The saga of the Eastport began in 1852 with the construction of the commercial steamer C. E. Hillman at New Albany, Indiana.  In October 1861, this aging steamboat was purchased by the Confederate government and towed to Cerro Gordo, on the Tennessee River, for conversion into a gunboat.  Lt. Isaac Newton Brown (later to achieve fame as commander of the CSS Arkansas) took charge of the conversion project, and by January 1862 the old steamer's original superstructure had been removed, new propulsion machinery installed, and a new sloped frame constructed, ready to receive the planned iron armor.

But at this point fate intervened in form of the successful Federal attack on Fort Henry in early February.  After the fort fell, the Federal gunboats Lexington, Tyler, and Conestoga were sent on a raiding expedition up the Tennessee River.  As the Federal gunboats approached Cerro Gordo, the Confederates hastily scuttled the incomplete Eastport to prevent her capture by the enemy.

However, the Federal forces raised the Eastport from the river bottom, and the Lexington towed her to Cairo, Illinois, where she was eventually completed and entered service on the Federal side in August 1862.  The Eastport later took part in military river actions not related to Tennessee, and she came to a sad end in 1864 when, hopelessly grounded on the Red River, she was deliberately destroyed when efforts to move her failed.

Specifications of CSS Eastport:

Displacement: 700 tons
Length: 280'
Draft: 6'3"
Armament: incomplete during Confederate construction

Confederate Warships

Last update:  December 5, 2001