USS Osage (1863)
Osage at anchor
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Osage |
Namesake | Osage Nation |
Builder | Carondelet, Missouri |
Laid down | 1862 |
Launched | 13 January 1863 |
Commissioned | 10 July 1863 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
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 |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 12 miles per hour (10 kn) |
Complement | 100 |
Armament | 2 × 11-inch (279 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns |
Armor |
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USS Osage was a single-turreted
Design and description
The steam-powered
Osage's main armament consisted of two smoothbore 11-inch (279 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in a single turret[4] that had an arc of fire of 300°. Firing the guns tended to jam the turret until modifications were made to the guns' recoil system.[3] Each gun weighed approximately 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg). They could fire a 136-pound (61.7 kg) shell up to a range of 3,650 yards (3,340 m) at an elevation of 15°.[5] The turret was protected by 6 inches (152 mm) of wrought iron while the hull had 2.5 inches (64 mm) of armor. The armor plates of the deck and paddle housing were 1.25 inches (32 mm) thick.[4]
Service
Osage, named after the
After completion, the ship was assigned to Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron and patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes. During the Red River Campaign Osage was commanded by
After being towed to Mound City for more permanent repairs,
Notes
- ^ a b Silverstone, p. 149
- ^ Canney, p. 109
- ^ a b c d Gibbons, p. 57
- ^ a b Konstam, p. 42
- ^ Olmstead, et al., p. 90
- ^ a b "Osage". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Joiner, p. 147, 156–57
- ^ ORN, pp. 339–40, 360, 451, 745
- ^ ORN, p. 745
References
- Canney, Donald L. (1993). The Old Steam Navy: The Ironclads, 1842–1885. Vol. 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-586-8.
- Gibbons, Tony (1989). Warships and Naval Battles of the Civil War. New York: Gallery Books. ISBN 0-8317-9301-5.
- Joiner, Gary D. (2007). Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5098-8.
- Konstam, Angus (2002). Union River Ironclad 1861–65. New Vanguard. Vol. 56. Oxford, England: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-444-2.
- Olmstead, Edwin; Stark, Wayne E.; Tucker, Spencer C. (1997). The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, New York: Museum Restoration Service. ISBN 0-88855-012-X.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). Civil War Navies 1855–1883. The U.S. Navy Warship Series. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97870-X.
- United States, Naval War Records Office (1914). Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series I. Vol. 26: Naval Forces on Western Waters (March 1, 1864 – December 31, 1864). Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office.
External links