USS Patapsco (1862)
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.jpg/300px-USS_Patapsco_(1862).jpg) Pencil sketch of USS Patapsco |
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| Career |   |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Harlan & Hollingsworth |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | 27 September 1862 |
| Commissioned: | 2 January 1863 |
| Struck: | 1865 (est.) |
| Fate: | sunk in battle (mine), 15 January 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,875 tons |
| Length: | 241 ft (73 m) |
| Beam: | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught: | 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 Martin boilers, 1-shaft Ericsson vibrating lever engine, 320 ihp (235 kW) |
| Speed: | 6 knots |
| Complement: | 105 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × 15 in (381 mm) smoothbore 1 × 8 in (203 mm) Parrott rifle |
| Armor: | Iron Side: 5 - 3 in (12.7 - 7.6 cm) Turret: 11 in (27.9 cm) Deck: 1 in (2.5 cm) |
USS Patapsco (1862) was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Patapsco River in Maryland.
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[edit] Built in Wilmington, Delaware
Patapsco was the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear that name. She was built by Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Delaware; launched 27 September 1862; and commissioned 2 January 1863, with Commander Daniel Ammen in command.
[edit] Civil War service
[edit] Assigned to the South Atlantic blockade
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, she took part in a bombardment of Fort McAllister, on Georgia's Ogeechee River, on 3 March. On the 7th of April Patapsco joined eight otherironclads in a vigorous attack on Fort Sumter, off Charleston, South Carolina, and received 47 hits from Confederate gunfire during that day.
Beginning in mid-July, she began her participation in a lengthy bombardment campaign against Charleston's defending fortifications. This led to the capture of Fort Wagner, on Morris Island, in early September. Fort Sumter was reduced to a pile of rubble, but remained a formidable opponent.
In November 1863, Patapsco tested a large obstruction-clearing explosive device that had been devised by John Ericsson. Remaining off South Carolina and Georgia during much of 1864 and into 1865, the monitor, or her boat crews, took part in a reconnaissance of the Wilmington River, Georgia, in January 1864 and helped capture or destroy enemy sailing vessels in February and November of that year.
[edit] Sunk by a mine
On 14 January 1865, while participating in obstruction clearance operations in Charleston Harbor, USS Patapsco struck a Confederate mine and sank, with heavy loss of life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Additional technical data from Gardiner, Robert (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, p. 120. ISBN 0 85177 133 5.
[edit] External links
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