Abstract:
The C. S. S. Neuse, a Southern ironclad built near Kinston during the Civil War, never saw combat. Measuring 158 feet long and 55 feet in width, the ship was protected by four inches of iron on its hull. It took from 1862 to 1864 to built the ship because of a shortage of workers and materials. When the Neuse was ordered to battle at New Bern, it stuck on a sandbar and later returned to port. It was scuttled in 1865 to avoid capture. The Neuse was raised in 1965, and the remains are displayed at the C. S. S. Neuse State Historic Site in Kinston.