USS Indianola
Encyclopedia
USS Indianola, an ironclad
river monitor
propelled by both side wheels and screw propellers, was built in Cincinnati
, Ohio
by Joseph Brown.
The danger that Confederate
General Edmund Kirby Smith
, whose troops had reached Covington, Kentucky
, just across the Ohio River
, would capture Cincinnati, prompted Major General Lew Wallace
to take Indianola from the contractor before completion September 2, 1862 and have her launched 2 days later. Acting Master Edward Shaw was placed in command of the ship September 18, and she was reported in commission 9 days later.
Indianola was "armed and ready to defend Cincinnati" by October 23—but was not completed. When ready for general service several weeks later, the water level in the Ohio had fallen too much for her to get over the falls at Louisville
. She finally arrived at Cairo, Illinois
and joined the Mississippi Squadron on January 23, 1863. She served briefly in the Mississippi
and the Yazoo River
s before running past the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi
to join the USS Queen of the West in an effort to stop the Confederate flow of supplies from the Red River
.
She left her anchorage in the Yazoo River
at 10:15 p.m., February 13, and moved slowly downstream until the first gun was fired at her from the Vicksburg cliffs slightly more than an hour later. She then raced ahead at full speed until out of range of the Confederate cannon
, which thundered at her from above. She anchored for the night 4 miles below Warrenton, Mississippi, and early the next morning got underway down river.
Two days later, February 16, the Indianola met prize steamer Era No. 5
manned by the survivors of Queen of the West, which had run aground while under heavy fire from Confederate shore batteries
at Gorton's Landing (frequently misspelled "Gordon's" in contemporary accounts, and which had in fact been Barbin's Landing since 1858) in the Red River. Late that afternoon lookouts in Indianola spotted Confederate steamer CSS Webb
abreast Ellis Cliffs. She promptly cleared for action and steamed ahead full speed firing at the Southern ship, which proved to be barely out of range. Webb turned about and dashed downstream and out of sight around a bend in the river. A heavy fog set in, compelling Indianola to give up the chase and anchor for the night. Early the next afternoon the fog cleared enabling Indianola to proceed to the mouth of the Red River, where she maintained a strict blockade until February 21, when she began steaming upstream. Her progress was slowed by two coal
barge
s which she towed so that she might furnish fuel to any ships sent to reinforce her from above Vicksburg. On the evening of February 24, the Confederate ram Webb and Queen of the West, now Confederate-manned, overtook Indianola and attacked from each side, ramming her seven times before the ironclad, "in an almost powerless condition," ran her bow on the west bank of the river and surrendered.
The loss of Indianola was deeply distressing to the Union. It ended Admiral David Dixon Porter
's efforts to blockade the Red River by detached vessels while keeping the body of his fleet above Vicksburg, Mississippi
, and it prompted Farragut's
costly run by the South's forts at Port Hudson
, March 14, 1863. On the brighter side, it set the stage for one of the most successful hoax
es of the war. A dummy
monitor
was made by building paddle boxes on an old coal barge to simulate a turret
, which in turn was adorned with logs painted black to resemble guns. Pork-barrel funnels containing burning smudge pot
s were the final touch added just before the strange craft was cast adrift to float past Vicksburg on the night of Indianolas surrender. Word of this "river monitor
" panicked the salvage crew working on Indianola, causing them to set off the ship's magazine
s to prevent her recapture. After Vicksburg fell, and following long and difficult struggle, Indianola was refloated January 5, 1865 and towed to Mound City, Illinois
, January 17, where she was sold.
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
river monitor
River monitor
River monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...
propelled by both side wheels and screw propellers, was built in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
by Joseph Brown.
The danger that Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
General Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith was a career United States Army officer and educator. He served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy after the fall of Vicksburg.After the conflict ended Smith...
, whose troops had reached Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
, just across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, would capture Cincinnati, prompted Major General Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
to take Indianola from the contractor before completion September 2, 1862 and have her launched 2 days later. Acting Master Edward Shaw was placed in command of the ship September 18, and she was reported in commission 9 days later.
