CSS Virginia II
Harper's Weekly sketch of 11 February 1865 of CS Navy
sortie 23 January 1865 on the James River; Ironclad at the right is the
CSS Virginia II; the wreck at the left is the CSS Navy
Training Ship "Patrick Henry"
Namesake: State of Virginia
Builder: William Arthur Graves
Laid Down: April 1862 ?
Launched: June 29, 1863
Commissioned: May 18, 1864
Home Port: Richmond, Virginia
Fate: April 3, 1865 - Burned to prevent capture; remains partially raised and salvaged for scrap
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Characteristics
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Length: 197 ft.
Beam: 47 ft. 6 in.
Draft: 14 ft.
Propulsion: Steam engine
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Armament
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1 x 11-inch Brooke Smoothbore gune
1 x 8-inch Brooke rifle
2 x 6.4-inch Brooke rifle
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Battles
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James River Squadron
June 21, 1864: Battle of Trent's Reach - developed mechanical problems when an errant chain from the nearby CSS Richmond entangled in her propeller
August 13, 1864: Battle of Dutch Gap
August 17, 1864: Participated in the capture of Signal Hill
September 29 - October 1, 1864: Participated in the attack on New Market Heights and Fort Harrison
October 22, 1864: Battle of Chaffin's Bluff
January 23-24, 1865: Battle of Trent's Reach
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CSS Virginia II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Virginia_II. Accessed 10 February 2026
Luraghi, Raimondo. A History of the Confederate Navy. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996. p 288, 335-336
Stern, Philip Van Doren. The Confederate Navy A Pictorial Navy. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992. p 240-243
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