USS Mound City ( 1861 ) USS Mound City was a City class ironclad gunboat built for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the American Civil War . Originally commissioned as part of the Union Army ' s Western Gunboat Flotilla , she remained in that service until October 1862 . Then the flotilla was transferred to the Navy and she became part of the Mississippi River Squadron , where she remained until the end of the war . While with the Western Gunboat Flotilla , " Mound City " took part in combat at Island No . 10 , Fort Pillow , and in an expedition on the White River in Arkansas . At Fort Pillow , she was rammed by Confederate vessels of the River Defense Fleet and averted sinking only by retreating into shoals . On the White River , a chance Confederate shot penetrated the steam drum of her engines , resulting in the scalding of most of her crew , although the ship suffered only minor damage . After being transferred to the Navy ' s Mississippi River Squadron , she served in the Vicksburg campaign . Among her activities there were participation in the Steele ' s Bayou Expedition and the later bombardment of the batteries at Grand Gulf , Mississippi . Following the capture of Vicksburg and consequent opening of the Mississippi , she took part in the ill - fated Red River Expedition , from which she and the other ships were rescued only with difficulty . With the end of hostilities , she was decommissioned and sold to private parties . Design and construction . " Mound City " was one of seven gunboats built under contract for the Union Army by industrialist and inventor James B . Eads . The boats were collectively known by various names : Eads gunboats , City class ironclad s , or " Cairo " class ( after the lead vessel ) gunboats . Unofficially and more commonly , they were referred to as " Pook turtles , " in reference to both their peculiar shape and the man who was most responsible for their design . The initial specifications were drawn up by Eads , Commander John Rodgers of the US Navy , and the US Army ' s Quartermaster - General Montgomery C . Meigs . Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair John Lenthall provided some initial plans , but the pressure of other duties soon forced him to turn the task over to Samuel Moore Pook . Most of the final design was created by Pook , with some modifications by Flag Officer Andrew H . Foote . The engines were designed by A . Thomas Merritt . Pook ' s design was constrained by the requirement that the vessel be armored . It would also have to operate on the shallow waters of the interior . Together , these meant that the hull had to be made quite broad , in order to support the weight of the armor . Faced with the limitations of the technology of the day , Pook decided that the hull should be built with three keels , the outboard pair somewhat longer than the one on the centerline . Propulsion would be provided by a single paddlewheel , immediately aft of the center keel ; perhaps unintentionally , this meant that it would be somewhat protected from enemy projectiles by the armor carried along the sides . The contract for constructing the seven gunboats was awarded to Eads and was signed on 7 August 1861 . It called for the boats to be completed by 10 October , with penalties for failure to meet schedule . The cost was projected to be $ 89 , 600 per boat . Four of the seven were built in shipyards near St . Louis , while the remaining three , including " Mound City , " were built by Hambleton , Collier and Company at Mound City , Illinois , a short distance above Cairo on the Ohio river . Because of design changes during construction , the boats were not completed until nearly the end of the year , and the cost per vessel , $ 191 , 408 , was more than double the contracted amount . " Mound City " had two engines , one driving each side of the paddlewheel , mounted 90 degrees apart . Each engine had a single cylinder of bore 22 inches ( 0 . 56 m ) and stroke 6 feet ( 1 . 83 m ) . These were able to drive her at a maximum speed of 8 knots ( 15 km / h ) . The engines for the class were built by Hartupee and Company of Pittsburgh , Eagle Foundry of St . Louis , or Fulton Foundry , also of St . Louis . The steam drums were at first mounted so low that the engines worked with water rather than steam , so the drums had to be moved to the top of the boilers . In their new position , they were not protected by the extra armor that was given to the engines . As completed , " Mound City " displaced 512 tons . She was 175 feet ( 53 . 3 m ) in length , 51 feet 2 inches ( 15 . 6 m ) in beam , and drew 6 feet ( 1 . 8 m ) . Armor . According to the original plans , " Mound City " would have been protected by a casemate of iron 2 . 5 inches ( 63 mm ) thick . The armor would have been pierced for 20 guns of various calibers and weights . Pook did not give specific instructions for the placement of the armor , however , so that problem had to be settled by Commander Rodgers . He insisted on greater thickness on the forward face of the casemate , and also that the pilot house , wheelhouse , and main deck be given some cover . In all , his modifications increased the weight of the armor to 122 tons , half again as much as Pook had intended . To compensate for the extra weight , the number of guns had to be reduced from 20 to only 13 : three firing forward , four on each side , and two facing astern . When she was delivered , she was found to be stern - heavy . By this time , Rodgers had been replaced in command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla by Captain Andrew H . Foote , who directed the final modifications . Foote reduced the armor at the stern . As a result , she was vulnerable to enemy fire from astern , as well as to plunging fire . Armament . Like many of the Mississippi theater ironclads , the " Mound City " had her armament changed multiple times . To expedite the entrance of " Mound City " into service , she and the other " City " - class ships were fitted with whatever weapons were available , then had their weapons upgraded as new pieces became available . Though the smoothbore guns were fairly modern , most of the other original armaments were antiquated , such as the 32 - pounders , or modified , such as the 42 - pounder " rifles " that were in fact old smoothbores that had been gouged out to give them rifling . These modified weapons were of particular concern to military commanders because they were structurally weaker and more prone to exploding than purpose - built rifled guns . Additionally , the close confines of riverine combat greatly increased the threat of boarding parties . The 12 - pounder howitzer was equipped to address that concern and was not used in regular combat . Service . Island No . 