- USS Benton (1861)
USS "Benton" (1861) was an
ironclad rivergunboat in theUnited States Navy during theAmerican Civil War . She was named for American senator Thomas Hart Benton.Conversion from snagboat
"Benton" was a former center-wheel
catamaran snagboat and was converted byJames B. Eads ,St. Louis, Missouri , in1861 and commissioned24 February 1862 , Lieutenant J. Bishop in command as part of the Army'sWestern Gunboat Flotilla .Civil War service
In the Spring of
1862 , she was present at the captures ofIsland Number Ten , Fort Pillow andMemphis, Tennessee . During the Summer, "Benton" was in action with the Confederate ironclad "Arkansas" nearVicksburg, Mississippi , and participated in an expedition up theYazoo River . She was transferred to theUnion Navy in October1862 , and continued her service as theMississippi Squadron 'sflagship into1863 .In December
1862 , "Benton" was damaged by Confederate gunfire during another operation on the Yazoo River. She was one of the ships that ran pastVicksburg, Mississippi on16 April 1863 and bombardedGrand Gulf, Mississippi , later in that month. She participated in an attack on Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, in May, then provided gunfire support for the siege of Vicksburg. In March-May1864 , "Benton" was involved in the Red River expedition, inLouisiana , and returned to that vicinity in June1865 during operations that followed the formal end of the Civil War.Post-war decommissioning
Decommissioned
20 July 1865 atMound City, Illinois , "Benton" was sold29 November 1865 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy
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