The USS Milwaukee was a Milwaukee-class river monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War, serving as the lead ship of her class. She measured 229 feet (69.8 meters) in overall length and had a beam of 56 feet (17.1 meters), with a shallow draft of 6 feet (1.8 meters) and a depth of hold of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 meters). Displacing 1,300 long tons (1,300 metric tons) and with a burthen of 970 tons, she carried a crew of 138 officers and enlisted men. Power was provided by two horizontal non-condensing steam engines, each driving two propellers, supplied by seven tubular boilers. These engines could reach a top speed of approximately 9 knots (17 km/h). The vessel carried 156 long tons (159 metric tons) of coal to sustain her operations. Milwaukee's armament comprised four 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, muzzle-loading guns, mounted in two twin-gun turrets. The forward turret was designed by James Eads, and the rear turret by John Ericsson. Each gun weighed around 16,000 pounds and could fire shells weighing 136 pounds up to 3,650 yards (3,340 meters). The turrets were protected by eight layers of wrought iron plates, each 1 inch (25 mm) thick. The hull's sides consisted of three layers of 1-inch plates backed by 15 inches (380 mm) of pine, providing substantial armor protection. The deck was heavily cambered and covered with 0.75-inch (19 mm) iron plates, while the pilothouse, located behind and above the forward turret, was protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor. Constructed at Union Iron Works in St. Louis and launched on February 4, 1864, Milwaukee was commissioned on August 27, 1864, under Acting Volunteer Lieutenant James W. Magune. Initially assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, she was later transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, arriving at New Orleans in November 1864 and reaching Mobile Bay by January 1865. During her service, Milwaukee participated in the Mobile Campaign, attacking Confederate fortifications and engaging in river operations. On March 28, 1865, she struck a mine while returning downriver after an attack on Confederate forces at Blakely River, resulting in her sinking. Fortunately, her crew escaped without loss, and her wreck was raised in 1868. The salvaged iron was subsequently used in constructing the Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River, marking her as a vessel of notable maritime and military significance during the Civil War era.

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