Confederate oceangoing armored steam ram CSS STONEWALL at Port Royal, South Carolina after the end of the Civil War.

Confederate oceangoing armored steam ram CSS STONEWALL at Port Royal, South Carolina after the end of the Civil War.

Confederate oceangoing armored steam ram CSS STONEWALL at Port Royal, South Carolina after the end of the Civil War. She had a 10" rifled cannon at the bow, and 2 smaller big guns aft. One of two SPHINX class rams built in France for the Confederacy, her delivery was blocked. She waa then sold to Denmark and then this one only to the Confederacy. Though her existance caused much fear on the Union side, she got only to Havana before the war ended. After being laid up for several years, she was sold to Japan and had a critical role in several important battles. Ship had at least 6 names as owners changed. Notes: this photo appears in excellent article about STONEWALL published in Feb. 1968 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. For extensive details on her career in Japan as the Azuma, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_ironclad_K%C5%8Dtetsu. There is much info on back of this print. Some is correct, some not. See the 2 articles cited above for facts.