10 . " Mound City " was completed and delivered to the Western Gunboat Flotilla in early 1862 , with Commander Augustus H . Kilty , USN as her captain . Although the flotilla was officially a part of the Army and their crews were enlisted in that service , their officers were supplied by the Navy . " Mound City " was not used at the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson , so her first action was at Island No . 10 . In the siege that preceded the surrender of the island by the Confederate garrison , the gunboats bombarded the island on 18 March . Other than that , they had little to do , as most of the action consisted of bombardment by the group of mortar rafts that were a part of the flotilla . However , an army raiding party , assisted by several crew members from " Mound City " and four other gunboats , successfully overran a Confederate battery on the night of 1 April and spiked the guns . This was preliminary to the run by USS " Carondelet " and " Pittsburg " that was key to the Union victory . In the aftermath of the Confederate surrender , " Mound City " captured the Rebel steamer CSS " Red Rover " , which had been used for accommodating the crew of the floating battery " New Orleans " . A copy of the Confederate Navy signals was captured with " Red Rover ; " these were delivered to Washington , from where they were made available to the entire US Navy . Plum Point Bend . Following the capture of Island No . 10 , the next Federal objective on the Mississippi was Fort Pillow , upstream of and defending Memphis , Tennessee . Rather than assault the fort , Major General Henry Wager Halleck , commanding the Army west of the Appalachians , had moved into the interior of the states of Tennessee and Mississippi . Consequently , the struggle for Fort Pillow was reduced to a mortar bombardment like that at Island No . 10 . However , the Confederate forces were augmented by eight cottonclad rams of the River Defense Fleet , and these surprised the bombarding mortar boat and its single accompanying gunboat on the morning of 10 May 1862 . " Mound City " was with other gunboats at anchor a short distance upstream when the sounds of battle were heard , and she promptly got up steam and was the first to come to the aid of the vessels already involved in the fray . Because the Union ships entered the fight one at a time , the Rebels were able to concentrate on each in its turn . " Cincinnati " had already been rammed several times and was out action , fleeing to shallow water to avoid sinking . With no other support , " Mound City " was rammed by CSS " Earl Van Dorn " . The blow was so severe that her bow was almost wrenched off . She , like " Cincinnati " , had to seek refuge in shoals where the deep - draft rams could not follow . By this time , several other Federal gunboats had gotten up steam and were entering the battle , so Confederate commander James E . Montgomery withdrew his fleet . Both " Cincinnati " and " Mound City " were raised and restored to the flotilla , although neither was repaired soon enough to take part in the Battle of Memphis on 6 June . White River expedition . About this time , the ( Federal ) Army of the Southwest under Major General Samuel R . Curtis had been operating in the interior of Arkansas . Curtis believed that Confederate forces of the Trans - Mississippi Department were gathering to attack him . Fearing that he would be cut off , he requested that communications be established between his army and that on the Mississippi River . Either the Arkansas River or the White River would have served his purposes , but the Arkansas was too low for water transport , so an expedition was sent up the White River with intent to give Curtis the aid he had asked for . A single regiment , the 46th Indiana Volunteers , embarked in army transports ; they were accompanied by two armored gunboats , " Mound City " and " St . Louis , " two unarmored gunboats , and an armed tug . On 13 June , the expedition entered the White River and proceeded uneventfully upstream for four more days . With intent only to slow down the progress of the Union vessels and not to make a determined stand , the Confederates had set up a pair of batteries on the bluffs near St . Charles , Arkansas , some 80 miles ( 130 km ) above the river mouth . The guns were taken from a gunboat which they had then scuttled in the middle of the stream as a further impediment . On 18 June , the Federal flotilla arrived at that point ; the soldiers went ashore to attack the batteries from the land side , while the two armored gunboats came up the river , " Mound City " leading . Shots were exchanged between the gunboats and the shore batteries , with nothing exceptional until a chance shot from the upper battery happened to penetrate the casemate of the lead gunboat . The shot killed some men in its passage , but most of the damage it caused occurred when it hit the vessel ' s steam drum . Hot steam immediately filled the entire boat , killing and scalding most of the crew . Those who could do so jumped overboard into the river , where Rebel sharpshooters shot them as they tried to swim to safety . By the time the carnage was over , 125 men were dead by the first shot , scalding , drowning , or being shot in the water . An additional 25 were injured by the steam . Among the wounded was Commander Kilty , who survived and later returned to service in the Navy , although he lost his left arm . Only 25 men of the entire crew escaped without major injury . Meanwhile , the soldiers had moved into position to assault the batteries , so the Confederates