- USS Peosta (1857)
USS "Peosta" (1857) – also known as "Tinclad" # 36" --was a
steamboat acquired by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War .Peosta was outfitted as an armedgunboat , with heavy guns for battles at sea, and largehowitzer s for shore bombardment. She served on the rivers and other waterways of theConfederate States of America enforcing theUnion blockade on the South.Purchased in Iowa
"Peosta", a side-wheel wooden gunboat, was built in 1857 at
Cincinnati, Ohio , for civilian employment. She was purchased atDubuque, Iowa ,13 June 1863 ; fitted out atCairo, Illinois ., and commissioned2 October 1863 , Lt. Thomas E. Smith in command.Civil War service
Assigned to the Naval forces on the
Tennessee River , "Peosta" departed Cairo28 October and arrived atPaducah, Kentucky ,3 November .Remaining on the Tennessee River throughout the Civil War, she cruised between Paducah and
Eastport, Mississippi , to protect Union shipping and supportUnion Army activities. In the spring of 1864 she assisted in halting a Confederate land and river offensive against Paducah as they moved through Union lines to repossess defenses along the river.On
25 March 1864 , she engaged Confederate troops atPaducah, Kentucky .Post-war decommissioning
Remaining on the Tennessee River into June
1865 she arrived atMound City, Illinois , on the 5th for inactivation. On7 August 1865 she decommissioned and 10 days later was sold to John W. Waggoner. She retained her name in postwar merchant service and burned atMemphis, Tennessee , on25 December 1870 .See also
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Union Navy
*American Civil War Reference
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* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/peosta.htm USS Peosta (1863-1865, "Tinclad" # 36)]
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