The USS Chickasaw was a Milwaukee-class ironclad river monitor constructed for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Launched on February 10, 1864, and commissioned on May 14 of the same year, she measured 229 feet (69.8 meters) in length overall, with a beam of 56 feet (17.1 meters), and a draft of 6 feet (1.8 meters). Her hull displaced approximately 1,300 long tons (1,322 tonnes) and she had a burthen of 970 tons. The vessel's crew numbered 138 officers and enlisted men. Powered by two 2-cylinder horizontal non-condensing steam engines, each driving two propellers and fueled by seven tubular boilers, Chickasaw could reach speeds up to 9 knots (17 km/h). She carried 156 long tons (159 tonnes) of coal. Her primary armament consisted of four 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, muzzle-loading guns mounted in two twin turrets, both designed by John Ericsson. Each gun weighed around 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg) and could fire shells up to 3,650 yards (3,340 meters). The turrets were armored with eight layers of wrought iron 1-inch (25 mm) plates, while the hull sides were protected by three layers of 1-inch plates backed by 15 inches (380 mm) of pine. The deck was heavily cambered and covered with 0.75-inch (19 mm) iron plates, with the pilothouse protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor. Constructed by Gaylord, Son and Co. of St. Louis and laid down in 1862, Chickasaw was initially tasked with patrolling the Mississippi River. She played a significant role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, participating in the Union assault alongside her sister ships. During the battle, she engaged Fort Morgan and the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee, firing 75 shells at the fort and exchanging fire with the Tennessee at close range. Despite being struck 11 times, Chickasaw remained operational, and her crew contributed notably to Union victory, with two sailors receiving the Medal of Honor. Following the Civil War, Chickasaw supported operations during the Mobile Campaign and the Battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakley in 1865. After the war, she was decommissioned in New Orleans in July 1865 and sold in 1874. Her subsequent owners converted her into a coal barge, then a train ferry named Gouldsboro, and later a work barge. She sank in the Mississippi River in the 1950s, with her wreck discovered in 2003 near New Orleans. The wreck remains in place, with no plans for salvage, serving as a maritime relic of Civil War naval engineering and riverine combat.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.