USS ''Osage'' was a single-turreted built for the

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After completion in mid-1863 by

Edward Hartt Edward Hartt (1825-1883) was a United States Navy constructor who oversaw or participated in the construction of many prominent ironclad and tinclad naval ships used during the American Civil War. Hart was born in 1825 in Portsmouth, New Hampshir ...

, the ship patrolled 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 f ...

against

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

raids and ambushes as part of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

David Porter's

Mississippi Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was ...

. ''Osage'' participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864, during which she supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the

Battle of Blair's Landing The Battle of Blair's Landing (April 12, 1864) saw a Confederate cavalry-artillery force commanded by Brigadier General Thomas Green (general), Tom Green attack several Union gunboats led by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter and soldiers in river tr ...

in April. The ship was grounded on a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

for six months after the end of the campaign and badly damaged. ''Osage'', after being refloated and repaired, was transferred to the

West Gulf Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...

in early 1865 for the campaign against

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. During the

Battle of Spanish Fort The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile ne ...

in March 1865 she struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

and rapidly sank. The ship was later salvaged and sold in 1867.

Design and description

The steam-powered

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

of the ''Osage'' was at the bow and she had a deckhouse between the funnel and the

sternwheel A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

, although another was later added between the turret and the funnel. Her

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was positioned above the rear deckhouse, next to the forward face of the sternwheel. The ship was long

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

and had a

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of . When launched she proved to have a draft deeper than planned and she measured 523

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...

. ''Osage'' had four steam

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s powering a two-cylinder, western steamboat-type engine that drove the sternwheel.Silverstone, p. 149 The ship had a maximum speed of in service and she carried of coal.Gibbons, p. 57 Her crew numbered 100 officers and enlisted men. ''Osage''s main armament consisted of two

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...

Dahlgren gun Dahlgren guns were muzzle-loading naval artillery designed by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren USN (November 13, 1809 – July 12, 1870), mostly used in the period of the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental ...

s mounted in a single turretKonstam, p. 42 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. Each gun weighed approximately . They could fire a shell up to a range of at an elevation of 15°. The turret was protected by of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

while the hull had of armor. The armor plates of the deck and paddle housing were thick.

Service

''Osage'', named after the

American Indian tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, Tribe (Native American), band, nation, ...

, was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in mid-1862 and launched 13 January 1863 by James Eads at his

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

Carondelet, Missouri Carondelet is a neighborhood in the extreme southeastern portion of St. Louis, Missouri. It was incorporated as an independent city in 1851 and was annexed by the City of St. Louis in 1870. As of the 2000 Census, the neighborhood has a popula ...

. She was commissioned at

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

on 10 July 1863, with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Joseph Pitty Couthouy in command. 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

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr. She supported the Union Army when it captured Fort DeRussy and captured

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

by herself on 15 March 1864 without firing a shot. She successfully defended the navy transports attacked during the

on 12 April, driving off the Confederate forces with heavy losses after having run aground and freed herself. After the end of the campaign in May she was assigned to patrol the Mississippi River. During that month she grounded on a sandbar near

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

and could not be refloated due to the rapidly falling water level even when some of her armor was removed. As the water receded ''Osage'' began to hog at the ends because only her middle was supported by the sand. This caused her longitudinal bulkheads to split and broke many rivets in her hull and on her deck. She was repaired in place before being refloated at the end of November. After being towed to Mound City for more permanent repairs,ORN, p. 745 ''Osage'' was transferred to the

on 1 February 1865 for the attack on Mobile, Alabama. She participated in the Battle of Spanish Fort, defending Mobile from the east, but struck a

in a previously swept channel and sank rapidly on 29 March. Two crewmen were killed and some others wounded. The ship was later refloated and sold at auction at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

on 22 November 1867, along with three ex-Confederate ships, for $20,467.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *

External links

Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: USS Osage (1863–1873)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osage (1863) Neosho-class monitors Ships built in St. Louis 1863 ships Ironclad warships of the Union Navy American Civil War monitors of the United States Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks in rivers Ships sunk by mines Maritime incidents in March 1865