89-756: CSS Louisiana was a casemate ironclad of the Confederate States Navy built to aid in defending the lower Mississippi River from invasion by the Union Navy during the American Civil War . She took part in one major action of the war, the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip , and when that ended disastrously for the Confederacy, she was destroyed by her crew. Louisiana was laid down in mid-October 1861 by E.C. Murray in
178-588: A keeled deep-draft hull, as opposed to the Union shallow-draft flat bottom hulls (also featured on the Confederate river ironclads of which there were also a number built). This came at a cost, however: Confederate coastal ironclads frequently ran aground when operating in inland waters or shallow coastal waters, with more than one being captured by the Union because of it, or were destroyed by their own crews to prevent capture in such circumstances—a fate that befell
267-432: A joint Army-Navy operation against Fort Fisher, North Carolina . The fort guarded the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina , the last major Confederate port still open for blockade runners. Brooklyn took part in the attack against that Southern stronghold which began with a bombardment on Christmas Eve. She helped to cover the landing of troops the next day, but the whole effort was brought to naught later that day when
356-573: A new shipyard just north of New Orleans . The ship had two paddlewheels and two screws, each driven by its own engine. The paddlewheels were mounted one abaft the other in a center well. The screws were not intended for propulsion, but were to aid the two rudders in steering in the confined waters and unpredictable currents of the Mississippi. The engines were taken from steamer Ingomar , but two months were needed for their transfer. The casemate extended her full length, less 25 feet at each end. It
445-810: A patch of heavy planking some 24 feet long over a long tear in her hull. One of Brooklyn's sailors, Quartermaster James Buck , was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. Farragut's orders called for him to clear the Mississippi of all Confederate forces afloat and of all defensive works along the river banks while moving up stream until meeting another Union squadron—commanded by Flag Officer Charles Henry Davis – which had begun fighting its way downriver from Cairo, Illinois . Hence, early in May after Union Army troops commanded by Major General Benjamin F. Butler had arrived in transports and had taken over New Orleans, Brooklyn and six other warships ascended
534-553: A place of greater safety and remained there to be on hand to support Farragut in any way possible should an opportunity to do so occur before the Flag Officer returned below in mid-July. As the hot summer days passed, more and more illness broke out among the ship's crew and the falling water level in the river made it necessary for the ship to retire downstream toward New Orleans. Meanwhile, on July 2, Capt Henry H. Bell relieved Capt. Craven in command of Brooklyn . On August 6,
623-485: A surprise Southern attack against Union warships at Galveston, Texas , had recaptured that port and broken the blockade there, he placed Bell in charge of the small force sent to reestablish Union control. Shoal water prevented Brooklyn from participating in a bombardment of Confederate gun positions in Galveston harbor on January 10; and on the night of the 11th, CSS Alabama sank Brooklyn's most formidable consort
712-465: A train for Washington, D.C., where he was needed to explain the treaty he had negotiated with Juárez to doubtful senators. From New Orleans, Brooklyn proceeded to Pensacola to prepare for a return to Mexican waters. However, before McLane could get back to the Gulf Coast from Washington, orders reached Pensacola sending her north. She stood out to sea on February 19, 1860 and reached New York City on
801-578: A voyage carrying members of a scientific expedition to the Gulf of Mexico to find a route across the isthmus of Chiriqui . She sailed on the 13th and reached Chiriqui, Boca del Toro, Panama , on the 24th. But for a run to Aspinwall from September 12 to 17, she remained off the expedition base at Chiriqui until mid-October when she returned to Aspinwall. There on October 20, Capt. William S. Walker relieved Farragut in command. Shortly thereafter, Brooklyn returned to Hampton Roads, Virginia , and she remained in
890-572: A warship housing the main armament itself was further explored by European navies in the last third of the 19th century, by the French and British navies in particular, in no small part due to the inspiration gained from the Battle of Hampton Roads. This resulted in larger, high-freeboard ironclad frigates or battleships the British dubbed " centre battery ships " and the French "casemate" or "barbette" (if
