{{short description|First ironclad warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy}} {{good article}} {{Redirect|CSS Stonewall|the similar name|CSS Stonewall Jackson}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= Stonewall-Kotetsu.jpg |image_caption=''Kōtetsu'', Japan's first [[ironclad]] warship, as CSS ''Stonewall'' c. 1865 }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |flag={{flagicon|CSA}} |country=[[Confederate States of America]] |name=''Stonewall'' |ordered= |namesake=General [[Stonewall Jackson]] |builder=[[Arman Brothers|Chantiers Arman]] |laid_down=1863 |launched=21 June 1864 |commissioned= |completed = January 1865 |fate = Turned over to the United States, May 1865 }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |country=[[Empire of Japan]] |flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}} |name=''Kōtetsu'' |acquired=3 February 1869 from the United States |decommissioned=28 January 1888 |in_service= |out_of_service= |struck= |renamed=''Azuma'', 7 December 1871 |fate=Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], 12 December 1889 }}
|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=[[Ironclad warship|Ironclad]] [[ram (ship)|ram]] |displacement={{convert|1390|LT|t|lk=on}} |length={{convert|186|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[o/a]]) |beam={{convert|32|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |draft={{convert|14|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |propulsion=2 shafts; 2 [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engines]] |speed={{convert|10.5|kn|lk=in}} |range={{cvt|3000|nmi|lk=in}} |complement=135 |sail_plan = [[Brig]] rigged |armament=*1 × 300 pdr ({{cvt|10|in|0}}) [[Muzzle-loading rifle|rifled muzzle-loading (RML) gun]] *2 × 70 pdr ({{cvt|6.4|in|0}}) RML guns |power=* 2 [[boiler]]s *{{cvt|1200|ihp|lk=on}} |armor=*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|4.5|in|abbr=on|0}} *[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|5.5|in|abbr=on|0}} }} }}
{{nihongo|'''''Kōtetsu'''''|甲鉄||literally "'''Ironclad'''"}}, later renamed {{Nihongo|'''''Azuma'''''|東||"'''East'''"}}, was the first [[ironclad warship]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. She was designed as an armored [[Naval ram|ram]] for service in shallow waters, but also carried three guns. The ship was built in [[Bordeaux]], [[Second French Empire|France]], for the [[Confederate States Navy]] under the cover name '''''Sphinx''''', but was sold to [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]] after the sale of warships by French builders to the Confederacy was forbidden in 1863. The Danes refused to accept the ship and sold her to the Confederates which [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] her as '''CSS ''Stonewall''''' in 1865. The ship did not reach Confederate waters before the end of the [[American Civil War]] in April and was turned over to the United States.
The [[Tokugawa shogunate]] of Japan bought her from the United States in 1867 and renamed her ''Kōtetsu'', but delivery was held up by the Americans until after the [[Government of Meiji Japan|Imperial faction]] had established control over most of the country. She was finally delivered in March 1869 to the new government and had a decisive role in the [[Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay]] in May, which marked the end of the [[Boshin War]], and the completion of the military phase of the [[Meiji Restoration]].
Renamed ''Azuma'' in 1871, she played minor roles in the [[Saga Rebellion]] and the [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)|Taiwan Expedition]], both in 1874. The ship ran aground later that year, but was [[Marine salvage|refloated]] and repaired. During the [[Satsuma Rebellion]] three years later, she was little used. ''Azuma'' was stricken in 1888 and was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] the following year.