Indianola was "armed and ready to defend Cincinnati" by October 23—but was not completed. When ready for general service several weeks later, the water level in the Ohio had fallen too much for her to get over the falls at Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. She finally arrived at Cairo, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...
and joined the Mississippi Squadron on January 23, 1863. She served briefly in the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and the Yazoo River
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
s before running past the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
to join the USS Queen of the West in an effort to stop the Confederate flow of supplies from the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
.
She left her anchorage in the Yazoo River
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
at 10:15 p.m., February 13, and moved slowly downstream until the first gun was fired at her from the Vicksburg cliffs slightly more than an hour later. She then raced ahead at full speed until out of range of the Confederate cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, which thundered at her from above. She anchored for the night 4 miles below Warrenton, Mississippi, and early the next morning got underway down river.
Two days later, February 16, the Indianola met prize steamer Era No. 5
Era No. 5
Era No. 5 — a shallow-draft steamer built in 1860 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — was chartered by the Confederates early in 1863 to transport corn from the Red River to Camden, Arkansas....
manned by the survivors of Queen of the West, which had run aground while under heavy fire from Confederate shore batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
at Gorton's Landing (frequently misspelled "Gordon's" in contemporary accounts, and which had in fact been Barbin's Landing since 1858) in the Red River. Late that afternoon lookouts in Indianola spotted Confederate steamer CSS Webb
CSS Webb
CSS Webb, a 655-ton side-wheel steam ram, was originally built in New York City in 1856 as the civilian steamship William H. Webb. She received a Confederate privateer's commission at New Orleans in May 1861, but was instead employed as a transport until January 1862...
abreast Ellis Cliffs. She promptly cleared for action and steamed ahead full speed firing at the Southern ship, which proved to be barely out of range. Webb turned about and dashed downstream and out of sight around a bend in the river. A heavy fog set in, compelling Indianola to give up the chase and anchor for the night. Early the next afternoon the fog cleared enabling Indianola to proceed to the mouth of the Red River, where she maintained a strict blockade until February 21, when she began steaming upstream. Her progress was slowed by two coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s which she towed so that she might furnish fuel to any ships sent to reinforce her from above Vicksburg. On the evening of February 24, the Confederate ram Webb and Queen of the West, now Confederate-manned, overtook Indianola and attacked from each side, ramming her seven times before the ironclad, "in an almost powerless condition," ran her bow on the west bank of the river and surrendered.
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
's efforts to blockade the Red River by detached vessels while keeping the body of his fleet above Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, and it prompted Farragut's
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the...
costly run by the South's forts at Port Hudson
Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson is a small unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is most famous for an American Civil War battle known as the Siege of Port Hudson.-Geography:...
, March 14, 1863. On the brighter side, it set the stage for one of the most successful hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es of the war. A dummy
Decoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
was made by building paddle boxes on an old coal barge to simulate a turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
, which in turn was adorned with logs painted black to resemble guns. Pork-barrel funnels containing burning smudge pot
Smudge pot
A smudge pot is an oil-burning device used to prevent frost on fruit trees. Condensation of water vapor on particulate soot prevents condensation on plants and raises air temperature very slightly. Usually a smudge pot has a large round base with a chimney coming out of the middle of the base...
s were the final touch added just before the strange craft was cast adrift to float past Vicksburg on the night of Indianolas surrender. Word of this "river monitor
River monitor
River monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...
" panicked the salvage crew working on Indianola, causing them to set off the ship's magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s to prevent her recapture. After Vicksburg fell, and following long and difficult struggle, Indianola was refloated January 5, 1865 and towed to Mound City, Illinois
Mound City, Illinois
Mound City is a city located along the Ohio River in Pulaski County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 692. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.-Geography:Mound City is located at ....
, January 17, where she was sold.
External links
- Photo gallery at Naval historical center.