979-490: A week of mortar bombardment, Farragut concluded that it was ineffective, so he moved his fleet past the forts on the night of 24 April. Because of her position on the river bank, Louisiana could use neither her stern guns nor those on her port side. The magnitude of her contribution to the ensuing firefight between the forts and the Federal fleet is not known; General Duncan stated that she may have fired as few as 12 shots. On
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#17327835964541068-839: A year in ordinary, Brooklyn was recommissioned on October 15, 1885 and, on November 21, assigned once more to the South Atlantic Squadron and served in South American waters until heading home again on June 9, 1886. At New York, she prepared for duty in the Orient and, on August 12, got underway for the Far East. After crossing the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, she transited the Suez Canal and traversed
1157-470: The American Civil War by both the Confederate States Navy and the Union Navy . Unlike a monitor-type ironclad which carried its armament encased in a separate armored gun deck/turret, it exhibited a single (often sloped) casemate structure, or armored citadel , on the main deck housing the entire gun battery . As the guns were carried on the top of the ship yet still fired through fixed gunports,
1246-693: The Gulf of Mexico . She arrived at Veracruz on the 21st and remained in port while McLane negotiated an agreement with the Juárez Government. After the treaty was signed on December 12, she got underway again and proceeded to New Orleans , Louisiana, where she arrived on the 18th. With her bunkers full once more, she headed down the Mississippi River on Christmas Eve and crossed the gulf to Veracruz. However, in mid- January she reembarked McLane and took him to New Orleans so that he might catch
1335-484: The Louisiana lays at the bottom of the Mississippi River. In November 1981, it was magnetically located by NUMA . The official website of the search is here . Abbreviations used in these notes: 29°21′48″N 89°27′41″W / 29.36333°N 89.46139°W / 29.36333; -89.46139 Casemate ironclad The casemate ironclad was a type of iron or iron-armored gunboat briefly used in
1424-490: The Medal of Honor for their part in the battle. Their names were: After spending the next few weeks helping reduce the Confederate land works guarding the entrance, Brooklyn departed Mobile Bay on September 6 and headed for Hampton Roads for service in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . Soon thereafter, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter began to concentrate his warships for
1513-560: The Merrimack' s into Virginia , and suffered from the same defects. Still, all admiralties concluded that it was an evolutionary dead-end and that the revolving gun turret was the way to go – the validity of the conclusion being amply hammered home when the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought (1906) entered service, rendering everything that went before obsolete overnight. As a result, by 1910 no navy had any casemate warship left in service. USS Brooklyn (1858) USS Brooklyn
1602-614: The Peruvian Navy wooden gunboat BAP Loa , which was converted into a Confederate-style casemate ironclad in 1864 and used in a very similar role during the Chincha Islands War . The other example concerned the Royal Dutch Navy ship-of-the-line Zr Ms De Ruyter , whose conversion into an "armoured steam battery" – completed in 1865 – was ordered immediately after the Battle of Hampton Roads, much like
1691-664: The Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to East Asian waters. On April 4, 1887, Rear Admiral Chandler transferred his flag to her as commander of the Asiatic Squadron , and she showed the flag in ports of the western Pacific Ocean until turning homeward for the last time on August 9, 1888. She returned to the United States via Honolulu ; Cape Horn ; and St. Thomas . Brooklyn completed her first circumnavigation of
1780-727: The Strait of Magellan . During the month, she visited Possession Bay , Gregory Bay, Elizabeth Island, and Sandy Point before departing Possession Bay on March 2, 1882 and returning via Stanley, Falkland Islands , to Montevideo where she arrived late in March. While operating out of that port during the next 18 months, she made two voyages to Santa Cruz, Patagonia , and one to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , before getting underway on September 28, 1883 for Cape Town , Africa. During her time in African waters, she also visited Tomatave, Madagascar ; Zanzibar ;
1869-595: The Union successfully used a substantial fleet of casemate ironclad riverboats in their Mississippi and Red River Campaigns , the casemate ironclad is mostly associated with the Confederacy . This is partly due to the Battle of Hampton Roads , in which the Union turreted ironclad USS Monitor and the Confederate casemate ironclad CSS Virginia (sometimes called the Merrimack ) dueled, giving rise to
