Confederate Ironclad Ram C.S.S. Neuse, Kinston, North Carolina - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

The Confederate ironclad ram Neuse was constructed at Whitehall (present-day Seven Springs) beginning in October 1862. The unfinished hull survived the fighting there during Union Gen. John G. Foster's raid in December and was completed and floated downriver to Kinston in the spring or summer of 1863. It was docked at an area known as the Cat Hole, then outfitted with engines, iron plate, and armament. In April 1864, Neuse was ordered to aid Confederate Gen. Robert F. Hoke in his attempt to recapture New Bern. The vessel ran aground on a sandbar, however, and could not proceed. A month later Neuse was freed and returned to its dock where it remained for 10 months.

Following the battle of Wyse Fork in March 1865, Capt. Joseph Price took Neuse downriver to delay the Union army while Confederate forces evacuated. The evacuation complete, the crew set fire to Neuse and abandoned her. The scuttled vessel sank to the river bottom where it rested for nearly a century. No serious efforts were made at recovery until 1961. For three years, salvagers worked to dig Neuse out of the mud. In 1964, the state of North Carolina took possession of the gunboat and developed it as a tourist attraction and state historic site.

The state is hoping to find a new home for the CSS Neuse in a fully enclosed, environmentally controlled building. A recent flood and the effects of years of exposure to the air are causing the remains to decompose, despite the use of preservatives.

To record your own visit to this waymark, take and post your own photo and upload it with your log. Logs must contain a photo as proof of your visit, please.

The Civil War Trails sign in from the the Vistors Center:

CSS Neuse remains on display:

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