CSS Raleigh was originally a small, iron-hulled, propeller-driven towing steamer

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 operating on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal

Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal

The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was built by a corporation in 1856-1860 to afford inland navigation between the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound...

. She was taken over by the State of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 in May 1861, and transferred to the Confederate States the following July. Her commanding officer during 1861-1862 was Lieutenant Joseph W. Alexander

Joseph W. Alexander

Dr. Joseph W. Alexander, DVM, is an American educator from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He is currently serving as the Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Technology under Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry, having been appointed by Henry in 2004....

. Her entire service was in coastal waters of North Carolina and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and in the James River as part of the James River Squadron

James River Squadron

The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of the State of Virginia as part of the Virginia State Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River, which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond...

.

Raleigh supported Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries

The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, sometimes known as the Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark, was a small but significant engagement in the early days of the American Civil War. Two Confederate forts on the North Carolina Outer Banks were subjected to an amphibious assault by Union forces that...

 on August 28–29 , 1861; took part in an expedition on October 1 to capture United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 steamer Fanny

CSS Fanny

CSS Fanny was a small propellor-driven steamer used by the Confederate Navy to defend the sounds of northeastern North Carolina. Originally operated by the Union, she was captured early in the war by the Confederate Navy, and later lost at the battle for Elizabeth City...

 with valuable stores on board; and accompanied CSS Sea Bird

CSS Sea Bird

CSS Sea Bird was a sidewheel steamer in the Confederate States Navy.Sea Bird was built at Keyport, New Jersey in 1854, was purchased by North Carolina at Norfolk, Virginia in 1861 and fitted for service with the Confederate States Navy. She was assigned to duty along the Virginia and North Carolina...

 when she reconnoitered Pamlico Sound

Pamlico Sound

Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...

 on January 20, 1862. She was also active in defense of Roanoke Island

Roanoke Island

Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....

 against an amphibious assault by overwhelming Federal forces on February 7–8 , 1862, and at Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County and Camden County in the State of North Carolina. With a population of 18,683 at the 2010 census, Elizabeth City is the county seat of Pasquotank County....

 2 days later. Thence Raleigh escaped through Dismal Swamp Canal

Dismal Swamp Canal

The Dismal Swamp Canal is located along the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina in the United States. It is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States, opened in 1805...

 to Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

.

On March 8–9 , 1862, Raleigh was tender to CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...

 during the historic Battle of Hampton Roads

Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies...

, for which she received the thanks of the Confederate Congress.

With the Federal recapture of Norfolk Navy Yard in May 1862, Raleigh steamed up the James River, but thereafter a shortage of crew members restricted her to flag-of-truce or patrol service.

Raleigh, renamed Roanoke near the end of the war, was destroyed by the Confederates on April 4, 1865 upon the evacuation of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

Commanders

The commanders of the CSS Raleigh were:

• Lieutenant Joseph W. Alexander (1861–1862)
• Lieutenant Maxwell T. Clarke (1863-June 1864)
• Lieutenant Mortimer Murray Benton (during June 1864)
• Master's Mate
  Master's mate
  Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
  
   A.E. Albertson (July 31, 1864-)
• Acting Master W. Frank Shippey (October–December 1864)
• Lieutenant William Wonder Pollock (January 1865-end of war)