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#17327835964541958-524: The 11th. Following a week's visit to that port, she headed for the West Indies to investigate conditions in Haiti where liberal forces had ousted Emperor Soulouque and installed Fabre Geffrard as President. Farragut found that the people of Haiti were delighted to be free of the oppressive rule of the former monarch and with the end of a racial war that had bled their nation. Upon the recommendation of
2047-509: The 15th. As soon as she finished replenishing, the ship returned to Veracruz, but she was back at Pensacola again by September 7. From there, she sailed for New York and reached the New York Navy Yard on the 26th of that month. With McLane—who had returned to the United States for consultations with the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. President—on board, Brooklyn departed New York Harbor on November 8 and headed back toward
2136-661: The 19th, she captured the steamer Magnolia which was attempting to slip out to sea with 1,200 bales of cotton. Meanwhile, the Navy Department had divided its forces in the gulf into two organizations: the East Gulf Blockading Squadron , commanded by Flag Officer William W. McKean , and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron , commanded by Flag Officer David G. Farragut who arrived at Ship Island in March. Besides carrying out
2225-471: The 22d, and reached the New York Navy Yard on the 25th. Recommissioned on April 14, 1864, Brooklyn put to sea on 10 May under the command of Capt. James Alden, Jr. and rejoined her squadron off Mobile Bay on the last day of the month. There Farragut—who had resumed command—was eager to capture that strategic port, but was held up by the perennial lack of available Union Army troops—needed for
2314-686: The 27th. Underway again on March 11, she arrived at Norfolk, Virginia , the following afternoon and there awaited McLane whom she embarked and delivered back to Veracruz on the 28th. The steamer operated along the Mexican coast through the spring and into the summer carrying McLane to various ports where he conferred with the American consuls. Late in July she left the Mexican coast and returned to Norfolk early in August. There, she received orders to prepare for
2403-576: The American consul, Farragut sailed for the Isthmus of Panama . After visiting Aspinwall , Brooklyn set a course for the Mexican coast and reached Veracruz early in April. The legal president of Mexico, Benito Juárez – who had been driven from Mexico City by forces of General Miguel Miramón of the Clerical Party—was making that seaport his temporary capital. The United States, which recognized
2492-713: The Atlantic Ocean coast as well as the Gulf Coast of the United States in intercepting blockade runners . Brooklyn also served gallantly attacking Confederate forts and other installations on the Mississippi River . Post-war, Brooklyn remained active, serving for some years in the European theatre, as well as circumnavigating the globe . She was retired in 1889 and sold in 1890 after having well served her country for over three decades. Brooklyn –
2581-642: The Atlantic and spent almost three years in European waters, primarily in the Mediterranean . After returning home in the summer of 1873, she was decommissioned at New York City. Reactivated on January 20, 1874, the veteran warship operated along the southern coast of the United States until autumn when she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard to be fitted out for service as flagship of the South Atlantic Squadron . She got underway for
2670-558: The British in 1865) and HMS Hercules (1868). French examples included Brasil (casemate, and as the name implies, completed for the Brazilian Navy in 1865, and, when stripped of its masts , sharing a striking side-profile similarity with its Confederate progenitors) and Redoutable (barbette, and the first warship in history to be constructed in steel in 1878, instead of iron). Two earlier and rarer examples – having more in common with American ironclads – concerned
2759-625: The CSS Virginia as her draft ultimately prevented her escape some time after the Battle of Hampton Roads. Furthermore, even the relatively modest aim of limited seaworthiness was rarely achieved, since the Confederacy had to make do with repurposed and underpowered machinery that was originally designed to power wooden vessels, and which was unsuited for powering the now-heavier casemate ironclads, seriously hampering their maneuverability and leading to many grounded Confederate ironclads being unable to free themselves without help. Acutely aware of
CSS Louisiana - Misplaced Pages Continue
2848-606: The Gulf of Mexico coast to establish the blockade of the Mississippi Passes. She, USS Powhatan , and two gunboats made a number of captures off Pass a l'Outre and Southwest Pass, but so many ships were getting by them that Comdr. Charles Henry Poor – who relieved Capt. Walker as Brooklyn's commander in April 1861—tried to go upriver to the Head of Passes where traffic might better be throttled. Low water, however, caused her to run aground twice before she abandoned
