 USS Baron DeKalb
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Ordered | as St. Louis |
| Builder | James B. Eads Yard, St. Louis, Missouri |
| Cost | $89,000 USD |
| Laid down | August 1861 |
| Launched | October 12, 1861 at Carondelet, Missouri |
| Commissioned | January 31, 1862 |
| Renamed | September 8, 1862 as Baron DeKalb |
| Stricken | July 13, 1863 |
| Identification | Yellow band on stacks |
| Fate | Sunk by mine, July 13, 1863 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | City-class river casemate ironclad |
| Displacement | 512 tons |
| Length | 175 ft (53 m) |
| Beam | 51 ft 2 in (15.60 m) |
| Draught | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Propulsion | steam engine - Center Wheel, 2 horizontal HP engines (22" X 6"), 5 boilers |
| Speed | 9 mph (14 km/h) |
| Complement | 251 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | (see section below) |
| Armour |
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USS Baron DeKalb was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.
USS Baron DeKalb, named after General Baron DeKalb of Hüttendorf near Erlangen, in present-day Bavaria, was originally named Saint Louis, and was one of seven City-class ironclads built at Carondelet, Missouri and Mound City, Illinois, for the Western Gunboat Flotilla.[1]
These ironclads were shallow draft with a center driven paddle wheel. They were partially armored and slow and very hard to steer in the currents of rivers. This ironclad was also vulnerable to plunging fire and also by hits in their un-armored areas. Called "Pook Turtles" for the designer, they did yeoman service through four years of war and were present at almost every battle on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
- ^ The Western Gunboat Flotilla was a unique "joint service" organization. The gunboats were built using funds from the War Department, were manned by Navy personnel, and were under the ultimate command of the U.S. Army theater commander.