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USS Lafayette (1863)

History of the USS Lafayette (1863)

When war broke out between the states on April 12, 1861, many recognized the value of a strong navy in conflicts for years to come. For the North, blocking the enemy's important shipping lanes and important ports was the key to victory.

For the South, the freedom to use these waterways meant the difference between victory and defeatregardless of progress on land. As a result, both sides have been rushing through various programs and projects to revitalize their respective naval forces.

This usually means rebuilding existing ships for military service, or paying a European foreign party to build all new hulls (and often secretly remaining "neutral").

United States Navy (USN) USS Lafayette is a northern ironclad, originally built in 1848 as the side steamer "Aleck Scott". Lafayette assembled a series of ships purchased by the U.S. government for service, purchased on May 18, 1862, and initially named Fort Henry. On September 8, 1862, she was transformed into an iron ram (the work took place in St.

Louis) and named USS Lafayette. Originally, the Lafayette was flown by Navy personnel, although she served under the U.S. Army flag. She officially commissioned the U.S. Navy on October 1, 1862. It officially opened in Cairo, Illinois on February 27, 1863

When completed, the Lafayette has a displacement of 1,212 tons (short), a length of 280 feet, a beam of 45 feet, and a draft of 8 feet. Like other ironclad ships of the war, she was equipped with a steam-powered engine that would not confine the ship to wind or currentthough she did rely on coal.

Since her original form was inherited from a side-wheel steam engine, the Lafayette was powered by the same two-wheel setup, with paddle wheels on the eight sides at the rear of the hull. The top speed in ideal conditions is only 4 knots. Two smoke funnels are placed directly in front of the midship, and the wheelhouse is directly in the stern amidships. Lafayette also received a heavily armed turret extending from her bow over the rear paddle wheel. Her superstructure had an angle iron surface consistent with the iron armor of the time.

Service boats are kept at the sides and stern of the vehicle.

Overall, the silhouette of Galeries Lafayette uses many traditional ironclad features. Since her main battleground will be the American river, a shallow draft is required to prevent the ship from running aground on the soft river mud. The angled fairing provides inherent ballistic protection for the crew and ship.

However, the speed is slow and the turning radius is an obstacle for such ships in war.

In terms of armament, the tank armor is equipped with 2 x 11" (280 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns, supported by 4 x 9" (230 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns. In addition, 2 x 100-pound rifled Parrott rifles were carried. Two 11-inch guns were arranged to fire through vertical ports from the front panels of the superstructure.

The 9-inch gun was mounted on the side of the ship for broadside attack. The well-armed and well-armored USS Lafayette is a vital ship for the U.S. Navy's future operations.

An important design element of the Lafayette is worth noting the use of "Indian Rubber" protection, which is also present on the USS Choctaw. The rubber will work with the iron to provide more strength than regular iron can provide. It is estimated that a 2.5-inch iron can provide the same level of protection as a regular 5-inch iron with this rubber support.

Critics insist the combination does little for protection, further contributing to rotting and rusting. Only battlefield exposure can prove right or wrong.

Lafayette joined the Mississippi River Squadron, in charge of control of the Western Waterways. On April 16, 1863, while the Lafayette was challenging in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the USS Lafayette teamed up with the USS Benton and, after she rammed the USS Lafayette into her CSS General Sterling Price took away.

Lafayette towed a coal barge and suffered direct damage from nine cannon shots, but survivedthough her coal barge sank during the battle. Sterling Price eventually broke off her starboard and survived another day's fight, while Lafayette herself had to be assisted in the final leg by USS Tuscumbia, who dragged her away.

Along the Mississippi River was the Confederate stronghold of Great Bay (south of the Vicksburg River). Union troops wishing to destroy the fort used Lafayette to scout fortifications in the area.

In the subsequent bombardment of enemy positions, Lafayette's structure suffered 17 direct hits, five of which penetrated her armor and showed that the rubber-iron combination was weaker than her supporters suspected . Despite the injury, Lafayette didn't get knocked out and continued her career.

Lafayette continued to serve on the Mississippi River in 1863 and was used for reconnaissance and for attacking enemy fortifications. On June 4, 1863, she joined the USS Pittsburgh to bomb Simmesport, Louisiana, another strategic point at the junction of the Red and Atchafalaya rivers, with access to the Mississippi and beyond. From March to May 1864, Lafayette participated in Operation Red River, designed to encircle key Confederate forces. The operation, which ran from March 10 to May 22, turned out to be a complete failure, not achieving any of its intended goals.

The Union lost 5,500, while the Commonwealth lost 4,300.

To round out her wartime tenure, Lafayette patrolled the lower Mississippi. On May 9, 1865, the Civil War ended in a Union victory. On July 23, 1865, the USS Lafayette was decommissioned as part of a large-scale dismantling after the war. She lay in New Orleans until she was sold on March 28, 1866.