Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Ships of Rebel Raiders - The Douglas


Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

The Blockade Runners – The  Douglas


  The Douglas (CSN Card 84)  was a little steamer that ran in and out of the Isle of Man before being purchased by Confederate agents for use as a blockade runner.  After making her first crossing to Charleston in January 1863 she was renamed The Margaret & Jessie.  The little 726-ton iron side-wheel steamer made five more runs in and out of that port and three in and out of Wilmington.  On her fourth attempt to run into the North Carolina den, however, she was caught by an armed transport of the U.S. Army – The Fulton, and a navy warship, USS Nansemond.   The Douglas/Margaret & Jessie was taken into service as USS Gettysburg, and later took part in the assault on the Wilmington forts.   She ended her career as a U.S. Navy survey vessel and was sold off in Italy in 1879.


No comments:

Post a Comment