2937-466: The Johanna Islands; Nassi be Island; Mojanga, Madagascar; Mozambique ; Mourondava, Nos Veh, and Tuellear Bay, Madagascar, and Port Elizabeth , Africa, before departing Cape Town on March 13, 1884. After proceeding homeward via St. Helena Island , Montevideo, and Rio de Janeiro, she arrived at New York City on October 8, 1884 and was placed out of commission there on the 25th. Following almost
3026-604: The Juarez government, had sent former Maryland Congressman Robert Milligan McLane to Veracruz as the American minister and ordered Farragut to make Brooklyn available to McLane so that he might keep abreast of developments in the ongoing civil war and assist American consuls who were striving to protect U.S. citizens and property. During part of the time the screw sloop of war lay off Veracruz, McLane resided on board. In July Brooklyn proceeded to Pensacola, Florida , for coal, provisions, and water, and she reached that port on
3115-560: The Navy Gideon Welles reiterating the importance of a junction with Davis's force above Vicksburg, Mississippi. Thus the Union warships again reversed course and painfully worked their way upstream to a position just out of range of Vicksburg's guns. This time they had the support of the Mortar Flotilla which conducted an intense preliminary bombardment of the riverside fortress. At two hours past midnight on June 28,
3204-595: The Norfolk area through the end of 1860 while enthusiasm for secession swept through the deep South in the wake of Abraham Lincoln 's election to the presidency. Early in January 1861, Capt. Walker received orders sending Brooklyn to Charleston, South Carolina , with messages for the steamer Star of the West which had sailed south to relieve beleaguered Fort Sumter . However, when she reached Charleston Harbor , she found
3293-561: The Tifts agreed to let Louisiana have first call on the labor force; Mississippi would go forward only when work on Louisiana was halted for some other reason. She was not ready to launch until 6 February 1862, nearly four months after the keel was laid. Shortly after Louisiana was launched, the Federal West Gulf Blockading Squadron, under Flag Officer (later Admiral) David Farragut had moved into
3382-460: The Union Army commanding officer, Major General Benjamin F. Butler, decided that his forces could not carry the Confederate works and ordered his soldiers to re-embark. Porter strongly disagreed with this decision in dispatches to Washington. General Ulysses S. Grant responded by placing a new commander over a larger Army force earmarked for another attempt to take Fort Fisher. Brooklyn was in
3471-581: The Union Navy in the first place) to the Confederate House Committee on Naval Affairs, the majority of them were from the outset designed to operate in coastal waters as well as inland waters, and unlike their Union counterparts were, theoretically at least, seaworthy to a limited extent—since they were never expected to venture out onto the high seas. This was exemplified by the fact that most Confederate ironclads were designed with
3560-592: The Union boats approached Point Isabel, the Southerners " ... set fire to a large schooner." They brought out the 100-ton schooner Star and a fishing scow. At Point Isabel, they captured the 100-ton, British sloop Victoria of Jamaica but ran that vessel aground while attempting to get out to sea and so burned her. After the landing parties had returned to the ship, Brooklyn returned to Galveston. Late in July she returned to New Orleans where, on August 2, Lt. Comdr. Chester Hatfield relieved Bell in command to free
3649-454: The action and 21 wounded before she reached comparative safety beyond the range of the Rebel artillery. Later that day, after making needed repairs, Farragut's warships resumed their movement upriver and reached New Orleans on April 25. When that city had surrendered, Brooklyn —which had been damaged more seriously by her collision with the ram Manassas than Craven had at first realized—received
CSS Louisiana - Misplaced Pages Continue
3738-536: The autumn and was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . Recommissioned on December 19, 1861, the screw sloop—commanded by Capt. Thomas T. Craven—dropped down the Delaware River on the 27th and stood out to sea, bound for the gulf. After stopping at Key West, Florida , she reached Ship Island, Mississippi , on January 22, 1862. On February 2 she sailed for Pass a l'Outre where, on
3827-584: The blockade of Galveston ... and proceeded down the coast of Texas as far as the Rio Grande , to ascertain the amount of interior coast trade and its exit...On the morning of the 27th, Brooklyn captured the 17-ton, cotton-laden sloop, Blazer , which was heading for Matamoros , Mexico. The next day, boats from Brooklyn took the small sloop Kate . Three days later, she anchored off the bar outside Brazos Santiago, Texas ", and sent " ... an expedition of four boats and 87 men ... to capture vessels there …" As
