For other ships with the same name, see USS St. Louis.
USS Baron DeKalb
History
United States
Ordered
as St. Louis
Builder
James B. Eads Yard, St. Louis, Missouri
Cost
$89,000 USD
Laid down
August 1861
Launched
October 12, 1861 at Carondelet, Missouri
Commissioned
January 31, 1862
Renamed
September 8, 1862 as Baron DeKalb
Stricken
July 13, 1863
Identification
Yellow band on stacks
Fate
Sunk by mine, July 13, 1863
General characteristics
Class and type
City-class river casemate ironclad
Displacement
512 tons
Length
175 ft (53 m)
Beam
51 ft 2 in (15.60 m)
Draught
6 ft (1.8 m)
Propulsion
steam engine - Center Wheel, 2 horizontal HP engines (22" X 6"), 5 boilers
Speed
9 mph (14 km/h)
Complement
251 officers and enlisted
Armament
(see section below)
Armour
2.5 in (64 mm) on the casemates,
1.25 in (32 mm) on the pilothouse
USS Baron DeKalb was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.
USS Baron DeKalb, named after General Baron DeKalb of Hüttendorf near Erlangen, in present-day Bavaria, was originally named Saint Louis, and was one of seven City-class ironclads built at Carondelet, Missouri and Mound City, Illinois, for the Western Gunboat Flotilla.[1]
These ironclads were shallow draft with a center driven paddle wheel. They were partially armored and slow and very hard to steer in the currents of rivers. This ironclad was also vulnerable to plunging fire and also by hits in their un-armored areas. Called "Pook Turtles" for the designer, they did yeoman service through four years of war and were present at almost every battle on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
^The Western Gunboat Flotilla was a unique "joint service" organization. The gunboats were built using funds from the War Department, were manned by Navy personnel, and were under the ultimate command of the U.S. Army theater commander.
USSBaronDeKalb was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War. USSBaronDeKalb, named...
named after him: the Civil War river ironclad USSBaronDeKalb and the World War I troop transport USSDeKalb. An American elementary school run by the U...
DeKalb or DeKalb may refer to: Baron Johann deKalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in...
bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action aboard the USSBaronDeKalb during the Yazoo Pass Expedition between 23 and 27 December 1862. He...
board the U.S.S. BaronDeKalb, Yazoo River Expedition, 23 to 27 December 1862. Proceeding under orders up the Yazoo River, the U.S.S. BaronDeKalb, with...
Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day. London: John De Graff. OCLC 3775315. Haddelsey, Stephen; Carroll, Alan (2014). Operation Tabarin:...
casemate ironclad USS Essex casemate ironclad USSBaronDeKalb City class casemate ironclad USS Benton casemate ironclad, flagship USS Carondelet City class...
paddle wheels and two masts. She started service between New York and San Juan de Nicaragua on September 20, 1852 and continued the service for Charles Morgan...
The USS Queen of the West was a sidewheel steamer ram ship and the flagship of the United States Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade. It was...
other warships followed, which had also pursued Chesapeake: USS Acacia, USS Cornubia, and USS Niagara. News of the capture and the fact that Maritimers...
Expedition, from 20 February to 10 April. Coming under enemy's fire with BaronDeKalb in the Yazoo expedition, Chillicothe was heavily damaged and lost several...
found Union service here and Confederate service here. Harriet Lane via Coast Guard Historian's Office webpage Retrieved: 26 May 2015. USS Harriet Lane...
Global Information
United States