 USS New Ironsides under steam and sail
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | New Ironsides |
| Namesake | USS Constitution |
| Ordered | 15 October 1861 |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia |
| Cost | $780,000 |
| Yard number | 108 |
| Launched | 10 May 1862 |
| Sponsored by | Commodore Charles Stewart |
| Commissioned | 21 August 1862 |
| Decommissioned | 6 April 1865 |
| Fate | Destroyed by fire, 16 December 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Broadside ironclad[1] |
| Displacement | 4,120 long tons (4,190 t) |
| Length | 230 ft (70.1 m) (p.p.) |
| Beam | 57 ft 6 in (17.5 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 8 in (4.8 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 1 × shaft; 2 × direct-acting steam engines |
| Speed | 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Complement | 449 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Armor | |
USS New Ironsides was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship spent most of her career blockading the Confederate ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1863–65. New Ironsides bombarded the fortifications defending Charleston in 1863 during the First and Second Battles of Charleston Harbor. At the end of 1864 and the beginning of 1865 she bombarded the defenses of Wilmington in the First and Second Battles of Fort Fisher.
Although she was struck many times by Confederate shells, gunfire never significantly damaged the ship or injured the crew.[2] Her only casualty in combat occurred when she was struck by a spar torpedo carried by the CSS David. Eight crewmen were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in 1865. The ship was destroyed by fire in 1865 after she was placed in reserve.