3916-463: The blockade, Farragut had been instructed to lead a fleet of warships up the Mississippi River to capture New Orleans, Louisiana. After spending the latter part of March and the first part of April getting his deep-draft ocean-going vessels over the bar and into the river, Farragut moved his fleet up the Mississippi to a position just out of range of the guns that guarded the river at Confederate Forts Jackson and St. Philip . Attached to Farragut's force
4005-412: The builders to find alternative sources. Labor troubles led to a strike that lost about a week. Even more time was lost to demands of the local militia, which called out the workers for drills, including parades. Competition for skilled workmen with the builders of CSS Mississippi , an ironclad being built in an adjacent shipyard by Nelson and Asa Tift, also slowed down construction, until Murray and
4094-407: The casemate ironclad is seen as an intermediate stage between the traditional broadside frigate and modern warships. In its general appearance, a casemate ironclad consisted of a low-cut hull with little freeboard , upon which an armored casemate structure was built. This casemate housed anywhere from two to fifteen cannons, most of them in broadside positions as in classical warships. The casemate
4183-406: The casemate, the guns were housed in one continuous deck. Unlike with turret ironclads , the guns had to fire through fixed gunports and therefore aiming was done by moving the gun relative to the gunport. This was labor-intensive and often up to 20 men were needed to load, aim, fire, and clean a gun, and even with this manpower the firing rate was no better than one shot per five minutes. Although
4272-459: The channel leading into port obstructed and learned that the resupply effort had failed. Consequently, she returned to Hampton Roads. The following month, she received orders for a similar mission which she carried out with great success, relieving Fort Pickens , at Pensacola, Florida. After helping to thwart Confederate attempts to wrest that highly valuable Federal toehold on strategic Florida territory from Union hands, Brooklyn sailed west along
4361-439: The citadel was circularly shaped) ships, which were oceangoing, unlike the American originals (excepting the Confederacy's CSS Stonewall , the only Confederate high-freeboard and oceangoing barbette /casemate ironclad, and the Union's rather unusual low-freeboard, but equally oceangoing, casemate ironclad USS Dunderberg ). British examples were, among others, HMS Bellerophon (the first such one completed by
4450-531: The coast of Brazil on January 23, 1875 and operated in South American waters protecting American interests until heading home on December 7. Following service in the Home Squadron , she was decommissioned at New York City on July 21, 1876 and laid up. Recommissioned on November 11, 1881, Brooklyn sailed on December 7 for Montevideo , Uruguay, and another tour of duty with the South Atlantic Squadron. On February 5, 1882, she departed that port and headed for
4539-625: The commodore to take temporary command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron while Farragut returned home in USS ; Hartford for a well-earned leave. On the 10th, Capt. George F. Emmons relieved Hatfield and sailed Brooklyn north on the 13th to receive badly needed repairs. She emerged from the Southwest Pass the next day; touched at Port Royal, South Carolina , on the 21st, at Charleston, South Carolina, on
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#17327835964544628-414: The damage she had suffered while fighting her way past Forts Jackson and St. Philip and colliding with Manassas. On October 6, orders sent the ship to blockade duty off Mobile Bay , and she spent the rest of 1862 in that vicinity alert for blockade runners and the appearance of Confederate cruisers which might threaten Union gunboats guarding the coast. Early in January 1863, when word reached Farragut that
4717-447: The effort. On June 30, 1861, the Confederate warship CSS Sumter raced out of Pass a l'Outre while Brooklyn had left her station in pursuit of another ship. Upon seeing the fleet Southern cruiser, Brooklyn forsook her first chase and used full sail and maximum steam in an attempt to overtake Sumter but to no avail, for her quarry soon escaped over the horizon and out of sight. Badly in need of repairs, Brooklyn sailed north late in
4806-411: The engines are not alone in deserving attention. Many of her gun carriages were found to be either too high or too low, and had to be modified. Because the workmen and their tools occupied much of the gun deck, the gun crews were unable to practice. In addition, the crew was incomplete, as a result of the hasty commissioning; to handle the guns, soldiers had to be transferred from the forts. After nearly
4895-427: The exploits of such vessels as CSS Virginia herself, CSS Arkansas , CSS Albemarle and CSS Tennessee (1863) . In their specific outer appearances, i.e. being essentially floating gun batteries encased in armored citadels, albeit powered, the low-freeboard Union and Confederate casemate ironclads were almost uniquely North American. However, the concept of a fixed armored citadel mounted on
