USS Neosho (1863)

USS Neosho (1863–1873) – Watercolor by Dr. Oscar Parkes
History
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	Vixen, 15 June 1869 Osceola, 2 August 1869
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	400 ihp (300 kW) 4 × boilers
Propulsion	1 × stern wheel 1 × Horizontal steam engine
Speed	12 miles per hour (10 kn)
Complement	100
Armament	2 × 11-inch (279 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns
Armor	Gun turret: 6 in (152 mm) Hull: 2.5 in (64 mm) Deck: 1.25 in (32 mm)

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.