- USS Neosho (1863)
USS "Neosho" (1863) was a
river monitor constructed for theUnion Navy during the middle of theAmerican Civil War . She was outfitted with heavy 11-inch guns and used in theUnion blockade of the waterways of theConfederate States of America .Built in Missouri
The first USS "Neosho", a single-turreted, wooden-hulled, river monitor protected by iron plate armor, was laid down in mid
1862 by James B. Eads at hisUnion Iron Works , Carondelet, Mo.; launched18 February 1863 ; commissioned at Cairo, Il.13 May 1863,Commander John C. Febiger in command, and completed1 July 1863. "Neosho" was named after a river flowing inKansas andOklahoma .Civil War service
"Neosho" and her sister "Osage" were the first of Eads’ river warships to employ the “turtleback” design which became his hallmark and were the only monitors to be propelled by stern wheels. Their shallow draft made them extremely useful in the riverine warfare to come.
Mississippi River operations
"Neosho" departed Cairo
14 July 1863 , and reached Vicksburg6 August , just over a month after that Confederate river fortress had finally fallen to the combined land and Naval attacks. Nevertheless, much work remained for the Union Navy in order to hold the mighty Mississippi River system which it had so dearly won.Confederate cavalry raiders and flying batteries would appear at unexpected points along the Mississippi and its tributaries and attempt to sever Union lines of supply and communication. "Neosho" and sister river warships tirelessly patrolled the Mississippi and its tributaries clearing riverbanks and levees of Southern raiders. On8 December 1863 , a Confederate shore battery attacked and disabled merchant steamer "Henry Von Phul"; "Neosho" and "Signal" steamed up to defend the ship and silenced the battery.Red River operations
From
12 March to22 May 1864 , "Neosho" participated in Rear Admiral David Porter's Red River expedition which, while failing to achieve its purpose of establishing a Union power base inTexas , nevertheless, demonstrated the Navy’s great imagination, determination, and ingenuity in safely withdrawing its ships over dangerous shallows, when bereft of necessary Army support.Post-war decommissioning
"Neosho" decommissioned at
Mound City, Illinois ,23 July 1865 and remained in ordinary. Renamed "Vixen"15 June 1869 and again renamed "Osceola"2 August 1869 , the monitor was sold at Mound City, Illinois, to David Campbell17 August 1873 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-n/neosho.htm USS Neosho (1863-1873)]
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