Responding to a request by the Navy Department for additional ironclads for western rivers, and inspired by the success of the pioneering USS Monitor at Hampton Roads (Virginia), James Eads developed a design for a river-based ironclad that included a Monitor-style rotating turret as well as a draft of 4 feet 6 inches.  When the Navy expressed a desire for an even shallower draft, Eads reworked his design to achieve the remarkably shallow draft of only 3 feet 6 inches, while maintaining a relatively low-profile deck by means of incorporating a turtleback deck configuration.

Contracts were awarded for two vessels based on Eads' designs, and the two resulting advanced ironclads (Neosho and Osage) were launched at Carondelet, Missouri, in early 1863.  Because the new vessels only drew three feet of water, extra iron plating was added to the deck.  The Ericsson-style turret commanded a 300 degree field of fire, but the recoil system had to be modified to avoid jamming the turret operation.  In addition, wooden structures were added to the deck for more practical functioning of the vessel.  In practice, these vessels proved to be unstable in rough water and were primarily assigned to support on-shore troop operations.

Late in her career, Neosho operated on the Cumberland River in Tennessee.  In December 1864 she engaged Confederate batteries at Bell's Mills, below Nashville.  She was decommissioned in July 1865 and stored at Mound City, Illinois.

Specifications of USS Neosho:

Displacement: 523 tons
Length: 180 feet
Beam: 45 feet
Draft: 3 feet 6 inches
Armament: two 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbores housed in a rotating turret

  Federal Warships

Last update:  December 6, 2001