fled , leaving their wounded and their guns behind . Despite the almost complete loss of her crew , " Mound City " had suffered only inconsequential damage that could soon be repaired . First Master John A . Duble of the gunboat " Conestoga " took temporary command in place of Commander Kilty . Replacements for the crew were taken from other vessels in the expedition , and they went on for another 65 miles ( 105 km ) . They then turned back without meeting the Army of the Southwest . Soon enough Curtis was able to move his army to Helena , Arkansas , where he was able to reestablish his communications without the support of the Gunboat Flotilla . Steele ' s Bayou expedition . The Western Gunboat Flotilla was transferred from War Department to Navy Department control on 1 October 1862 . It was reconstituted as the Mississippi River Squadron , with ( Acting ) Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter in command . Porter was ordered to cooperate with Major General Ulysses S . Grant ' s Department of the Tennessee . Relations between the commanding general and the fleet actually improved at this time , despite the altered chain of command . Shortly after the transfer , Grant began his campaign to capture Vicksburg and open the Mississippi River . After the initial failure of his traditional overland approach , he devised several plans aimed at bypassing the fixed defenses of the city . One of these became known as the Steele ' s Bayou Expedition . " Mound City , " now commanded by Lieutenant Commander Byron Wilson , was a member of a flotilla that attempted to reach the Yazoo River through a web of bayous , sloughs , creeks , and rivers . Porter himself accompanied the expedition and made the important decisions . Progress was slow because of the tight turns in the narrow streams , the trees that overhung the channels , and willow roots that clung to the hulls of the vessels as they attempted to pass ; they were brought to a complete halt by Confederate soldiers who felled trees in the intended path . Unable to dislodge the enemy , Porter ordered a retreat , but then found that a party of Rebels had circled behind him and were cutting him off . Porter sent an immediate appeal for help to Grant , and then had his subordinates prepare to destroy their vessels rather than let them fall into enemy hands . The appeal was passed on to Major General William T . Sherman , commanding the Fifteenth Army Corps and already in the vicinity . He ordered two of his regiments forward immediately , and they met up with Porter ' s flotilla on the afternoon of 21 March . Sherman himself accompanied a larger body of troops that arrived in the enemy ' s rear the next day . The surprised Confederate soldiers immediately fled . Although the expedition was no longer opposed by the Rebels , Porter and Sherman concluded that nothing would be gained by resuming the advance . Accordingly , the retreat continued , and the flotilla was back on the Mississippi on 27 March . Grand Gulf . After the failure of the overland movements against Vicksburg , Grant decided to bypass the city on the Mississippi and attack it from the south . Porter strongly urged that the army be supported by a major part of his fleet , and Grant immediately accepted his suggestion . " Mound City " was one of eight gunboats , three army transports , and a tug that ran past the river batteries at Vicksburg and Grand Gulf on the night of 16 April 1863 . She was struck five times by enemy shot , and four of her crew were wounded , with no fatalities . The gunboats then were in position to assist the Army of the Tennessee , which already had marched down the west bank of the Mississippi to New Carthage , Louisiana , roughly halfway between Vicksburg and Grand Gulf on the other side of the river . Grant initially intended to cross the river at Grand Gulf , but the two Confederate batteries there would have to be eliminated before his soldiers could go ashore . Porter ' s gunboats attempted to do this on 29 April . " Mound City " and three of her sisters were assigned the task of reducing the lower battery , known as Fort Wade . Once this was accomplished , the four gunboats moved upstream to join three other members of the Mississippi River Squadron in the bombardment of the upper battery , Fort Cobun . The latter , being more favorably sited on high ground , could not be put out of action . One man was killed on " Mound City , " the only casualty the ship suffered during the gunfight . At the end of the day , Fort Cobun had only a single gun still operational , but it was sufficient to cause Grant to decide not to make his river crossing at Grand Gulf . He continued down the river and made an unopposed landing at Bruinsburg . Red River expedition . Following the opening of the Mississippi that followed the capture of Vicksburg , " Mound City " had mostly small - scale operations to perform . The only exception was the Red River Expedition , described by one historian as the " largest combined [ i . e . joint ] operation to that point in U . S . military history , it was also one of the war ' s major military fiascoes . " Most of the Mississippi River Squadron were involved , but little naval action transpired . The most memorable incident concerning the Navy was the near - stranding of several of the ironclads owing to low water in the Red River . The operation had already been canceled and the fleet was in retreat down the river when " Mound City " , two of her sisters , three other ironclads , and two tugs were almost trapped at rapids above Alexandria , Louisiana . They were saved only by an impressive engineering feat , the construction of wing dams to raise the water level high enough that the vessels could pass through . The man responsible for building the dams was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey , whom Admiral Porter credited with saving a fleet worth nearly $ 2 , 000 , 000 . Decommissioned . The Mississippi River Squadron was rapidly eliminated after the end of hostilities . " Mound City " was already being stripped at the end of July 1865 , and on 2 August she was out of commission . She was sold to private interests in November .