.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
One notable blockade runner was the CSS <\/span>Nashville<\/span><\/em>. Launched on September 22, 1853, she gained a reputation as one of America\u2019s fastest commercial steamships, completing her maiden voyage from New York City to Charleston in just 55 hours. After the attack on Fort Sumter, the <\/span>Nashville<\/span><\/em>\u00a0was seized by Confederate authorities in Charleston Harbor and commissioned as the first ship in the Confederate Navy. She was outfitted with two six-pounder Blakely guns and placed under command of Lieutenant Robert B. Pegram. Throughout the latter part of 1861, the <\/span>Nashville<\/span><\/em> conducted several successful blockade running missions. During a voyage to Great Britain on November 19, she captured and burned the American clipper <\/span>Harvey Birch<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in the English Channel. The <\/span>Nashville<\/span><\/em>\u00a0continued her campaign against Union shipping, destroying another vessel, the <\/span>Robert Gilfillan<\/span><\/em>, on February 26, 1862. The <\/span>Nashville <\/span><\/em>was eventually decommissioned by the Confederate government and sold to Fraser, Trenholm and Company of England. She was rechristened the <\/span>Thomas L. Wragg<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and remained a formidable blockade runner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Knowing that blockade-running ships frequented Savannah, Union Rear Admiral Samuel Du Pont dispatched several squadrons to aggressively patrol the Georgia coast. On July 1, 1862, members of the USS <\/span>Potomska <\/span><\/em>ventured up the Ogeechee River, where they encountered the Confederate defenders of Fort McAllister. After a brief exchange of fire, the <\/span>Potomska<\/span><\/em>\u00a0withdrew to the Ossabaw Sound.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
In mid-July 1862, the <\/span>Thomas L. Wragg<\/span><\/em>\u00a0slipped past the Federal blockade around Savannah, delivering a shipment of arms to the Confederacy. She attempted to return to Europe with a cargo of cotton, pitch, and tobacco, but had to divert up the Ogeechee River to avoid apprehension by vigilant Union vessels. Lieutenant Commodore Charles Steedman, commanding the USS <\/span>Paul Jones<\/span><\/em>, subsequently received orders to reconnoiter the Ogeechee River and apprehend any Confederate vessel lurking within its bends. On July 29, the <\/span>Paul Jones<\/span><\/em>\u2014accompanied by commissioned gunboats <\/span>Unadilla, Madgie, and Huron<\/span><\/em>\u2014engaged Fort McAllister. After several hours of futile firing, the Union fleet withdrew. Meanwhile, the <\/span>Thomas L. Wragg<\/span><\/em>\u00a0found refuge upriver at Seven Mile Bend, where she remained moored for the next several months. While awaiting an opportunity to escape, she was refitted as an armed privateer and renamed <\/span>Rattlesnake<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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