USS Minnesota (1855)

Minnesota at Hampton-Roads in 1862
History
Union Navy Jack United States
NameUSS Minnesota
NamesakeThe Minnesota River
BuilderWashington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Laid downMay 1854
Launched1 December 1855
Sponsored bySusan L. Mann
Commissioned21 May 1857
Decommissioned2 June 1859
Recommissioned2 May 1861
Decommissioned16 February 1865
Recommissioned3 June 1867
Out of servicePlaced in ordinary 13 January 1868
Recommissioned12 June 1875
Out of serviceLoaned to Massachusetts Naval Militia October 1895-August 1901
FateSold August 1901; later burned
General characteristics
TypeScrew frigate[1]
Displacement3,307 long tons (3,360 t)
Length264 ft 9 in (80.70 m)[1]
Beam51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)[1]
Draft23 ft 10 in (7.26 m)[1]
PropulsionSteam engine
Sail planShip Rig[1]
Speed12.5 knots[1]
Complement646 officers and enlisted[1]
Armament
  • 2 × 10 in (250 mm) guns
  • 28 × 9 in (230 mm) guns
  • 14 × 8 in (200 mm) guns

USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned. She was recommissioned at the outbreak of the American Civil War and returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.[2]

During the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads on 8 March 1862, Minnesota ran aground, and the following battle badly damaged her and inflicted many casualties. On the second day of the battle, USS Monitor engaged CSS Virginia, allowing tugs to free Minnesota on the morning of 10 March. Minnesota was repaired and returned to duty, and three years later she participated in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Minnesota served until 1898, when she was stricken, beached and burnt to recover her metal fittings and to clear her name for a newly-ordered battleship, USS Minnesota (BB-22).

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference Silverstone, Warships, p. 28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Evans, Mark L. (10 August 2015). "USS Minnesota I (Frigate)". The Navy Department Library (online). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington D.C.: Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 August 2022. Displacement 3,307; length 264' 8½"; beam 51'4"; draft 23'4"; speed 9¼ knots; complement 540; armament one 10-inch smoothbore, 26 9-inch, 14 8-inch; class Minnesota