USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from the guns of Fort Darling from penetrating her hull. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.

Repairs were completed in March 1865 and Galena rejoined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in Hampton Roads the following month. After the end of the war, the ship was decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in June. She was transferred to Hampton Roads in 1869, condemned in 1870, and broken up for scrap in 1872.

Background

After the United States received word of the construction of the Confederate casemate ironclad, , Congress appropriated $1.5 million on 3 August to build one or more armored steamships. It also ordered the creation of a board to inquire into armored ships. The U.S. Navy advertised for proposals for "iron-clad steam vessels of war" on 7 August and Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, appointed the three members of the Ironclad Board the following day. Their task was to "examine plans for the completion of iron-clad vessels".

The Ironclad Board initially accepted two of the sixteen designs submitted in early September, the armored frigate that became and Bushnell's design. The board required a guarantee from Bushnell that his ship would float despite the weight of its armor and he needed to have his design reviewed by a naval constructor to that end. Cornelius H. DeLamater recommended that Bushnell consult with his friend John Ericsson. The two first met on 9 September and again on the following day, after Ericsson had time to evaluate Galenas design and give his guarantee. During this second meeting Ericsson showed Bushnell his own design, the future . Bushnell got Ericsson's permission to show the model of his design to Welles and the latter told Bushnell to show it to the board. Despite a preliminary rejection, the board accepted Ericsson's proposal on 16 September after he explained his design in person the previous day.

The three ironclad ships differed substantially in design and degree of risk. The Monitor was the most innovative design by virtue of its low freeboard, shallow-draft iron hull, and total dependence on steam power. The riskiest element of its design was its rotating gun turret,|group=Note Ericsson's guarantee of delivery in 100 days proved to be decisive in choosing his design despite the risk involved. The wooden-hulled Galenas most novel feature was her armor of interlocking iron rails. New Ironsides was much influenced by the and was the most conservative design of the three, which copied many of the features of the French ship.

Design and description

Galenas original design, dated 28 June, was for a schooner-rigged corvette with three masts, long at the waterline with a beam of , a depth of hold of and an estimated displacement of . The ship's sides were protected by wrought iron plates thick, backed by of india rubber and the side of the hull. The ship's deck consisted of armor . A revised design was submitted to the Ironclad Board, for which a contract was awarded on 28 September, in which the sloop was enlarged, probably because it was uncertain if the original design could support the proposed armor's weight.

As built, Galena was long between perpendiculars and long overall. She had a beam of , a depth of hold of , and a draft of . The ship displaced and had 738 tons burthen. The number of masts was reduced to two and the amount of tumblehome greatly increased. Her crew numbered 150 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was armed with two , 100-pounder Parrott rifles in pivot mounts fore and aft and four smoothbore Dahlgren guns. Each nine-inch gun weighed approximately . They could fire a shell to a range of at an elevation of 15°. The muzzle-loading Parrott rifles fired a shell and had a maximum range of approximately . The 20-caliber guns weighed about each.

Career

Galenas keel was laid down by Maxson, Fish & Co. in 1861 and she was launched on 14 February 1862. Galena arrived in Hampton Roads on 24 April, after having suffered several engine breakdowns en route, and was assigned to Flag Officer L.M. Goldsborough's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Commander John Rodgers relieved Taylor the same day.

Battle of Drewry's Bluff

thumb|left|Galena on 15 May 1862, showing some battle damage

On the morning of 15 May, Galena led her squadron up to Drewry's Bluff, about from Richmond, where the Confederates had blocked the river and placed a battery on the bluff to cover the obstacles. Galena anchored some from the bluff and opened fire at 07:45, while the wooden ships remained further downriver. Monitor attempted to fire on the battery as well, but her guns could not elevate enough to reach it. Galena engaged the Confederate position for over three hours, until her ammunition was nearly exhausted. Her fire was largely ineffective, although her shells did manage to kill seven and wound eight members of the battery. In return, the ship was hit an estimated 44 times on her port side, of which 13 hits penetrated her armor and she had three large holes punched through her spar deck. She suffered 13 crewmen killed and a further 11 wounded. In a letter to his wife, Rodgers said that "her sides look as though she had an attack of smallpox".

Galena departed Hampton Roads on 19 May 1863 and arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, two days later, where she was decommissioned for repairs and reconstruction. Most of her ineffective armor was removed, except around the engines and boilers; her armament was increased to eight nine-inch Dahlgren guns and a single 100-pounder Parrot rifle, and she was rebuilt as a ship-rigged sloop with three masts. sailed on 18 February for the Gulf of Mexico and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. The ship became icebound at New Castle, Delaware, until she was towed out to sea by an ice boat, and was forced to put into port for repairs. She departed Norfolk on 10 May and arrived at Pensacola, Florida on 20 May for blockade duty off Mobile, Alabama, during which she shelled Fort Morgan and fired upon various blockade runners as they attempted to evade the blockade.

Galena was tied to the port side of the larger sloop and the pair were the last ships in the port column when the battle began on the morning of 5 August. While passing the fort, Oneida had her starboard boiler disabled by a shell hit and her crew was attempting to reroute her steam to both engines when she was engaged by Tennessee at a range of . The ironclad only managed to fire three shots that did little damage. Galena was struck six times while passing the fort with little damage, although her rigging was badly cut up. Two crewmen were wounded and another died of his wounds. Four of Galena's sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle: Seaman William Gardner, Quartermaster Thomas Jordan, Quartermaster Edward S. Martin, and Coxswain Edward B. Young. The ship did not arrive until 4 November and repairs did not begin until 22 November. Galena was recommissioned on 29 March 1865 and was reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She reached Newport News on 2 April and in the James River until her departure on 6 June for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

References

  • 1862 News Account and Picture of the Completion of the Iron-Clad Steamer Galena
  • Ellsworth Hults diary, University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama – Hults was paymaster's clerk, and his diary covers most of 1864