USS Owasco (1861)
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USS Owasco, 1861
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| History | |
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  United States
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| Launched: | 5 October 1861 |
| Commissioned: | 23 January 1862 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 July 1865 |
| Fate: | sold, 25 October 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 Owasco was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Owasco Lake.
Owasco, built by Charles Mallory, was launched at Mystic, Connecticut, 5 October 1861; delivered to the Navy at New York Navy Yard 6 December 1861; and commissioned there 23 January 1862, Lt. John Guest in command.
The new "ninety-day gunboat" departed New York 5 February and reached Key West, Florida, 10 days later where Comdr. David D. Porter's mortar flotilla was assemblying. She then headed via Ship Island, Mississippi for Pass a L’Outre. En route, on 16 March, she captured schooners Eugenia and President laden with cotton and bound for Havana.
The mortar flotilla had been established by the Navy to neutralize forts St. Philip and Jackson which protected New Orleans, Louisiana against attack from the sea. Owasco was one of seven steamers assigned to the flotilla to tow the schooners and help them navigate safely in the tricky currents of the Mississippi River. In mid-April she and her sister steamers moved the schooners into position below the forts. On the 18th, when the mortars opened fire on the Southern positions, the steamers supported the attack with flat trajectory fire until, six days later, David Farragut led his deep draft vessels in a historic dash past the Confederate heavy works. The following day New Orleans fell, depriving the South of its largest city and greatest industrial and commercial center. One of Owasco's sailors, Quartermaster Edward Farrell, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his part in the battle.
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