USS Osage ( 1863 ) USS " Osage " was a single - turreted built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War . After completion in mid - 1863 , the ship patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter ' s Mississippi Squadron . " Osage " participated in the Red River Campaign in March – May 1864 , during which she supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the Battle of Blair ' s Landing in April . The ship was grounded on a sandbar for six months after the end of the campaign and badly damaged . " Osage " , after being refloated and repaired , was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in early 1865 for the campaign against Mobile , Alabama . During the Battle of Spanish Fort in March 1865 she struck a mine and rapidly sank . The ship was later salvaged and sold in 1867 . Design and description . The steam - powered gun turret of the " Osage " was at the bow and she had a deckhouse between the funnel and the sternwheel , although another was later added between the turret and the funnel . Her pilothouse was positioned above the rear deckhouse , next to the forward face of the sternwheel . The ship was long overall and had a beam of . When launched she proved to have a draft deeper than planned and she measured 523 tons burthen . " Osage " had four steam boilers powering a two - cylinder , western steamboat - type engine that drove the sternwheel . The ship had a maximum speed of in service and she carried of coal . Her crew numbered 100 officers and enlisted men . " Osage " s main armament consisted of two smoothbore Dahlgren gun s mounted in a single turret that had an arc of fire of 300° . Firing the guns tended to jam the turret until modifications were made to the guns ' recoil system . Each gun weighed approximately . They could fire a shell up to a range of at an elevation of 15° . The turret was protected by of wrought iron while the hull had of armor . The armor plates of the deck and paddle housing were thick . Service . " Osage " , named after the American Indian tribe , was laid down in mid - 1862 and launched 13 January 1863 by James Eads at his Union Iron Works , Carondelet , Missouri . She was commissioned at Cairo , Illinois on 10 July 1863 , with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Joseph Pitty Couthouy in command . After completion , the ship was assigned to Rear Admiral David Porter ' s Mississippi Squadron and patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes . During the Red River Campaign " Osage " was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Thomas O . Selfridge , Jr . She supported the Union Army when it captured Fort DeRussy and captured Alexandria , Louisiana by herself on 15 March 1864 without firing a shot . She successfully defended the navy transports attacked during the Battle of Blair ' s Landing on 12 April , driving off the Confederate forces with heavy losses after having run aground and freed herself . After the end of the campaign in May she was assigned to patrol the Mississippi River . During that month she grounded on a sandbar near Helena , Arkansas and could not be refloated due to the rapidly falling water level even when some of her armor was removed . As the water receded " Osage " began to hog at the ends because only her middle was supported by the sand . This caused her longitudinal bulkheads to split and broke many rivets in her hull and on her deck . She was repaired in place before being refloated at the end of November . After being towed to Mound City for more permanent repairs , " Osage " was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron on 1 February 1865 for the attack on Mobile , Alabama . She participated in the Battle of Spanish Fort , defending Mobile from the east , but struck a mine in a previously swept channel and sank rapidly on 29 March . Two crewmen were killed and some others wounded . The ship was later refloated and sold at auction at New Orleans on 22 November 1867 , along with three ex - Confederate ships , for $ 20 , 467 .