Not what you'd expect to find on the average vacant lot in downtown Kinston, NC. The replica is full-size and usually open to the public (including the interior). Still impressive from the outside, the Neuse ll is the only full scale CSS ironclad replica in existence.
While in Kinston, also check out the CSS Neuse Museum, the Civil War Trails markers for the first battle of Kinston, and just to the west along Route 70, the markers for the battle of Wyse Fork. Be aware, though, that most state facilities in NC are closed on Sundays.
2 comments:
Hi Steven -- my name is Sean, I'm one of the webmasters at A People's Contest (http://www.psu.edu/dept/richardscenter/), a new blog from the Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State.
Must say, I found this post quite interesting. You're right, you don't expect to see a CW-era battleship (even a replica) just sitting in a lot. Why Kinston? Was the ship built there? It's not even that close to the sea.
Thanks! Keep up the good work!
The CSS Neuse was laid down in White Hall, NC and moved downriver to Kinston to be fitted out. The CSS Neuse Historic Site at Kinston contains what is left of the original ship, along with a number of artifacts - http://www.nchistoricsites.org/neuse/history.htm
The sounds and rivers of NC were navigable quite a distance inland, and construction had to take place in odd areas as the Federals controlled much of the coast above Wilmington by early 1862.
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