4984-475: The fact, the Confederacy's chief naval engineer John L. Porter (co-designer of Virginia , which was likewise powered by her original, wooden frigate engine) had originally envisioned his subsequent casemate ironclad designs to be equipped with superior British-made engines, theoretically giving them a cruising speed of at least ten knots. However, the Union blockade meant that very few such engines reached Confederate naval shipyards, forcing them to do with whatever
5073-518: The fire reached her magazine, and she blew up with a blast that killed a soldier there. Perhaps to counter charges that the Confederate Navy was responsible, by its inaction, for the failure of the forts to turn back Farragut's fleet, Commander John K. Mitchell , second in command under Commodore Whittle , pointed out several shortcomings of Louisiana, any one of which would have seriously compromised her fighting ability. The wreckage of
5162-409: The first ship so-named by the U.S. Navy – was the first of five screw sloops of war authorized by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1857; laid down later that year by the firm of Jacob A. Westervelt and Son; launched in 1858; and commissioned on January 26, 1859, Capt. David G. Farragut in command. On February 5, Brooklyn got underway for a trial run to Beaufort, South Carolina , where she arrived on
5251-535: The fleet got underway in two columns and began steaming up stream. Unfortunately, the steamers that had towed the mortar schooners up stream got in the way of Brooklyn and two gunboats and prevented their getting upstream past the Vicksburg batteries. As a result they drew much of the Southern fire while Farragut's other ships pushed upstream and out of range. Shortly before dawn, Brooklyn dropped down stream to
5340-521: The forts, and his immediate superior officer, Major General Mansfield Lovell , importuned Commander William C. Whittle , in charge of Confederate naval forces in the vicinity, to bring the ship down to the forts, even though she was not yet complete, and for that reason was still in the hands of her builders. Whittle yielded to their pleas, and on 20 April commissioned the vessel in the CS Navy, with Commander Charles F. McIntosh commanding. At this time,
5429-412: The harbor was on 31 January 1863 in a successful action against the Union Navy, albeit only engaging wooden enemy ships and making use of slack water in the harbor. Having to add heavier armor in the later stages of the war only served to aggravate matters. All this resulted in the Confederate casemate ironclad never quite living up to its full potential, with glimpses of what might have been gleaned from
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#17327835964545518-432: The heavy Confederate defenses of Mobile Bay. Soon after 6 am, the Union ships crossed the bar and moved into the bay. The four monitors formed a column to starboard of the wooden ships in order to take most of the fire from Fort Morgan , which they had to pass at close range. Brooklyn led the second column, consisting of the seven smaller wooden ships lashed to the port side of the larger wooden screw steamers, as in
5607-509: The hull above the waterline. The casemate was often box-shaped, with armor and weight saving octagon shapes appearing in the later stages of the war. From the top of the casemate protruded an armored lookout structure that served as a pilothouse , and one or two smokestacks. The casemate ironclad being steam driven, either by screws or by paddle-wheels, it did not need sails or masts, although sometimes, when not in combat, temporary pulley-masts, flagpoles, davits , and awnings were added. Inside
5696-410: The later 6 inches (15.2 cm) Confederate armor, sloped at 35 degrees, resulted in a 22 percent increase of effective horizontal armor thickness at 7.33 inches (18.6 cm). However, increasing the slope came at a cost as it meant adding more armor and heavier structural support – and thus more weight – to the casemate, while maintaining the original armor thickness. Armor was also applied to the part of
5785-491: The lower Mississippi River, threatening the Confederate-held Forts Jackson and St. Philip , about 120 kilometers or 75 miles below New Orleans . A portion of the squadron, a division of mortar boats led by Commander (later Admiral ) David Dixon Porter , had on 16 April 1862 taken position downstream, and on 18 April they began their bombardment. Brigadier General Johnson K. Duncan , commanding
5874-402: The main engines of Louisiana had been installed, but those for the screws, needed for steering, had not. Furthermore, the main engines were found to be inadequate; even at dangerously high boiler pressure, she could barely make headway against the river current. Unable to move on her own, she had to be towed down to the forts, with workmen still aboard. There she was tied to the left bank (near,
