CSS Lark

The Lark was a paddle steamer employed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. She was the last blockade runner to successfully escape from a Southern port before the Union blockade completely closed off this vital source of supplies.

History
Name	Lark
Namesake	Lark
Owner	Confederate States of America
Builder	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, England
Launched	Nov 1864
Fate	Scrapped, 1896
General characteristics
Class and type	Lark-class paddle steamer
Tonnage	390 GRT
Length	210 ft 8 in (64.2 m)
Beam	23 ft 2 in (7.1 m)
Draught	6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power	150 ihp (110 kW)
Propulsion	side wheels, 2 oscillating steam engines 2 boilers
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)

Lark was designed and built by John Laird & Sons. The ship made four successful round trips through the blockade between Galveston, Texas, and Havana, Cuba. In April 1865, she ran aground near the entrance to Galveston harbor. Two launches dispatched from the Union blockading squadron attacked the Lark, which managed to fend off the assault with help from Confederate ground forces. On May 24, she dashed into Galveston again and managed to slip through the blockade back out to open sea, the last Confederate blockade runner to do so.^[1]