USS Ozark (1863)

Ozark serving in the Mississippi River Squadron in 1864–65
Class overview
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byNeosho class
Succeeded byMilwaukee class
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
United States
NameUSS Ozark
NamesakeThe Ozark Tribe of the Quapaw Indians
Awarded14 May 1862
BuilderGeorge C. Bestor
CostAbout $215,000
Laid down1862
Launched18 February 1863
Commissioned18 February 1864
Decommissioned24 July 1865
FateSold, 29 November 1865
General characteristics
Tons burthen578 bm
Length180 ft (54.9 m)
Beam50 ft (15.2 m)
Draft5 ft (1.5 m)
Installed power4 × boilers
Propulsion
Speed9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
Complement120
Armament
  • 1 × 2 - 11-inch (279 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns
  • 1 × 1 - 10-inch (254 mm) Dahlgren guns
  • 3 × 1 - 9-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren guns
Armor
  • Gun turret: 6 in (152 mm)
  • Side: 2.25–2.5 in (57–64 mm)
  • Deck: 1 in (25 mm)

USS Ozark was a single-turreted river monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship served in the Mississippi River Squadron during the war, and participated in the Red River Campaign shortly after she was commissioned in early 1864. Ozark patrolled the Mississippi River and its tributaries after the end of the campaign for the rest of the war. She was decommissioned after the war and sold in late 1865.

The ship's activities or owner are not known after her sale, but Ozark transported Federal troops and New Orleans police attempting to apprehend the white supremacists who killed numerous blacks during the Colfax Massacre in 1873. She ferried witnesses back and forth to their homes on the Red River during the subsequent trials in 1874. Her ultimate fate is unknown.