Typical of the tinclad gunboats on the western rivers: a modest-sized sternwheeler, purchased by the government for service in the Union cause. Her lower deck has been made into a redoubt reinforced with thin sheet metal -- likely enough ferrous metal, but so flimsy as to justify the pejorative "tin." This level of protection was adequate against rifle bullets but not against accurate shellfire. One of the reasons such multitudes of tinclads were rushed out was that this technique of conversion was relatively quick and cheap. Tactically, the boats exerted a federal presence on important tributaries, but were low-value, expendable units. Their crews were at risk of harm or death from shrapnel or scalding (from punctured boilers). Unlike purpose-built warships such as the double ender sidewheelers or the Pook Turtle casemate ironclads, these tinclads' wooden construction was not really combat grade; upper decks were flimsy; over all the boats were firetraps. Gunports for 12 cannon are apparent around the Nymph's main deck.
By spring 1862, the Union fielded some 15 ironclads in its Wesern Flotilla. Some 22 tinclads gave them backup and prevented threats developing in the backwaters. The Mississippi basin had been cleared of Confederate warships by year's end. A similar number of conversions every year brought the total number of tinclads up to 60 by late 1864, ensuring tight Nothern control over the river and its rich croplands while Grant's armies invaded and cut up the heartland of the South.
This 233-ton steamer, her lower deck armored with ½" iron plate and bristling with cannon, was one of the less glamorous warriors of the Civil War backwaters. Built in 1857 as a merchant vessel, she was acquired by Adm. Porter in 1861 for patrol duty on the Tennessee River, based out of Paducah, Kentucky, where she spent the entire war. Commissioned in late 1863 after a lengthy conversion, she was 151'2" long with a 34'3' beam and a 6' draft when deep laden. Her armament included (3) 30-pdr Parrot rifles, (2) 32-pounder SB, (6) 24-pounder howitzers, and (2) 12-pounder SB. Her moment of truth came on March 25, 1864 when her guns spoke to help stop a Confederate advance outside Paducah. In this operation, Fortune smiled upon the North. Decommissioned in Aug. 1865, Peosta returned to civilian duty until she was accidentally burned at her Memphis dock on Christmas Day, 1870.
This small steamer, her lower deck fortified with a dozen smoothbores and armored with 1½" metal plate, compiled an impressive record of action. She assisted in the bombardment of Vicksburg, ending July 3, 1863. The following year she was abruptly selected by Adm. David Dixon Porter as his flagship for the remainder of the Red River Expedition when his tinclad flagship Black Hawk grounded far up the river and had to be destroyed to prevent capture. In one action during that ill-fated campaign, Cricket was hit 38 times, with 19 shells penetrating her "armor." When the helmsman was killed, Adm. Porter grabbed the wheel himself and steered the vessel through the remainder of the battle. In a little over 5 minutes, the Cricket suffered 12 killed and 19 wounded, but gamely recovered and soldiered on, surviving the constant Confederate attacks to rejoin the federal Mississippi fleet in late May 1864.
Vessels of the Red River expedition at Alexandria, La. in 1864. When the Union army was split in two and one part defeated, Union forces had to beat a retreat. Water was so low above the falls that the Army Corps of Engineers had to construct a dam and, breaking the obstruction, float the steamboats out on the resulting flood. For enlarged view of the photo above, click here.
When not even the thin sheet metal to make a tinclad was available, heavy timbers were erected around the vessels' machinery, creating a "timberclad" such as the Brown. As with wooden ships since the advent of naval guns, flying splinters proved more deadly to crewmen than the shrapnel from bursting shells.
Virtually any craft that could turn a screw or paddle wheel might be snapped up and turned into an improvised warship. This one was a New York sidewheel ferry before embarking on her new career as a gunboat. Only the sketchiest armor protection is seen here -- folding metal plates for the two Dahlgren pivot guns on each ramp, armor plates fastened around the pilothouse, and off to war she goes -- one of the 136 vessels so equipped for blockade. The ex-ferry carried four 9" Dahlgrens, a 100-pounder Parrott rifle and a 12-pdr rifle. Under the command of Charles W. Flusser, Commodore Perry engaged in hot action on the Carolina sounds, capturing the Confederate flagship Sea Bird off Roanoke Island on Feb. 10, 1862. Flusser, an officer of rare courage and enterprise, was killed in command of the double-ender Miami, while engaging the Confederate ironclad Albermarle in 1864.
Particularly in the South, where metalworking was underdeveloped, the boilers and machinery of riverboats recruited for military tasks were often protected by improvised armor. The simplest scheme of all was to build bulwarks of cotton bales to absorb enemy shellfire; ships so protected were dubbed "cotton-clads." The scheme was crude, but quick and effective. Union boats in the New Orleans campaign adopted the same improvised protection. The ship's "walking beam" power train is visible rising above the paddle wheels. One end of the diamond-shaped walking beam was attached to the engine's piston rod, the other to the crankshaft driving the paddle wheels. The beam rocked visibly back and forth as it propelled the vessel (see amateur video).
Governor Moore distinguished herself on April 24, 1862, as the federal fleet under Adm. Farragut muscled its way past Forts Jackson and St. Philip to capture New Orleans. Together with a smaller cottonclad, the Moore rammed the gunboat USS Varuna twice, forcing her aground, and then attacked the USS Cayuga. Exposed to blistering fire from the entire Union fleet, the Moore had her upper works completely shot away and drifted aground, out of control. There her crew burned her to the waterline with the rebel colours still flying. Some two thirds of the crew escaped into the swamps, while the rest were captured and became POWs.
The Bragg was a Confederate cottonclad that fought the Yanks' Ellet Rams off Fort Pillow on May 10, 1862, putting the U.S. ironclad Cincinnati out of commission before being herself disabled. Captured by the Union soon after in the naval Battle of Memphis, she was repaired and became part of the federal river fleet. Probably taken at Mound City or Cairo, this photo dates from the later phase of her naval career. Note that the Bragg also employed a "walking beam" paddle engine.
