CSS Robert E. Lee

CSS Robert E. Lee
CSS Robert E. Lee, 1862
History
United Kingdom
NameGiraffe
OwnerJ. & G. Burns Line
BuilderJ&G Thomson's Clyde Bank Iron Shipyard, Govan, Glasgow
Launched16 May 1860
Confederate States
NameRobert E. Lee
OperatorConfederate States Navy
Commissioned1862
FateCaptured by U.S. Navy, 9 November 1863
United States
NameFort Donelson
OperatorUnion Navy
Acquired9 November 1863
Commissioned29 June 1864
Decommissioned17 August 1865
FateSold October 1865 and renamed Isabella
Chile
NameConcepción
Acquired1866
Commissioned1866
Decommissioned1868
FateSold 1 May 1868
General characteristics
Displacement900 tons
Length283 ft (86 m)
Beam20 ft (6.1 m)
Draft10 ft (3.0 m)
PropulsionSteam engine
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h)
Armament
  • 5 × 12-pounder cannons
  • 2 × 30-pounder cannons

CSS Robert E. Lee was a fast paddle-steamer, originally built as a Glasgow-Belfast packet boat named Giraffe, which was bought as a blockade runner for the Confederate States during the American Civil War, then subsequently served in the United States Navy as USS Fort Donelson and in the Chilean Navy as Concepción.

USS Fort Donelson drawing