Charles Carroll Simms

Charles Carroll Simms (30 March 1824 – 18 December 1884) was an American naval officer. After serving in the United States Navy from 1839 to 1861, he joined the Confederate States Navy. He was commander of the CSS Appomattox at the Battle of Roanoke Island and later set fire to the ship after it was trapped in the Dismal Swamp Canal. At the Battle of Hampton Roads, he manned a gun on the CSS Virginia. As a lieutenant, he commanded several ships during the Civil War.

Early life Charles Carroll Simms was born on 30 March 1824 in Stafford County, Virginia, to Eleanor Carroll Brent and John Douglas Simms. His father was chief clerk of the Navy Department and acting Secretary of the Navy in 1841. His grandfather Charles Simms was an officer in the American Revolution and mayor of Alexandria, Virginia. In February 1840, he was a midshipman on the . From May 1840 to at least August 1842, he was a midshipman on the . In 1843, he was a midshipman on the . In 1846, he served on the as acting master. In 1850, he was a midshipman on the survey schooner Ewing under William Pope McArthur. In 1851, he was acting master on the steamer . In 1853, he was a midshipman on the steamer . He was promoted to master in May 1854.

On 12 August 1854, Simms was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. In 1857, he sailed for China on the commanded by Samuel Francis DuPont.

Confederate States Navy In April 1861, Simms resigned his commission with the U.S. Navy. He briefly served in Virginia's Navy before serving in the Confederate States Navy. In July 1861, he became the commander of the steamer CSS George Page under Samuel Barron. He was also assigned to the steamer CSS Rappahannock. In February 1862, Simms and his friend John Taylor Wood trained their gun crews on the CSS Confederate States (formerly the USS United States) while the Virginia was under construction. He served on the Virginia during its fight with the on 8 March 1862, at the Battle of Hampton Roads, he manned the pivot gun, a 7-inch Brooke rifle. After the Virginia rammed a hole in the bow of the Cumberland, Simms shot through the opening and killed all or most of a gun crew and disabled their gun. He was injured aboard the Virginia. He served in the gunboats CSS Nansemond on the James River and the CSS Selma in Mobile Bay.

Personal life Simms married Elizabeth James Nourse, daughter of Charles Josephus Nourse, on 18 November 1852. They had two sons, Charles Nourse and Richard Douglass. He was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.