![]() An 1866 drawing of USS Chickasaw | |
Class overview | |
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Name | Milwaukee class |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | USS Ozark |
Succeeded by | Marietta class |
Built | 1863–65 |
Lost | 1 |
Scrapped | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | River monitor |
Displacement | 1,300 long tons (1,300 t) |
Tons burthen | 970 bm |
Length | 229 ft (69.8 m) |
Beam | 56 ft (17.1 m) |
Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
Installed power | 7 × Tubular boilers |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
Complement | 138 |
Armament | 2 × 2 - 11-inch (279 mm) Smoothbore Dahlgren guns |
Armor |
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The Milwaukee-class monitors were a class of four riverine ironclad monitors built during the American Civil War. Several supported Union forces along the Mississippi River in mid-1864 before participating in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August. Chickasaw and Winnebago bombarded Confederate coastal fortifications during the battle and during subsequent operations as well as engaging the ironclad Tennessee II. The other two ships arrived at Mobile Bay after the battle and all four supported the land attacks on Mobile in March–April 1865. Milwaukee struck a torpedo during this time and sank. The surviving three ships were sold in 1874; Chickasaw was converted into a ferry and survived until 1944 when she was scuttled. Her wreck was discovered in 2004.
The Milwaukee-class monitors had their origin in an order from Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, to Commodore Joseph Smith, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, on 16 April 1863 to recommend four more river ironclads that could mount four 11-inch (279 mm) Dahlgren guns on a draft no more than 6 feet (1.8 m). James Eads received the contract to build four iron-hulled, twin-turreted ironclads, partly due to the influence of Missouri Congressman Frank P. Blair, Jr. [1] Eads retained two of the ships, but subcontracted the other two to other builders. [1]
The Milwaukee-class ships were 229 feet (69.8 m) long overall and had a beam of 56 feet (17.1 m). [2] They had a depth of hold of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) [3] and a draft of six feet. The ships were 970 tons burthen [2] and displaced 1,300 long tons (1,300 t). [4]
They were powered by two 2-cylinder horizontal non-condensing steam engines, [4] each driving two 7-foot-6-inch (2.3 m) propellers, [3] using steam generated by seven tubular boilers. [4] The engines were designed to reach a top speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph). They had a bore of 26 inches (660 mm) and a stroke of 24 inches (610 mm). [5] They carried 156 long tons (159 t) of coal. [4]
The ships' main armament consisted of four smoothbore, muzzle-loading 11-inch Dahlgren guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets. [2] The fore turret in each ship, except Chickasaw, was designed by Eads, while the aft turret was the standard Ericsson design used in most Union monitors. Unlike the latter, which rested its entire weight on a central spindle that had to be elevated in order for the turret to rotate, Eads' design better distributed its weight because it rested on a number of ball bearings underneath the outer edge of the turret. The structure of the Eads turret extended down to be bottom of the ship and the entire structure rotated. The guns in the Eads turret were mounted on a steam-powered platform that moved up and down, so that the guns could be reloaded below deck, safe from enemy interference. Both turrets used steam engines to rotate, but the Eads design also used it to power virtually every function in the turret, including running out the guns, absorbing the recoil from firing, and opening the gun ports to allow the guns to fire. The ability to adjust the level of the turret floor doubled the elevation of the guns to +20° compared to the +10° allowed in an Ericsson turret. Another advantage was that the Eads turret only required a crew of six men, far fewer than the Ericsson design. [6] Each gun weighed approximately 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg). They could fire a 136-pound (61.7 kg) shell up to a range of 3,650 yards (3,340 m) at an elevation of +15°. [7]
The cylindrical turrets were protected by eight layers of wrought iron 1-inch (25 mm) plates above the deck. Below the deck the side of the Eads turret was only a single layer thick and had holes through which the guns were loaded. The sides of the hull consisted of three layers of one-inch plates, backed by 15 inches (380 mm) of pine. The deck was heavily cambered to allow headroom for the crew on such a shallow draft, and it consisted of iron plates .75 inches (19 mm) thick. Milwaukee and Winnebago had an additional layer of armor to give them a total of 1.5 inches (38 mm). The pilothouse, positioned behind and above the fore turret, was protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor. [6]
Ship | Builder [2] | Namesake | Renamed [2] | Laid down [2] | Launched [2] | Commissioned [2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chickasaw | Thomas G. Gaylord, St. Louis, Missouri | Chickasaw [8] | Samson, 15 June 1869; Chickasaw, 10 August 1869 | 1862 | 10 February 1864 | 14 May 1864 |
Kickapoo | G. B. Allen, St. Louis, Missouri | Kickapoo [9] | Cyclops, 15 June 1869; Kewaydin, 10 August 1869 | 1862 | 12 March 1864 | 8 July 1864 |
Milwaukee | Union Iron Works, Carondelet, St. Louis | Milwaukee [10] | NA | 27 May 1862 | 8 February 1864 | 27 August 1864 |
Winnebago | Winnebago [11] | Tornado, 15 June 1869; Winnebago, 10 August 1869 | 1862 | 4 July 1863 | 27 April 1864 |
