From Dixie to the Land of the Rising Sun

History moves in strange ways. The Confederate ironclad CSS Stonewall never fired a shot for the South, yet she crossed the Atlantic, stared down two Union warships, and ended her career half a world away as Japan’s first ironclad warship. Here is her remarkable story.

Built in France for the Confederacy

In 1863, Confederate agents in Europe ordered two powerful ironclad rams from the shipbuilder Lucien Arman in Bordeaux, France. The ships were heavily armored, carried a long iron ram at the bow, and were designed to break the Union blockade of Southern ports.

Union diplomats learned of the plan and put heavy pressure on the French government, which blocked the sale. One of the rams was sold to Denmark, which was then at war with Prussia. By the time she was ready, that war was over, and the Danes no longer wanted her.

The CSS Stonewall

In early 1865, the Confederacy quietly bought the ship. She was commissioned as the CSS Stonewall, named in honor of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and placed under the command of Captain Thomas Jefferson Page, a veteran Virginia naval officer.

In March 1865, while the Stonewall was in port at Ferrol, Spain, two Union warships, the USS Niagara and USS Sacramento, waited outside the harbor. When the Stonewall steamed out to offer battle, the Union captains declined to fight her, judging the ironclad too powerful. The Stonewall then crossed the Atlantic.

Too Late to Fight

When the Stonewall reached Havana, Cuba, in May 1865, the war was over. Captain Page turned the ship over to the Spanish authorities in exchange for enough money to pay his crew. Spain later handed her to the United States, and she was taken to the Washington Navy Yard.

To the Land of the Rising Sun

In 1867, Japan bought the ship for $400,000. She arrived during Japan’s Boshin War and joined the navy of the new Imperial government, which renamed her Kōtetsu, meaning “ironclad.” In 1869, she fought at the Battle of Hakodate. She was later renamed Azuma and served Japan for years.

From a shipyard in France to a Confederate captain, and finally to the Emperor of Japan, the Stonewall’s journey is one of the strangest of the war. Discover more surprising history in 8 Facts About the Confederate Flag You Didn’t Know, and browse our Confederate flag collection.

Source: HistoryNet: From Dixie to the Land of the Rising Sun

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