5963-432: The negotiations between Porter and General Duncan, so they considered themselves not bound to respect the truce declared by the two sides. While discussions of terms were going on, they decided not to let their ship fall into enemy hands. Louisiana was set afire, and her crew went ashore. The flames soon parted the lines that held her to the bank, and she drifted down the river. When she was nearly abreast of Fort St. Philip,
6052-402: The north side of the river) a short distance above Fort St. Philip. This did not completely mollify General Duncan, who wanted the ship to be positioned below the forts, but Commander Whittle would not risk his vessel, with its unarmored deck, against the plunging fire of the Union mortars. She remained at this position throughout the ensuing battle. In assessing the battle-readiness of the ship,
6141-401: The only defender. The lone ironclad then engaged the entire Union fleet. After a fierce battle lasting more than an hour, Tennessee was forced to surrender, resulting in a Union victory. During the battle that lasted a bit more than three hours, Brooklyn suffered 54 casualties, 11 killed and 43 wounded, while firing 183 projectiles. Twenty-three of Brooklyn' s sailors and marines were awarded
6230-467: The other hand, testimony from her enemies indicates that she exchanged shots with at least one attacking ship, USS Brooklyn (misidentified as USS Hartford in the Confederate reports). Three shots from Louisiana went all the way through the Federal vessel, while the return broadside bounced harmlessly off the Rebel's armor. Indeed, the armor was effective; only three men were killed on Louisiana, all of them in exposed positions. One of them
6319-556: The passage of Fort Hudson. Shortly before 7 o'clock, Tecumseh opened fire on Fort Morgan, and the action quickly became general. As the 4-ship Confederate squadron engaged the attackers, a terrific explosion rocked the Union monitor USS Tecumseh . She careened violently and went down in seconds, the victim of one of the much-feared torpedoes (Naval mine) laid by the Confederates for harbor defense. Alden, in Brooklyn ,
6408-470: The popular notion that "The North had Monitors (predominantly deployed for coastal operations, whereas the unseaworthy Union casemate ironclads were restricted to inland river operations—hence their " brown-water navy " nickname) while the South had (casemate) ironclads". In effect, the Confederacy concentrated its efforts on casemate ironclads as a means to harass the Union blockade of their ports, but this
6497-492: The projected combined operation. He was also awaiting the arrival of monitors to strengthen the squadron for the forthcoming battle. Brooklyn helped to blockade Mobile Bay while Farragut waited for deficiencies to be corrected. Finally, late in July she and her squadron mates received orders to make ready for the long awaited attack. On the morning of August 5, Farragut took his squadron of 18 ships, including four monitors , against
6586-501: The river. Baton Rouge, Louisiana , and Natchez, Mississippi , surrendered with no resistance, but Vicksburg, Mississippi , proved to be another matter. The Confederate Army had so fortified its riverside hills that it could not be taken without the support of a strong land force. Since the Union Army did not have a sufficient number of troops available in the region to accomplish this purpose, Farragut's men-of-war returned to New Orleans. There awaiting him were orders from Secretary of
6675-401: The screw sloop engaged Confederate batteries at Donaldsonville, Louisiana , driving the Southern artillerymen from their guns; and, on the 9th and 10th, she took part in combined operations which partially destroyed that city in reprisal for guerrilla attacks on Union shipping from that town. Soon thereafter, Brooklyn left the Mississippi and steamed to Pensacola for more permanent repairs to
6764-466: The sidewheel steamer USS Hatteras , in a fierce but rapid engagement some 30 miles off Galveston. This setback prompted Bell to give up his plan to retake that port pending the arrival of powerful shallow draft reinforcements. Brooklyn did continue to blockade the Texas city into the summer. On 25 May, Bell " ... left Commander James Robert Madison Mullany in the USS Bienville in charge of
6853-460: The task force that arrived off Fort Fisher on January 13, 1865, and her guns supported the attack until the fort surrendered on the 15th. Since this victory completed the last major task of the Union Navy during the Civil War, Brooklyn sailed north and was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on January 31, 1865. Laid up under repairs for the remaining months of the conflict, the screw sloop
6942-415: The war when armor-penetrating ordnance was developed, especially by the Union Navy which at war's end had developed shells capable of penetrating up to 9.5 inches (24 cm) of perpendicularly placed armor – hence the increase of armor thickness on Confederate ironclads; sloping increased effective armor thickness against armor-piercing ordnance, which was typically fired on a flat trajectory. For example,
