The Huntsville-class ironclads consisted of two casemate ironclads ordered by the Confederate States Navy in 1862 to defend Mobile, Alabama, during the American Civil War. Completed the following year, they used propulsion machinery taken from steamboats, and were intended to be armored with 4 inches (102 mm) of wrought iron and armed with four cannons. Both CSS Tuscaloosa and her sister ship CSS Huntsville were found to be too slow for practical use, and were relegated to service as floating batteries. Union forces captured Mobile in April 1865, and the sisters were scuttled on April 12, as they were unable to escape due to an inability to steam against the current on the Spanish River.