CSS Virginia II

Shot-riddled smokestack from CSS Virginia II
History
Confederate States of America
Name:	Virginia II
Builder:	William Arthur Graves
Laid down:	April 1862?
Launched:	June 29, 1863
Commissioned:	May 18, 1864
Homeport:	Richmond, Virginia
Fate:	Burned to prevent capture; remains raised and salvaged for scrap
General characteristics
Length:	197 ft (60 m)
Beam:	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Draft:	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion:	Steam engine
Complement:	150 officers and men
Armament:	1 × 11" Brooke smoothbore, 1 × 8" Brooke rifle, 2 6.4" Brooke rifle
Armor:	sides 5", forward 6"

CSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her construction. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's armored casemate shortened from the specifications given in John L. Porter's original building plans; in addition, the ship's iron-plating, while six inches thick on the casemate's forward face, was reduced to five inches on her port, starboard, and aft faces. Due to the shortening of her casemate, the number of her cannon were reduced to a single 11" smoothbore, a single 8" rifle, and two 6.4" rifles.

The Virginia II was named after the more famous Confederate ironclad, CSS Virginia, also called the Merrimack because of the ship's origins as a Union frigate. The original Virginia's success at the Battle of Hampton Roads caused "gunboat associations" to emerge around the South, mainly driven by women; their efforts helped with the construction of the Virginia II.

Money to help with the construction of this ironclad was largely contributed by the Richmond chapter of the "Ladies Aid and Defense Society" (called the "National Defense Association"), which adopted the ironclad in early April 1862 for the defense of Richmond. The chairman was Maria Gaitskell Clopton. It is estimated that the society contributed more than $30,000 towards Virginia II's construction.

By November 1862, John Mercer Brooke was able to report that she was "pretty well advanced, frames up, clamps in, etc...She will be a strong and fine vessel."

However, after this promising start, significant delays plagued the new ironclad. It was not until more than a year after she was laid down that Virginia II was finally launched without incident on June 29, 1863. "She glided into the water 'like a thing of life' amid the prolonged cheers of the spectators." However, she suffered from further fitting-out delays and was not fully commissioned until May 18, 1864, almost a year later; she was made the flagship of the James River Squadron (replacing CSS Richmond in this role).