On April 29, 1861 Secretary of the NavyGideon Welles received correspondence from James Eads concerning the viability of converting Submarine No. 7 into a riverine warship for the U.S. military. Submarine No. 7 was a snagboat built by the US Navy that had been purchased by Eads' Missouri Wrecking Company and modified to raise sunken steamboats on the Mississippi River.[3]
Both hulls of Submarine No. 7 were divided into 7 watertight compartments and Eads argued that the vessel could suffer up to 20 penetrating shot into 4 of these compartments and still stay afloat. (Other sources state she was built with 40 watertight compartments.)[4] He argued that the vessel would be able to support a strong battery of 32-pounder cannons. His initial proposal called converting the vessel into a Cotton-clad gunboat for a cost of $3,000 in cotton. His letter also described a plan to convert two other, smaller vessels and to create a naval base at Cairo, Illinois.[5]
Lacking the resources to undertake the project, Welles forwarded Eads's letter to the Secretary of WarSimon Cameron. Cameron was impressed by the proposal and forwarded it to GeneralGeorge McClellan to implement the construction of the base. Instead of the cotton-clad boat however, the US Army wanted a fleet of new ships; this became the City-class ironclad fleet.[6]
Eads earned several additional contracts after impressing the authorities with his abilities during the construction of the City-class. One of the vessels involved was Submarine No. 7. Eads widened the lower deck of Submarine No. 7 into a gun deck then added a second tier of accommodations. The large size of the finished vessel and this additional space led to the vessel being well suited to a flagship role. CommanderWilliam D. Porter complained that the finished vessel was too slow, and history has recorded that Eads replied that she was still fast enough to fight in. Now as the Benton, she would serve as a flagship for most of the war.[7]
Armament
Like many of the Mississippi theater ironclads, the Benton had her armament changed multiple times. Like the City-class, the Benton was fitted with a mixture of modern and antiquated weapons, then had her weapons upgraded as new pieces became available. Though the 9-inch (230mm) smoothbore guns were modern, most of the other original armaments were antiquated, such as the 32-pounders, or modified, such as the 42-pounder "rifles" that were in fact old smoothbores that had been gouged out to give them rifling.[8] These modified weapons were of particular concern to military commanders because they were structurally weaker and more prone to exploding than purpose-built rifled guns.[9] Additionally, the close confines of riverine combat greatly increased the threat of boarding parties. The 12-pounder howitzer was equipped to address that concern and was not used in regular combat. By the end of the war, the Benton was one of the heaviest armed vessels in the Mississippi theater.[2]
• 2 × D. 9-inch smoothbores • 7 × J. 42-pounder rifles • 7 × D. 32-pounder rifles
• 2 × D. 9-inch smoothbores • 2 × D. 50-pounder rifle • 4 × J. 42-pounder rifles • 8 × D. 32-pounder rifles • 1 × D. 12-pounder howitzer
• 4 × D. 9-inch smoothbores • 2 × D. 50-pounder rifle • 4 × J. 42-pounder rifles • 6 × D. 32-pounder rifles • 1 × D. 12-pounder howitzer
• 8 × D. 9-inch smoothbores • 2 × P. 100-pounder rifle • 2 × D. 50-pounder rifle • 4 × D. 32-pounder rifles • 1 × D. 12-pounder howitzer
Commanding officers
In addition to intermittently hosting both Admirals Andrew Foote and David Porter, the Benton had several commanding officers over the duration of her service.
As part of AdmiralAndrew Foote's command, she participated in the Battle of Island Number Ten in March–April.[10] On 10 May, she was present for the Battle of Plum Point Bend where a Confederate ram flotilla ambushed the fleet, sinking the Cincinnati and the Mound City before being driven off.[11] On June 6, Benton and the fleet, now supported by a flotilla of Union rams under the command of ColonelCharles Ellet, Jr. engaged the Confederate rams in the Battle of Memphis where the Confederate flotilla was completely routed. In July the Benton led the fleet into an attempted engagement with the CSS Arkansas near Vicksburg, Mississippi. The attempt was a failure and Benton and the fleet were forced to retreat north of the city for the rest of the year.[12] In October, the entire fleet was transferred from Army command to Navy command.[13]Benton spent the remainder of the year patrolling the Yazoo River.[2]
On April 16, under the direction of Admiral David Porter, the Benton led a nighttime charge past the guns of Vicksburg. Protecting the Ivy from cannon fire, the Benton led a column of ten additional vessels past the heavy artillery batteries. Passing at a range of 800-yard (730m) the Benton was hit 5 times, including 1 10-inch (250mm) round that split her casemate, injuring several crewmen. on April 29 the Benton led a 7 ironclad fleet in a bombardment of Grand Gulf, MS's gun batteries. One particularly devastating hit pieced the Benton's armor, causing 25 casualties. As the battle continued, the speed of the current increased and overwhelmed the Benton's engines and she was swept downstream before the bombardment's conclusion.[14] In May, Benton returned to Vickburg to continue bombarding the city until its fall in June.[13]
On March 10, the Benton led a large fleet up the Red River to aid the Army in subduing Shreveport, LA. This expedition was a failure. On March 12, according to Admiral Porter's memoirs "Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War" the Benton fired one volley from her bow battery during the Battle of Fort DeRussy before that fort's surrender to Union General A.J. Smith.[13] By May, the army was defeated in combat and forced to retreat, and the fleet was stranded on the river after the water levels fell too low to allow the fleet to retreat back to the Mississippi. The fleet was ultimately saved by building dams across low points in the river. Once the water level was high enough, the dams were destroyed and the fleet was able to escape on the rush of high water.[15]
By the end of the war, most of the action had been resolved in the western theater. Her last significant action was to steam back up the Red River in June to take possession of the surrendered CSS Missouri.[2]Benton decommissioned July 20, 1865 at Mound City, Illinois. Her armor and armament were removed and she was sold November 29, 1865.[citation needed]
USS Essex was a 1000-ton ironclad river gunboat of the United States Army and later United States Navy during the American Civil War. It was named by her captain, William Porter, for his father's old sailing frigate, the USS Essex. This Essex was originally constructed in 1856 at New Albany, Indiana as a steam-powered ferry named New Era.
