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All the United States North Carolina CSS Neuse II
AO Edited

CSS Neuse II

The large vessel is known as world’s only full-scale replica of a Confederate ironclad.

Kinston, North Carolina

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About

The hulking CSS Neuse II is said to be the only full-scape replica commemorating a Confederate ironclad vessel. Its inspiration was constructed in an attempt to regain control of the lower Neuse River and retake the city of New Bern during the Civil War. The steam-powered Neuse was built slowly due to encroaching Union forces, iron shortages, an inadequate rail system, and a worker strike.

In April 1864, a year-and-a-half after the Neuse contract was signed, the vessel finally departed Kinston. The Neuse only made it half a mile along the inland waterway it ran aground. It was a month before the Neuse was unstuck. By that time, military operations had shifted north.

The excavated remains of the actual CSS Neuse are displayed in a Kinston museum situated near where the ship was scuttled in March 1865, three days before the Union army occupied the town. 

The late Vietnam War veteran and activist Ted Sampley led the placement of the Neuse II on a formerly vacant lot in downtown Kinston. Master shipbuilder Alton ‘Doc’ Stapleford built the ship during his retirement, constructing the CSS Neuse II according to the original plans for its predecessor, an Albemarle-class ironclad gunboat.

Related Tags

Ships Military Civil War

Know Before You Go

The CSS Neuse II is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays. To arrange a private tour for a group at other times, call Mike Parker at 252-939-6487. Please leave a message and he will return your call.

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HistMA

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lmwolfso

  • lmwolfso

Published

May 5, 2025

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Sources
  • http://cssneuseii.org/about-us.html
  • https://cssneuse.org
  • https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/confederate-states-navy-in-north-carolina/
  • https://www.kinston.com/news/20190326/ironclad-replica-neuse-ii-ties-past-to-present
  • https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-02-22-0402220459-story.html
CSS Neuse II
118 North Herritage Street
Kinston, North Carolina, 28501
United States
35.26141, -77.58326
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