CSS Cotton Plant, sometimes referred to as Cotton Planter, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860 and reportedly carried troops in the Pamlico River as early as September 1861. She sailed with CSS Albemarle when that ironclad ram attacked Union forces at Plymouth, North Carolina, sank USS Southfield and drove off USS Miami, USS Ceres and USS Whitehead on April 18–19, 1864. On May 5, 1864 she steamed as convoy to Albemarle from the Roanoke River en route to the Alligator River. The convoy was engaged by ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, but both the ram and Cotton Plant with several launches in tow escaped into the Roanoke River.