USS Carondelet (1861) was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the War Department by James B. Eads during the American Civil War. It was named for the town where it was built, Carondelet, Missouri.
The USS Queen of the West was a sidewheel steamer ram ship and the flagship of the United States Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade. It was built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854. It served as a commercial steamer until purchased by Colonel Charles Ellet Jr. in 1862 and converted for use as a ram ship. The ship operated in conjunction with the Mississippi River Squadron during the Union brown-water navy battle against the Confederate River Defense Fleet for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries during the American Civil War.
USS Cairo is the lead ship of the City-class casemate ironclads built at the beginning of the American Civil War to serve as river gunboats.
The first USS Lafayette was a side wheel steamer, converted to an ironclad ram, in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
USS Louisville was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the U.S. Army by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.
The first USS Tuscumbia was a gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the town of Tuscumbia, Alabama, which had been named for a Cherokee chief.
The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the Mississippi Flotilla. It received its final designation when it was transferred to the Union Navy at the beginning of October 1862.
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 Baron DeKalb was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.
The City-class ironclad USS Cincinnati was a stern-wheel casemate gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the first ship to bear that name in the United States Navy.
USS Mound City was a City-class ironclad gunboat built for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the American Civil War. Originally commissioned as part of the Union Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla, she remained in that service until October 1862. Then the flotilla was transferred to the Navy and she became part of the Mississippi River Squadron, where she remained until the end of the war.
USS Indianola was a casemate ironclad that served as a river gunboat for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. A side-wheel steamer also equipped with two screw propellers, Indianola was built in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1862 by Joseph Brown before being taken by Union authorities while still incomplete, in response to a perceived Confederate threat to Cincinnati. After completion, the vessel briefly served on the Mississippi River and the Yazoo River before being sent downstream of Vicksburg, Mississippi in February 1863, to support the naval ram USS Queen of the West, which was operating against Confederate shipping.
USS Pittsburgh was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Army by James B. Eads during the American Civil War, and transferred to the Union Navy in October 1862. She was commissioned in January 1862, Commander Egbert Thompson in command.
Seth Ledyard Phelps was an American naval officer, and in later life, a politician and diplomat. Phelps received his first commission in United States Navy as a midshipman aboard the famous USS Independence. He served patrolling the coast of West Africa guarding against slavers. During the Mexican–American War he served on gunboats, giving support to Winfield Scott's army, and later served in the Mediterranean and Caribbean squadrons.
USS Sumter was a 525-ton sidewheel paddle steamer captured by the Union Navy during the Union blockade of the American Civil War.
The Pook Turtles, or City-class gunboats to use their semi-official name, were war vessels intended for service on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. They were also sometimes referred to as "Eads gunboats." The labels are applied to seven vessels of uniform design built from the keel up in Carondelet, Missouri shipyards owned by James Buchanan Eads. Eads was a wealthy St. Louis industrialist who risked his fortune in support of the Union.
CSS Ivy was a sidewheel steamer and privateer purchased by Commodore Lawrence Rousseau for service with the Confederate States Navy, and chosen by Commodore George Hollins for his Mosquito Fleet. The Mosquito Fleet was a group of riverboats converted to gunboats, and used to defend the Mississippi River in the area of New Orleans during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Lucas Bend took place on January 11, 1862, near Lucas Bend, four miles north of Columbus on Mississippi River in Kentucky as it lay at the time of the American Civil War. In the network of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio rivers, the Union river gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote and General Ulysses S. Grant sought to infiltrate and attack the Confederate positions in Tennessee. On the day of the battle, the Union ironclads Essex and St Louis, transporting troops down the Mississippi in fog, engaged the Confederate cotton clad warships General Polk, Ivy and Jackson and the gun platform New Orleans at a curve known as Lucas Bend in Kentucky. The Essex, under Commander William D. Porter, and the St Louis forced the Confederate ships to fall back after an hour of skirmishing during which the Union commander was wounded. They retreated to the safety of a nearby Confederate battery at Columbus, where the Union vessels could not follow.
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.
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