|-
| Length:
| 230 ft
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| Beam:
| 32 ft
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| Draft:
| 20 ft 5 in
|-
| Speed:
|-
|}
'''CSS ''Shenandoah''''', a 1160-ton screw steam cruiser, was a raider in the service of the navy of the [[Confederacy ]] during the [[American Civil War]], and was notable as the last active Confederate unit under arms to have surrendered during that conflict.
==Time in service==
''Shenandoah'' was launched at [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]], in August 1863 as the civilian steamer ''Sea King''. After the Confederate Navy secretly purchased her, she put to sea in October 1864, under the cover story that she was headed for [[India]] on a commercial voyage. ''Sea King'' rendezvoused at sea off Madeira with another ship, which brought Confederate Navy officers, some crew members, heavy guns and other equipment needed to refit her as a warship. This work was completed at sea under the supervision of Confederate States Navy First Lieutenant (later Commander) James Iredell Waddell, who became the cruiser's first Commanding Officer when she was commissioned as CSS ''Shenandoah'' on 19 October.
Waddell took his ship through the south [[Atlantic ]] and into the [[Indian Ocean]], capturing nine [[U.S. ]] flag merchant vessels between late October and the end of 1864. All but two of these were sunk or burned. In late January 1865, ''Shenandoah'' arrived at Melbourne, [[Australia]], where she was able to receive necessary repairs and provisions, as well as adding more than forty "stowaways" to her very short-handed crew. Following three weeks in port, the cruiser put to sea, initially planning to attack the American south [[Pacific ]] whaling fleet.
However, discovering that his intended targets had been warned and dispersed, Waddell set off for the north Pacific. He stopped in the Eastern Carolines at the beginning of April, seizing four Union merchantmen there and using their supplies to stock up for further operations. While ''Shenandoah'' cruised northwards in April and May, the Confederacy collapsed, but this news would spread very slowly through the distant Pacific. Following a month in the [[Sea of Okhotsk ]] that yielded one prize and considerable experience in ice navigation, she moved on to the [[Bering Sea]]. There, between 22 and 28 June 1865 the now-stateless warship captured two-dozen vessels, destroying all but a few. Soon afterwards, Waddell started a slow voyage towards [[San Francisco]], [[California]], which he believed would be weakly defended against his cruiser's guns.
==End of the war==
{{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-us-cs/csa-sh/csash-sz/shendoah.htm]}}
[[Category:Confederate States Navy]][[Category:warshipsWarships]]