At the beginning of the War Between the States, the newly formed Confederate government was faced with many problems, including its utter lack of warships or even the nucleus of any naval force. One of the solutions Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory tried was sending representatives to Europe with a view to obtaining vessels of war there. With the notable exception of a few raiding cruisers like CSS Alabama and CSS Shenandoah, most of the foreign built ships never made it into the conflict. One that almost did, the CSS Stonewall, was built as a steam powered ironclad ram with two 70-pounder Armstrong rifles in a Monitor-like turret aft and a 300-pounder (!) pivot gun forward. This ship had an interesting career, both before and after its surrender to Spanish authorities in Havana in May, 1865.
Our own member, Mike Presswood, regularly attends our meetings and those of the West Hills Civil Warriors Round Table. He is Commander of the Gen. John B. Hood Camp 1208 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Los Angeles, and serves on the board of the Ft. Tejon Historical Association. He was recently promoted to Sergeant as a reenactor with the Richmond Howitzers Confederate Artillery. Born and raised in the L.A. area, Mike now lives in the Antelope Valley.
He works in Lancaster in a newly forming scrap metal business as office manager. Son of a WWII U.S. Navy vet, and great grandson of two Confederate veterans, Mike is himself a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1989 as a First Class Petty Officer (E-6) with 27 years of service.
Come and hear about the Stonewall and its seven other names, the fate of it and its sister ship, and some notes on the other European built Confederate warships.
Janet Whaley
Program ChairReturn to Home Page