==Description== ''Sphinx'' was {{convert|165|ft|9|in|m|1}} long [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]] and had an overall length of {{convert|186|ft|9|in|m|1}} including her prominent pointed [[naval ram]]. The ship had a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|32|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|14|ft|3|in|m|1}}.{{refn|Published data for the ship's specifications vary considerably, but Silverstone and Canney are assumed to be the most accurate as the [[US Navy]] surveyed the ship after the war and have been used here.<ref name=j1>Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 12</ref><ref name=l8>Lengerer, pp. 118–119</ref>|group=Note}} The brig's [[composite hull]] was [[Copper sheathing|sheathed in copper]] to protect it from parasites and [[biofouling]] and it featured a pronounced [[tumblehome]]. She [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|1390|LT|t|lk=on}} and her crew numbered 135 officers and crewmen. To improve her maneuverability the ship was fitted with twin [[rudder]]s.<ref name=cs>Canney, pp. 113–114; Silverstone, p. 150</ref>
Her [[main battery]] consisted of a single 300-pounder {{convert|10|in|0|adj=on}} [[Armstrong Whitworth|Armstrong]] [[Muzzle-loading rifle|rifled muzzle-loading (RML) gun]] located in the bow [[gun turret|turret]] in a [[pivot mount]]. The fixed turret had three or five [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#gunport|gun ports]]. A pair of 70-pounder {{convert|6.4|in|0|adj=on}} Armstrong RML guns were positioned in the oval fixed turret [[abaft]] the [[mainmast]], one pivot mount on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] firing through two gun ports.<ref name=cs/><ref name="milhist.dk"/> The Japanese removed one of the 70-pounder guns and added a pair of Armstrong 6-pounder guns, four 4-pounder [[field gun]]s and a [[Gatling gun]].<ref name=l8/>
The ship was designed to withstand hits by {{convert|15|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns. Her hull was protected by a [[wrought-iron]] [[armored belt]] that extended {{convert|2.12|m|ftin|sp=us}} below the [[waterline]] that was backed by about 15 inches of [[teak]]. The hull armor was {{convert|12|cm|in|sp=us}} [[amidships]] and tapered to {{convert|9|cm|1|sp=us}} towards the bow and stern. Above it was a [[strake]] of armor {{convert|76|mm|in|0|sp=us}} thick.<ref name=l18>Lengerer, p. 118</ref> The bow turret was protected with {{convert|4.5|in|0|adj=mid|-thick}} armor and the amidships turret was fitted with {{convert|4|in|0|adj=on}} armor plates.<ref name="milhist.dk"/>
The power plant consisted of a pair of Mazeline horizontal two-cylinder single-expansion [[Marine steam engine|steam engines]], each driving a four-bladed, {{convert|3.6|m|adj=on|ftin}} [[propeller|screw]] using steam provided by two Mazeline tubular [[boiler]]s. The engines were rated at a total of {{convert|1200|PS|ihp|lk=on|abbr=on|0}}. The ship reached a maximum speed of {{convert|10.8|kn|lk=in}} during her [[sea trial]]s on 9 October 1864.<ref name=j1/> She had an estimated range of {{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in}} with a full load of {{cvt|227|t|LT|0}} of coal.<ref name=l19>Lengerer, p. 119</ref>{{refn|Watts states only {{cvt|95|t|LT|0}} of coal.<ref>Watts, p. 219</ref>|group=Note}}
==Origins and career== In June 1863, [[John Slidell]], the Confederate commissioner to France, asked Emperor [[Napoleon III]] in a private audience if it would be possible for the Confederate government to build ironclad warships in France. Arming ships of war for a recognized [[belligerent]] like the Confederate States would have been illegal under French law, but Slidell and his agent, [[James D. Bulloch]], were confident that the [[Emperor of France]] would be able to circumvent his own laws more easily than other potential secret contractors. [[Napoleon III]] agreed to the building of ironclads in France on the condition that their destination remain a secret.<ref>Case & Spencer, pp. 429–433</ref> The following month Bulloch entered a contract with [[Lucien Arman]], a French shipbuilder and a personal confidant of Napoleon III, to build a pair of ironclad rams capable of breaking the [[Union blockade]]. To avoid suspicion, the ships' guns were manufactured separately from the ship herself and the pair were named ''Cheops'' and ''Sphinx'' to encourage rumors that they were intended for the [[Egyptian Navy]].<ref>Case & Spencer, pp. 435–439</ref>