Chickasaw and Winnebago, the first two ships to be commissioned, spent some time patrolling the Mississippi River and supporting Union forces operating along its length before they were transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in early July 1864 to support the impending attack on the defenses of Mobile, Alabama [8] [11] Rear Admiral David Farragut organized the four monitors present into a separate column leading his wooden ships to engage Fort Morgan while the other ships proceeded into the Bay itself. Winnebago and Chickasaw were the third and fourth monitors in line, respectively, as the two more heavily armored Canonicus-class monitors, Tecumseh and Manhattan, preceded them. [12] Tecumseh struck a torpedo in front of the fort and a small boat from the gunboat Metacomet rescued 10 survivors and delivered them to Winnebago. [13] The latter's aft turret had jammed during her bombardment of Fort Morgan while Chickasaw's funnel had been riddled with holes, significantly reducing her speed. [14]
The Confederate ironclad Tennessee attacked Farragut's wooden ships without much effect after they had passed the Confederate forts, and she was engaged by Winnebago before she disengaged and briefly took shelter under Fort Morgan's guns. About a half-hour later, the ironclad attacked Farragut's ships again. The monitors were not initially engaged, but Chickasaw managed to assume a position by the Tennessee's stern and fired repeatedly at point-blank range. [15] Her shots failed to penetrate the Tennessee's armor, but they did jam the armored shutter for the stern gun port and cut her exposed steering chains, rendering her unable to steer. When the crew attempted to unjam the shutter, one shell struck the edge of the shutter, creating fragments that killed the machinist attempting to knock out the shutter's retaining pin and broke Admiral Franklin Buchanan's leg. This damage, together with damage inflicted by the other Union ships, persuaded Commander James D. Johnston to surrender his ship. [16] The two monitors remained in Mobile Bay and subsequently bombarded Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines until they surrendered less than three weeks later. [8] [11]
The other two monitors were commissioned too late to participate in the battle. After supporting forces near the mouth of the Red River during the summer, Kickapoo was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in October for operations against Mobile itself; [9] Milwaukee was also transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron that same month. [10]
Union forces were too weak to attack the city itself until March 1865. The monitors moved up the Blakeley River at the end of the month to cut off Confederate communications with Spanish Fort while Union troops besieged the fort. Milwaukee and Winnebago sortied upriver on 28 March to attack a Confederate transport and Milwaukee struck a torpedo while returning from the sortie. Her entire crew survived and was rescued by Kickapoo. The following day Kickapoo rescued the crew of the monitor Osage, which had also struck a torpedo and sunk. After the occupation of Selma, Alabama, in early April, Winnebago escorted a troop convoy to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, and then blockaded the Tombigbee River to prevent the ironclad Nashville and other Confederate ships from interfering with Union forces. [8] [9] [10] [11]
After the war, the three surviving ships were decommissioned and later sold on 12 September 1874. [8] [9] [11] Chickasaw's new owners converted her to sidewheel propulsion and she became a coal and railroad ferry until 1944, when she was converted to a barge, then sank in the 1950s near Audubon Park, New Orleans. Her wreck was discovered in 2004. [8] [17] Milwaukee's wreck was salvaged after the war, and some of her iron was used in building the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis. [10]
USS Agamenticus was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned as the war was ending in May 1865, the ironclad saw no combat and was decommissioned in September and placed in reserve. The ship was reactivated in 1870, having been renamed Terror the previous year, and was assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet where she served in the Caribbean Sea. The monitor was decommissioned again in 1872 and was sold for scrap two years later. The Navy Department evaded the Congressional refusal to order new ships by claiming that the Civil War-era ship was being repaired while building a new monitor of the same name.
USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from penetrating. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Admiral Franklin Buchanan and three forts that guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay: Morgan, Gaines and Powell. Farragut's order of "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!" became famous in paraphrase, as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
USS Onondaga was an ironclad monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned in 1864, the ship spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla covering the water approaches to the Confederate States capital of Richmond, Virginia, although her only notable engagement was the Battle of Trent's Reach. After the war, she was purchased by France where she served as a coastal defense ship in the French Navy.
CSS Tennessee was a casemate ironclad ram built for the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. She served as the flagship of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, commander of the Mobile Squadron, after her commissioning. She was captured in 1864 by the Union Navy during the Battle of Mobile Bay and then participated in the Union's subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan. Tennessee was decommissioned after the war and sold in 1867 for scrap.
