USS Minnesota (1855)
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States
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| Name: | USS Minnesota |
| Namesake: | The Minnesota River |
| Builder: | Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. |
| Laid down: | May 1854 |
| Launched: | 1 December 1855 |
| Sponsored by: | Susan L. Mann |
| Commissioned: | 21 May 1857 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 June 1859 |
| Recommissioned: | 2 May 1861 |
| Decommissioned: | 16 February 1865 |
| Recommissioned: | 3 June 1867 |
| Out of service: | Placed in ordinary 13 January 1868 |
| Recommissioned: | 12 June 1875 |
| Out of service: | Loaned to Massachusetts Naval Militia October 1895-August 1901 |
| Fate: | Sold August 1901; later burned |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Screw frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,307 long tons (3,360 t) |
| Length: | 264 ft 9 in (80.70 m) |
| Beam: | 51 ft 4 in (15.65 m) |
| Draft: | 23 ft 10 in (7.26 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Sail plan: | Ship Rig |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots |
| Complement: | 646 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned. She was recommissioned at the outbreak of the American Civil War and returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
During the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads on 8 March 1862, Minnesota ran aground, and the following battle badly damaged her and inflicted many casualties. On the second day of the battle, USS Monitor engaged CSS Virginia, allowing tugs to free Minnesota on the morning of 10 March. Minnesota was repaired and returned to duty, and three years later she participated in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Minnesota served until 1898, when she was stricken, beached and burnt to recover her metal fittings and to clear her name for a newly-ordered battleship, USS Minnesota (BB-22).
Minnesota was laid down in May 1854 by the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.. She was launched on 1 December 1855, sponsored by Susan L. Mann, and commissioned on 21 May 1857 with Captain Samuel Francis Du Pont in command.
Minnesota was named for the Minnesota River. Her sister ships were also named for rivers: the Wabash (first in class), Colorado, Merrimack (salvaged and renamed Virginia by the Confederate Navy), and the Roanoke (later converted to a monitor-type).
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