- USS Patapsco (1862)
USS "Patapsco" (1862) was a "Passaic"-class
ironclad monitor in theUnited States Navy during theAmerican Civil War . She was named for thePatapsco River inMaryland .Built in Wilmington, Delaware
"Patapsco" was the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear that name. She was built by
Harlan & Hollingsworth ,Wilmington, Delaware ; launched27 September 1862 ; and commissioned2 January 1863 , with CommanderDaniel Ammen in command.Civil War service
Assigned to the South Atlantic blockade
Assigned to the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron , she took part in a bombardment of Fort McAllister, on Georgia'sOgeechee River , on3 March . On the 7th of April "Patapsco" joined eight otherironclad s in a vigorous attack onFort Sumter , offCharleston, South Carolina , and received 47 hits from Confederate gunfire during that day.Beginning in mid-July, she began her participation in a lengthy bombardment campaign against Charleston's defending fortifications. This led to the capture of
Fort Wagner , onMorris Island , in early September. Fort Sumter was reduced to a pile of rubble, but remained a formidable opponent.In November
1863 , Patapsco tested a large obstruction-clearing explosive device that had been devised byJohn Ericsson . Remaining offSouth Carolina and Georgia during much of1864 and into1865 , the monitor, or her boat crews, took part in a reconnaissance of the Wilmington River, Georgia, in January1864 and helped capture or destroy enemy sailing vessels in February and November of that year.Sunk by a mine
On
14 January 1865 , while participating in obstruction clearance operations inCharleston Harbor , USS "Patapsco" struck a Confederate mine and sank, with heavy loss of life.See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy References
DANFS
"Additional technical data from" cite book
last = Gardiner
first = Robert
coauthors =
title = Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905
publisher = Conway Maritime Press
date = 1979
pages = p. 120
month =
isbn = 0 85177 133 5External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p2/patapsco-iv.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Patapsco"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/patapsco.htm navsource.org: USS "Patapsco"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/monitors/patapsco.htm hazegray.org: USS "Patapsco"]
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