Prior to delivery, however, a shipyard clerk walked into the U.S. Minister's office in [[Paris]] and produced documents which revealed that Arman had fraudulently obtained authorization to arm the ships and was in contact with Confederate agents.<ref>Case & Spencer, pp. 437–439</ref> The French government blocked the sale under pressure from the United States, but Arman was able to sell the ships to Denmark and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], which were then fighting on opposite sides of the [[Second Schleswig War]]. ''Cheops'' was sold to Prussia as {{SMS|Prinz Adalbert|1865|2}}, while ''Sphinx'' was sold to Denmark under the name ''[[Starkodder|Stærkodder]]'' on 31 March 1864.<ref name="milhist.dk"/>
Manned by a Danish crew, the ship left Bordeaux for its [[shakedown cruise]] on 21 June 1864. The crew tested the vessel while final negotiations were being conducted between the [[Ministry of the Navy (Denmark)|Danish Naval Ministry]] and Arman. Intense haggling over the final price and a disagreement over compensation from the company for cited problems and late delivery led to negotiations breaking down on 30 October, although the ship had set sail for [[Copenhagen]], Denmark, on 25 October. The Danish government refused to relinquish the vessel, claiming confusion in regards to the negotiations. She arrived in Copenhagen on 10 November and was in the {{lang|da|[[Orlogsværftet]]}} dockyard at the beginning of 1865.<ref name="milhist.dk">Steensen. An English translation by Søren Nørby may be found at http://milhist.dk/vabnet/the-armoured-ram-staerkodder/</ref>
===American career=== [[File:CSSStonewallBow.jpg|thumb|View of bow]] [[File:CSSStonewall3.jpg|thumb|Closeup]] At the beginning of 1865 the Danes sold the ship to the Confederacy. On 6 January the vessel took aboard a [[Confederate States Navy]] crew at Copenhagen under the command of [[Lieutenant]] [[Thomas Jefferson Page]],<ref name=Scharf805>Scharf, p. 805</ref> although the ship was still commanded by a Danish [[captain (nautical)|captain]] when she put to sea the following day. Heavy weather forced the ship to take refuge at [[Elsinore]], but she set sail shortly afterward for the French coast. She also used the cover name ''Olinde'' during this time.<ref name=Stonewall>{{cite web |title=Stonewall |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/stonewall.html |website=Ship Histories: Confederate Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command, US Navy |access-date=2 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003041154/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/stonewall.html |archive-date=3 October 2015}}</ref> There she rendezvoused with the new British [[Blockade runners of the American Civil War|blockade runner]] ''City of Richmond'', taking on supplies and ammunition, as well as more crewmen, from {{ship|CSS|Rappahannock||6}} and {{ship|CSS|Florida||6}}.<ref name=Bennett>Bennett, p. 77</ref> During this time she was commissioned CSS ''Stonewall'' while still at sea and Page assumed command of the ship. High seas in the [[Bay of Biscay]] damaged her rudders while en route for the island of [[Madeira]], Portugal, and forced the ship to seek refuge in [[Ferrol, Spain]]. Permanent repairs took several months and provided time for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] to be notified of the ship's location.<ref name=Stonewall/><ref name=c5>Canney, p. 115</ref>
In February and March, the Union steam [[frigate]] {{USS|Niagara|1855|2}} and steam [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{USS|Sacramento|1862|2}} kept watch from a distance as ''Stonewall'' lay anchored off [[A Coruña]], waiting for ''Stonewall'' to finish her repairs.<ref name=Scharf805/> On 24 March Page put to sea, prepared to engage them, but the unarmored Union ships declined to fight. ''Stonewall'' steamed for [[Lisbon]], Portugal, to re-coal,<ref name=c5/> intending to cross the Atlantic Ocean from there. ''Stonewall'' reached [[Nassau, Bahamas]], on 6 May and then sailed on to [[Havana, Cuba]], where Page learned of the war's end when he arrived five days later.<ref>Scharf, pp. 805–806</ref>
Union ships first arrived at Havana on 15 May and were reinforced over the course of the month, to include the [[monitor (warship)|monitors]] {{USS|Monadnock|1863|2}} and {{USS|Canonicus|1863|2}}.<ref>United States, Official Records, pp. 520, 535</ref> Page decided to turn ''Stonewall'' over to the Spanish [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Captain General of Cuba]] for the sum of [[United States dollar|$]]16,000 to pay the crew's wages.<ref>Scharf, p. 806</ref> The vessel would then be turned over to United States representatives in return for reimbursement of the same amount. The Americans did not pay until 2 November and ''Stonewall'' required some repairs before she could put to sea again. Escorted by the [[paddle steamer]]s {{USS|Rhode Island|1860|2}} and {{USS|Hornet|1865|2}}, the ironclad departed Havana on 15 November and arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on 24 November. While sailing through [[Chesapeake Bay]] on the night of 22/23 November, ''Stonewall'' accidentally rammed and sank a coal [[schooner]] off [[Smith Island, Maryland]]; there were no deaths.<ref>United States, Official Records, pp. 566, 597–598, 600–602</ref> She was subsequently [[paid off]] and [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#laid up|laid up]] at the Washington Navy Yard.<ref name=l18/>
