CSS Rappahannock, a 1042-ton wooden screw cruiser, was built in England in 1857 as HMS Victor. Sold to a Confederate secret agent, she escaped to sea in November 1863 and was placed in commission as a Confederate Navy ship. However, a machinery breakdown forced her to put into Calais, France, for repairs and she was detained there by the French Government throughout the rest of the Civil War. Rappahannock was turned over to the United States Government after the end of the conflict.

This page features our only view of the Confederate cruiser Rappahannock.

Photo #: NH 43291 CSS Rappahannock (1863-1865) Tied up at Calais, France, where she was detained from 1863 to the end of the Civil War.

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