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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  CSS Neuse Maker, Kinston. Photo courtesy of Rusty Long

  • Monument Name

    CSS Ironclad Gunboat "Neuse", Kinston

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Civil War, 1861-1865

  • City

    Kinston

  • County

    Lenoir

  • Description

    The square block marker stands approximately four feet tall in total with inscriptions on all four sides and stands on a two piece square base. It marks the spot near which the Confederate Ironclad CSS Neuse was scuttled in 1865. The simple maker top and both base pieces have beveled shoulders. The larger upper base piece has CSS NEUSE incised into a recessed cutout on the front.

    Images: Far-off view | Left side | Back side | Right side

  • Inscription

    Front: CSS NEUSE / CONFEDERATE / IRONCLAD / BOAT / MOORED NEAR THE KING / STREET BRIDGE, THE / CONFEDERATE STATES / SHIP, NEUSE, AN IRONCLAD / GUNBOAT, WAS FITTED / IN KINSTON IN LATE 1863 / AND EARLY 1864.

    Front base: CSS NEUSE

    Left side: AN APRIL 1864 ATTEMPT / TO TAKE HER DOWNRIVER / IN A CONCERTED ATTACK / ON NEW BERN FAILED.

    Back side: THE CSS NEUSE WAS / SCUTTLED TO PREVENT / CAPTURE BY UNION FORCES / ON MARCH 12, 1865 / APPROXIMATELY ONE / QUARTER MILE DOWNSTREAM / FROM THIS LOCATION.

    Right side: THE SHIP REMAINED ON / THE RIVER BOTTOM UNTIL / HER RECOVERY IN 1963.

  • Custodian

    City of Kinston

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.259510 , -77.583010 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      “CSS Neuse,” East Carolina University Digital Collections, cal number 876.5.f.2, (accessed December 3, 2015) Link

      “The Ironclad Neuse,” North Carolina Historic Sites, http://www.nchistoricsites.org, (accessed December 3, 2015) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Subject Notes

    The burned out hull remnants of the CSS Neuse may be viewed at the CSS Neuse State Historic Site at 100 N Queen Street in Kinston, N.C.

  • Location

    A small park at Centennial Corner occupies a long narrow tree lined strip of land overlooking the Neuse River. The Centennial Corner is located at the corner of King and Herritage Streets in Kinston, NC. The CSS Neuse marker is to the right of the Kinston Time Capsule and Benches memorial complex. Centennial Corner is part of Tiffany West Park where the Korean/Vietnam War Memorial is visible a short distance away. A Walk of Honor also passes through the park and a short distance down Herritage Street is a full-size replica of the CSS Neuse Civil War.

  • Landscape

    Season plants and bushes surround the marker.

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