The Civil War

CSS stands for Confederate States Ship. It was the designation given to all Confederate war ships. The Shenandoah was also known as Sea King when it was first launched (on a mission to Australia) in 1863; it was recomissioned in 1864 as the Shenandoah, and was primarily used as a commercial raider. The infamous last shot of the Civil War was fired by the Shenandoah across the bow of a merchant whaling vessel.