===Japanese career=== {{other ships|Japanese ship Azuma}} Seeking to reinforce its fleet with modern warships, the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] sent representatives to the United States in 1867, seeking to purchase surplus ships.<ref name=l18/> Acting envoy to the United States Ono Tomogoro discovered ''Stonewall'' in the Washington Navy Yard in May and made a formal offer to the United States government for the purchase of the ironclad. The purchase was concluded for the price of $400,000 and she was turned over to the Japanese on 5 August who renamed her ''Kōtetsu''.<ref name="archive.org">Letter from Susumu Nishiura, Staff-in-Chief, War History Room, Ministry of Defense, Japan, to Faith Kravitz, Eleutherian Mills, Hagley Museum, Delaware, USA dated Sept. 25, 1965, available at https://archive.org/details/KravitzNishiuraLtrJapanese/</ref> However, by the time of her arrival in [[Shinagawa]] harbor on 22 January 1868, the [[Boshin War]] between the shogunate and pro-Imperial forces had begun, and the United States took a neutral stance, stopping the delivery of military material, including the delivery of ''Kōtetsu'', to the Shogunate. The ship had arrived under a Japanese flag with an American crew, but the US Resident-Minister, [[Robert B. Van Valkenburg]], ordered her put back under the American flag. ''Kōtetsu'' was finally delivered to the new [[Meiji government]] in early March 1869.<ref name=l18/><ref name=proceedings>{{cite journal |last1=Kublin |first1=Hyman |title=Admiral Enomoto And The Imperial Restoration |journal=Proceedings |date=April 1953 |issue=602 |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1953/april/admiral-enomoto-and-imperial-restoration |publisher=U.S. Naval Institute}}</ref>
====Boshin War==== [[File:Naval Battle of Hakodate.jpg|thumb|''Kōtetsu'' leading the line of battle, at the [[Naval Battle of Hakodate]]]] Before ''Kōtetsu'' was turned over to the Japanese, Tokugawa admiral [[Enomoto Takeaki]] refused to surrender his warships after the surrender of [[Edo Castle]] to the new government, and escaped to [[Hakodate]] in [[Hokkaido]] with the remainder of the Tokugawa Navy and a handful of [[Second French Empire|French]] military advisers and their leader [[Jules Brunet]]. His fleet of eight steam warships was the strongest in Japan at the time. On 27 January 1869, Tokugawa loyalists declared the foundation of the [[Republic of Ezo]] and elected Enomoto as president. The Meiji government refused to accept partition of Japan and dispatched its newly formed [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], which consisted of ''Kōtetsu'' as the flagship and a collection of various steam-powered warships that had been contributed by the various feudal domains loyal to the new government. On 25 March 1869, during the [[Battle of Miyako Bay]], ''Kōtetsu'' successfully repulsed a surprise night attempt at [[naval boarding]] by the rebel {{ship|Japanese warship|Kaiten||2}} (spearheaded by survivors from the ''[[Shinsengumi]]''), making use of a mounted [[Gatling gun]]. ''Kōtetsu'' subsequently supported the invasion of Hokkaidō and various naval engagements in the [[Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay]].<ref name="archive.org"/><ref>Ballard, pp. 121–123</ref><ref>Greene & Massignani, pp. 346–349</ref><ref name=proceedings/>
====Subsequent career==== Following the end of the Boshin War in August 1870, ''Kōtetsu'' was classified as a third-class warship on 15 November 1871 and was renamed ''Azuma'' on 7 December. By January 1873, her fighting ability was assessed as low.<ref name=l18/> ''Azuma'' was assigned to guard Nagasaki during the Saga rebellion in February 1874 and during the Taiwan Expedition of May 1874. On 19 August she ran aground at [[Kagoshima]] during a [[typhoon]], but was refloated and repaired at the [[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]]. During the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, she was assigned to guard duties in the [[Seto Inland Sea]]. She was stricken from the [[navy list]] on 28 January 1888, and was sold for scrap on 12 December 1889.<ref name="archive.org"/> Her armor plating was reused to make the [[Armature (electrical)|armature]] shafts in the [[electric generator]]s in the Asakusa Thermal Power Station, built in Tokyo in 1895.<ref name=l19/>
