USS Keokuk was an experimental ironclad steamer of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 named for the city of Keokuk, Iowa

Keokuk, Iowa

Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...

. Her keel was laid down at New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 by Charles W. Whitney, with the name Moodna (sometimes incorrectly spelled "Woodna"). She was renamed while under construction, launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 in December 1862 sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Whitney, wife of the builder, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 in early March 1863 with Commander Alexander C. Rhind

Alexander Rhind

Alexander Colden Rhind was an rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War.-Early career:...

 in command.

Design

The ship embodied some unusual concepts: her two stationary, cylindrical gun towers, each pierced with three gun ports, which often caused her to be mistaken for a double-turreted monitor; and her armor of horizontal iron bars alternating with planks of oak wood, sheathed with a boiler iron sheet. A total thickness of this composite armor was 5.75 in (146 mm).

Service history

The new ironclad departed New York on 11 March and steamed south to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron for the attack on Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, and arrived at Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, two days later. She got underway again on 17 March but returned to Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 for repairs when her port propeller fouled a buoy. She stood out of Hampton Roads again on 22 March and arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...

 on 26 March.

As the day of attack on Charleston approached, Keokuk and were busy laying buoys to guide Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont

Samuel Francis du Pont

Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...

's ironclad flotilla, which included and seven monitors, into the strongly fortified Confederate harbor. The Union ships crossed the Stono Bar on 6 April but were prevented from attacking that day by hazy weather which obscured targets and blinded pilots.

The First Battle of Charleston Harbor

First Battle of Charleston Harbor

The First Battle of Charleston Harbor was an engagement near Charleston, South Carolina that took place April 7, 1863, during the American Civil War. The striking force was a fleet of nine ironclad warships of the Union Navy, including seven monitors that were improved versions of the original ....

 began at noon on 7 April, but difficulties in clearing torpedo

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

es from the path of Du Pont's ironclads slowed their progress. Shortly after 3 p.m., they came within range of Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...

; and the battle began. Southern obstruction and a strong flood tide made the ironclad virtually unmanageable, while accurate fire from the forts played upon them at will. With the Union formation scrambled, Keokuk was compelled to run ahead of crippled to avoid fouling her in the narrow channel. This brought her less than 600 yards (550 m) from Fort Sumter, where she remained for half an hour receiving the undivided attention of the Confederate guns.

Keokuk was struck by about ninety projectiles, many of which hit at or below her waterline. Her experimental armor was completely inadequate to protect her from this onslaught and she was "completely riddled." She was able to withdraw and anchor out of range, thanks to the skills of her pilot, Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls was an enslaved African American who, during and after the American Civil War, became a ship's pilot, sea captain, and politician. He freed himself and his family from slavery on May 13, 1862, by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, the Planter, to freedom in Charleston harbor...

, and her crew kept her afloat through the night. When a breeze came up on the morning of 8 April 1863, Keokuk began taking on more water, filled rapidly, and sank off Morris Island. She had given one month of commissioned service. One of Keokuks sailors, Quartermaster Robert Anderson, was awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

in part for his actions during the battle.

External links

• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center