USS Katahdin (1861)
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Contemporary sketch of USS Katahdin operating on the Mississippi River
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| History | |
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| Launched: | 12 October 1861 at Bath, Maine |
| Commissioned: | 17 February 1862 at the Boston Navy Yard |
| Decommissioned: | 14 July 1865 at New York City |
| Fate: | sold, 30 November 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Unadilla-class gunboat |
| Displacement: | 691 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 507 |
| Length: | 158 ft (48 m) (waterline) |
| Beam: | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) (max.) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 200 IHP 30-in bore by 18 in stroke horizontal back-acting engines; single screw |
| Sail plan: | Two-masted schooner |
| Speed: | 10 kn (11.5 mph) |
| Complement: | 114 |
| Armament: |
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USS Katahdin was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War.
Katahdin was outfitted as a gunboat with cannon and rifled gun for blockade duty and two howitzers for shore bombardment.
The "90-day gunboat" was launched by Larrabee & Allen of Bath, Maine, 12 October 1861, and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 17 February 1862, Lieutenant George Henry Preble in command.
Katahdin was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron to bolster its strength as Flag Officer David Farragut prepared for his epochal attack on New Orleans. After entering the Mississippi River early in April, Katahdin assisted Farragut in his unprecedented effort to work the squadron's deep-draft, salt-water ships across the bar into the river.
On 16 April she moved up the river with the fleet to a position below Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip guarding the approaches to New Orleans with over 100 guns. The next morning a Confederate steamer came down and fired at the fleet; but, when Katahdin's guns answered briskly the Southern ship retired out of range. The following day the mortar flotilla opened an intensive bombardment of the forts which continued intermittently for the next six days until it reached a mighty crescendo in the small hours of 24 April as the Union fleet got underway and headed up the river toward the forts.
Half an hour later, when the Confederate guns opened fire, Katahdin steamed steadily ahead, replying with all her guns. Only two rounds struck the gunboat during the dash, one damaging the foremast and the other the smokestack.
After passing the forts and sailing beyond the range of their artillery, the Union ships anchored opposite Quarantine abreast a Confederate encampment which raised a white flag. During the morning she collected ordnance surrendered by Confederate troops ashore. The next day she proceeded up the river firing on and silencing Southern batteries on both banks. The afternoon, upon arriving New Orleans, Louisiana, with the fleet, she captured schooner John Gilpin with a cargo of cotton.
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Wikipedia