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|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Minnesota |
| Builder: | Washington Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | May 1854 |
| Launched: | 1 December 1855 |
| Commissioned: | 21 May 1857 |
| Decommissioned: | October 1895 |
| Fate: | Sold, August 1901 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Steamer |
| Displacement: | 4,833 long tons (4,911 t) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Armament: | • 2 × 10 in (250 mm) guns • 28 × 9 in (230 mm) guns • 14 × 8 in (200 mm) guns |
USS Minnesota, a sailing/steam frigate, was launched in 1855 at the Washington Navy Yard and commissioned eighteen months later. She was decommissioned some five years later, but at the outbreak of the American Civil War, returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Minnesota was named for the Minnesota river. her sister ships were also named for rivers. the Wabash (first in class), Colorado, Merrimack {salvaged and renamed Virgina by the CSA), and the Roanoke( later converted to a Monitor type)
During the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8, 1862, Minnesota ran aground, and the following battle badly damaged her and inflicted many casualties. On the second day of the battle, USS Monitor engaged CSS Virginia, allowing tugs to free Minnesota on the morning of 10 March. Minnesota was repaired and returned to duty, and three years later she participated in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. During the battle, nine sailors and Marines from the Minnesota earned the Medal of Honor as part of the landing party which assaulted the fort. The nine men were:[1][2]
- Landsman Gurdon H. Barter
- Seaman David L. Bass
- Ordinary Seaman Thomas Connor
- Ordinary Seaman Thomas Harcourt
- Seaman Charles Mills
- Corporal John Rannahan
- Private John Shivers
- Private Henry A. Thompson
- Ordinary Seaman Franklin L. Wilcox
Minnesota served until 1898, when she was stricken, beached and burnt to recover her metal fittings and to clear her name for a newly-ordered battleship.
References
- ^ "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor Citations. U.S. Army Center of Military History. August 6, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M–Z)". Medal of Honor Citations. U.S. Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. http://history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
See also
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