USS Canonicus was a single-turret monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War, the lead ship of her class. The ship spent most of her first year in service stationed up the James River, where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, from December 1864 to January 1865.
USS New Ironsides was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship spent most of her career blockading the Confederate ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1863–65. New Ironsides bombarded the fortifications defending Charleston in 1863 during the First and Second Battles of Charleston Harbor. At the end of 1864 and the beginning of 1865 she bombarded the defenses of Wilmington in the First and Second Battles of Fort Fisher.
USS Chickasaw was an ironclad Milwaukee-class river monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, during which she was lightly damaged, and the bombardments of Forts Gaines and Morgan as Union troops besieged the fortifications defending the bay. In March–April 1865, Chickasaw again supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama.
USS Tecumseh was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Although intended for forthcoming operations against Confederate fortifications guarding Mobile Bay with Rear Admiral David Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Tecumseh was temporarily assigned to the James River Flotilla in April 1864. The ship helped to plant obstacles in the river and engaged Confederate artillery batteries in June.
USS Saugus was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The vessel was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon completion in April 1864. The ship spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1864 – January 1865. Saugus returned to the James River after the capture of Fort Fisher and remained there until Richmond, Virginia, was occupied in early April.
USS Winnebago was a double-turret Milwaukee-class river monitor, named for the Winnebago tribe of Siouan Indians, built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, during which she was lightly damaged, and the bombardments of Forts Gaines and Morgan as Union troops besieged the fortifications defending the bay. In early 1865, Winnebago again supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama. She was placed in reserve after the end of the war and sold in 1874.
USS Roanoke was a wooden-hulled Merrimack-class screw frigate built for the United States Navy in the mid-1850s. She served as flagship of the Home Squadron in the late 1850s and captured several Confederate ships after the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The ship was converted into an ironclad monitor during 1862–63; the first ship with more than two gun turrets in history. Her conversion was not very successful as she rolled excessively and the weight of her armor and turrets strained her hull. Her deep draft meant that she could not operate off shallow Confederate ports and she was relegated to harbor defense at Hampton Roads, Virginia for the duration of the war. Roanoke was placed in reserve after the war and sold for scrap in 1883.
USS Neosho, the lead ship of her class, was an ironclad river monitor laid down for the Union Navy in the summer of 1862 during the American Civil War. After completion in mid-1863, the ship spent time patrolling the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. She participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864. Neosho resumed her patrols on the Mississippi after the end of the campaign. She supported the Union Army's operations on the Cumberland River and provided fire support during the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. Neosho was decommissioned after the war and remained in reserve until sold in 1873.
USS Osage was a single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. After completion in mid-1863 by Edward Hartt, the ship patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. Osage participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864, during which she supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the Battle of Blair's Landing in April. The ship was grounded on a sandbar for six months after the end of the campaign and badly damaged. Osage, after being refloated and repaired, was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in early 1865 for the campaign against Mobile, Alabama. During the Battle of Spanish Fort in March 1865 she struck a mine and rapidly sank. The ship was later salvaged and sold in 1867.
USS Kickapoo was a double-turreted Milwaukee-class river monitor, the lead ship of her class, built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The ship supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama in early 1865. She was placed in reserve after the end of the war and sold in 1874.
The first USS Milwaukee, a double-turreted Milwaukee-class river monitor, the lead ship of her class, built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The ship supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama in early 1865. She struck a mine in March and sank without loss. Her wreck was raised in 1868 and broken up for scrap that was used in the construction of a bridge in St. Louis, Missouri.
USS Monadnock was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Commissioned in late 1864, she participated in the First in December and Second Battles of Fort Fisher in January 1865. The ship was later assigned to the James River Flotilla on the approaches to the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia and then sailed to Spanish Cuba to intercept the Confederate ironclad CSS Stonewall.
USS Manhattan was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. After commissioning in 1864 the ship was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay. At the end of the battle, Manhattan took the surrender of the Confederate casemate ironclad ram Tennessee. She bombarded Fort Morgan during the Siege of Fort Morgan and later blockaded the mouth of the Red River until the end of the war.
USS Mahopac (1864) was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The vessel was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon completion in September 1864. The ship spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against sorties by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both the first and second battles of Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1864 – January 1865. Mahopac returned to the James River after the capture of Fort Fisher and remained there until Richmond, Virginia was occupied in early April.
The Neosho-class monitors were a pair of ironclad river monitors laid down in mid-1862 for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. After completion in mid-1863, both ships spent time patrolling the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. Both ships participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864, although Osage supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the Battle of Blair's Landing in April. Osage was grounded on a sandbar for six months after the end of the campaign while Neosho resumed her patrols on the Mississippi. The latter ship supported the Union Army's operations on the Cumberland River and provided fire support during the Battle of Nashville in December.