CSS Virginia II

Harper's Weekly sketch of 11 February 1865 of CS Navy sortie 23 January 1865 on the James River; Ironclad at right is the CSS Virginia II; the wreck at the left is the CSS Navy Training Ship "Patrick Henry"
History
Confederate States
Name	CSS Virginia II
Namesake	Virginia
Builder	William Arthur Graves
Laid down	April 1862?
Launched	June 29, 1863
Commissioned	May 18, 1864
Homeport	Richmond, Virginia
Fate	Burned to prevent capture; remains partially raised and salvaged for scrap
General characteristics
Length	197 ft (60 m)
Beam	47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Draft	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Complement	150 officers and men
Armament	1 × 11" Brooke smoothbore, 1 × 8" Brooke rifle, 2 6.4" Brooke rifle
Armor	sides 5", forward 6"

CSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her construction. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's armored casemate shortened from the specifications given in John L. Porter's original building plans; in addition, the ship's iron-plating, while six inches thick on the casemate's forward face, was reduced to five inches on her port, starboard, and aft faces. Due to the shortening of her casemate, the number of her cannon were reduced to a single 11" smoothbore, a single 8" rifle, and two 6.4" rifles.

The Virginia II was named after the more famous Confederate ironclad, CSS Virginia, also called the Merrimack because of the ship's origins as a Union frigate. The original Virginia's success at the Battle of Hampton Roads caused "gunboat associations" to emerge around the South, mainly driven by women; their efforts helped with the construction of the Virginia II.^[1]