==See also== *[[French weapons in the American Civil War]]
==Notes== {{reflist|group=Note}}
==Citations== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |last1=Ballard |first1=George A. |title=The Influence of the Sea on the Political History of Japan |date=1921 |publisher=E. P. Dutton |location=New York|oclc=576570743}} *{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=John D. |title=The London Confederates |date=2008 |publisher=McFarland & Co |location=Jefferson NC |isbn=978-0-7864-6901-7 |page=77}} *{{cite book|last1=Canney|first1=Donald L.|title=The Confederate Steam Navy 1861–1865 |date=2015|publisher=Schiffer Publishing|location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-4824-2}} *{{cite book |last1=Case |first1=Lynn M. |last2=Spencer |first2=Warren F. |title=The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy |date=1970 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|oclc=251911277|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite book|last1=Greene|first1=Jack|last2=Massignani|first2=Alessandro|title=Ironclads at War: The Origin and Development of the Armored Warship, 1854–1891|year=1998|publisher=Combined Publishing|location=Conshohocken, Pennsylvania|isbn=0-938289-58-6|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite book|last1=Jentschura|first1=Hansgeorg|first2=Dieter|last2=Jung|first3=Peter|last3= Mickel|year=1977|title=Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945|publisher=United States Naval Institute|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite journal |last1=Lengerer |first1=Hans |title=The Kanghwa Affair and Treaty: A Contribution to the Pre-History of the Chinese–Japanese War of 1894–1895|journal=Warship International |date=2020 |volume=LVII |issue=2 |pages=110–131|publisher=International Naval Research Organization |issn=0043-0374}} * {{Scharf: History of the Confederate States Navy}} * {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Civil War Navies 1855–1883|publisher =Routledge|location=New York|year=2006|series=The U.S. Navy Warship Series|isbn=0-415-97870-X}} * {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984 |publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}} *{{cite book|last=Steensen|first=Robert Steen|title=Vore Panserskibe|year=1968|language=da |publisher=Marinehistorik Seklskab|location=Copenhagen, Denmark|pages=178–195|trans-title=Our Armoured Vessels|oclc=771335910|series=Marinehistorisk Selskabs skrift|volume=10}} *{{cite web |title=Stonewall |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/stonewall.html |website=Ship Histories: Confederate Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command, US Navy |access-date=2 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003041154/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/stonewall.html |archive-date=3 October 2015}} * {{cite book|last=United States|first=Naval War Records Office|title=Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924051350829&view=1up&seq=9|series=Series I|volume=3: The Operation of the Cruisers (April 1, 1864 - December 30, 1865)|year=1987|origyear=1896|publisher=National Historical Society|location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-918678-30-0}} *{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2 |name-list-style=amp|last=Watts|first=A. J.|chapter=Japan|pages=216–239}}
==Further reading== * ''End of the Bakufu and Restoration in Hakodate'' 函館の幕末・維新 (Japanese). {{ISBN|4-12-001699-4}}.
==External links== {{Commons category|Azuma (ship, 1864)}} * [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-us-cs/csa-sh/csash-sz/stonewll.htm CSS ''Stonewall'' (1865)] Photos and engravings at sea, anchor, one possibly as ''Azuma'' * [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-us-cs/csa-sh/csash-sz/stonew-c.htm CSS ''Stonewall'' (1865) At Washington, D.C., 1865-1867] Photos at Washington Navy Yard * [https://sites.google.com/site/290foundation/history/c-s-s-stonewall C.S.S. ''Stonewall''] History and photos, including one colorized as ''Azuma'' * [http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=Sphynx-Staerkodder-Stonewall-Kotetsu-Ironclad FS ''Sphynx'' / CSS ''Stonewall'' Ocean-Going Ironclad Ram (1864)] History and photos
{{CSN ironclads}} {{IJNFoundation}} {{Ironclads of Japan}} {{1874 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotetsu}} [[Category:Ironclad warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Category:Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy|Stonewall]] [[Category:Ships built by Arman Brothers]] [[Category:1864 ships]] [[Category:Naval ships of Japan]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1874]]