7031-624: Was ... struck several times before she could bring her guns to bear. As soon as that could be accomplished we opened fire upon Fort Jackson and also upon Fort St. Philip, fighting both batteries at intervals. We were fouled by one of our gunboats, but received no damage. The ram Manassas attempted to sink us by running into us, but did us little injury. A fire raft came down the river upon us, but we succeeded in crossing it without injury. We came near getting foul of some hulks and rafts of logs, which kept us under fire longer than we otherwise should have been. Eight men from Brooklyn were killed in
7120-558: Was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America . With her one 10-inch gun and twenty 9-inch guns, Brooklyn was a formidable fighting ship that could deliver damaging broadsides , and served on
7209-483: Was a choice dictated by available technology and materials rather than by confidence in the possibilities of this type. Since breaking the Union blockade was the primary objective of the Confederacy's casemate ironclads, as outlined in a May 1861 letter from its Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory (who was the one who came up with the idea of employing ironclads to offset the numerical superiority of
7298-399: Was a flotilla of small sailing vessels each of which carried a 13-inch mortar. In mid-April these little warships—mostly schooners—began a bombardment of the Southern forts and continued the attack until the early hours of April 24 when they increased the tempo of their firing to their maximum rate while Farragut's deep-draft men-of-war got underway for a dash past the Southern guns. Brooklyn
7387-477: Was covered by T-rail iron in two courses, while its top was encompassed by sheet iron bulwarks nearly four feet high. Construction was delayed by several circumstances. First was the lack of materials, particularly iron. Always in short supply in the Confederacy, its procurement was made even more difficult by the blockade and by Army demands on the overstrained railroads of the South. The blockade also negated efforts to bring in needed light oak from Florida, forcing
7476-417: Was heavily armored (later Confederate ironclads had three layers of 2 inches (5.1 cm) steel) over heavy wood backing and was sloped to deflect direct hits (a 35-degree angle quickly becoming standard). Though deflection of the traditional round shot was the primary sloping rationale for ironclad designers, there actually was an added advantage involved, becoming more pertinent in the later stages of
7565-627: Was her captain, Commander McIntosh. Once the Federal fleet had passed out of range, Louisiana had no further part in the action. Her fate was henceforth tied to that of the forts, which prepared for an expected attack by the Union army accompanying the fleet, led by Major General Benjamin Butler . However, on the night of 28 April, the enlisted men in Fort Jackson mutinied and forced the surrender of both forts to Commander Porter. The naval officers on Louisiana were not consulted at any time during
7654-596: Was on hand (typically, engines stripped from trapped wooden blockade runners ), and thus most of their ironclads were not able to surpass a speed of four to six knots at most. As an example, the engines of the first two ironclads of the Charleston Squadron , the CSS ; Chicora and CSS Palmetto State , were so weak that they were unable to overcome Charleston Harbor 's five-knot tides under their own power. The only time both ironclads sortied out of
7743-492: Was recommissioned on October 4, 1865, Comdr. Thomas H. Patterson in command. She stood out to sea on the 27th and proceeded via the Gulf of Mexico to Bahia, Brazil . Following almost two years of service along the Atlantic coast of South America, she returned to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, late in the summer of 1867 and was decommissioned there on September 11 and placed in ordinary. Recommissioned on August 24, 1870, Capt. John Guest in command, Brooklyn sailed eastward across
7832-405: Was the boldest—through the torpedo field. "Damn the torpedoes", he ordered "full speed ahead." His flagship Hartford swept past Brooklyn into the rows of torpedoes; the fleet followed. The Union force steamed into the bay. In the ensuing battle, the ironclad CSS Tennessee attempted in vain to ram Brooklyn . The Union fleet dispatched three of the Confederate ships, leaving Tennessee as
7921-443: Was to Tecumseh's port when the disaster occurred; the heavy steamer stopped and began backing to clear "a row of suspecious [ sic ] looking buoys" directly under Brooklyn's bow. The entire line of wooden vessels was drifting into confusion immediately under the guns of Fort Morgan. Farragut, lashed in the rigging to observe the action over the smoke billowing from the guns, acted promptly and resolutely. The only course
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