The C. S. S. Tuscaloosa was a ship captured by the Confederate States Navy during the Civil War. The ship was originally known as the American bark (sailing ship) Conrad. While on a trip from Buenos Aires to New York with a cargo of wool, the ship was captured by the C. S. S. Alabama on June 20, 1863. The ship was commissioned the next day as a cruiser and tender to the Alabama, and was renamed Tuscaloosa. The ship was then sent on a cruise to Africa in which it would discharge its cargo of wool. On December 26, 1863, the Tuscaloosa was seized off the coast of South Africa by the British authorities who said that sailing this vessel in British waters violated the neutrality of Her Majesty’s government. They ordered the ship to be held until properly claimed by the original owners. At the end of the Civil War the ship was turned back over to the Union Navy.

In our digital collections, we have a log book of the C. S. S. Tuscaloosa. It also contains portions of a log of the C. S. S. Alabama. The log documents the daily weather, longitude and latitude as well as information about engagements with enemy ships. There is also a list of ships captured by the Alabama from September 5, 1862, to June 20, 1863, and copies of correspondence between the captain of the Tuscaloosa, Lt. John Low, and various authorities of the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope.