USS ''Conestoga'' was originally a civilian side-wheel

towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...

built at

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war resumption of westward migration. The Tradin ...

, in 1859. She was acquired by the U.S. Army in June 1861 and converted to a 572-ton " timberclad" river gunboat for use by the Western Gunboat Flotilla, with officers provided by the navy.

Civil War service

''Conestoga'''s first combat action took place in September 1861 when she engaged CSS ''Jackson'' near Lucas Bend, Kentucky. Other skirmishes punctuated the routine of river patrol service into 1862. In February, she participated in an expedition up the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

that led to the capture of Forts

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and Donelson. Later in the month, she saw action at

Columbus, Kentucky Columbus is a home rule-class city in Hickman County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 170 at the 2010 census, a decline from 229 in 2000. The city lies at the western end of the state, less than a mile from the Mississippi Ri ...

, a Confederate strongpoint on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. During the rest of her service, ''Conestoga'' continued to operate along the rivers. She took part in the bombardment of Saint Charles, Arkansas, in June 1862 and was formally transferred to the navy in October of that year. In April and July 1863, she was involved in expeditions to

Palmyra, Tennessee Palmyra is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee. It is located along State Route 149, southwest of Clarksville. The town had its own post office until around 2010 when the post office was closed and mail service began to ...

, and up the Red River, Louisiana. The following March, she went up Louisiana's Black and

Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It is the 25th-longest river in the United State ...

s. Soon after, on 8 March 1864, USS ''Conestoga'' was sunk in a collision with USS ''General Price''.

References

External links

USS Conestoga (1861-1864) images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conestoga (1861) 1859 ships Ships built in Brownsville, Pennsylvania Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Maritime incidents in March 1864