USS Neosho (1863–1873) – Watercolor by Dr. Oscar Parkes
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Neosho |
Namesake | Neosho River |
Builder | Union Iron Works, Carondelet, Missouri |
Laid down | mid-1862 |
Launched | 18 February 1863 |
Completed | 1 July 1863 |
Commissioned | 13 May 1863, Cairo, Illinois |
Decommissioned | 23 July 1865, Mound City, Illinois |
Renamed |
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Stricken | 1873 (est.) |
Fate | Sold, 17 August 1873 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Neosho-class river monitor |
Tons burthen | 523 (bm) |
Length | 180 ft (54.9 m) |
Beam | 45 ft (13.7 m) |
Draft | 4 ft 6 in (1.4 m) |
Depth of hold | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
Installed power | |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 12 miles per hour (10 kn) |
Complement | 100 |
Armament | 2 × 11-inch (279 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns |
Armor |
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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.