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USS Keokuk (Ironclad warship)

Louis

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Castelar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
Originally named the Moodna, but renamed the Keokuk before being launched on December 6, 1862. She was built by Charles W. Whitney in New York. The Keokuk was an experimental ironclad steamer, she had two stationary, cylindrical gun towers, each with three gun ports, she was often mistaken for a double turreted monitor. The Keokuk's armor was alternating horizontal iron bars and strips of wood.-

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This new ironclad joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron for an attack on Charleston. She arrived in Newport News on March 13, 1863 and after repairs to her propeller (fouled by a buoy) she headed back to Port Royal, South Carolina, March 26, 1863. The Keokuk laid buoys with the Bibb to guide Rear Admiral Du Pont's arrival to the strongly fortified Confederate harbor.-

Due to low tide the Keokuk moved ahead in the battle and lay less 600 yards from Fort Sumter in a narrow channel. She remained there for an half hour receiving the "undivided attention" of the Confederate guns. The Keokuk was hit 90 times with one-fifth piercing the armor at or below the water line. She finally withdrew and spent the night trying to stay afloat. On April 8, 1863, a breeze came up and the Keokuk sank off Morris Island South Carolina.-


Specifications
Type: Ironclad warship
Displacement: 677 long tons (688 t)
Length: 159 ft 6 in (48.62 m)
Beam: 36 ft (11 m)
Draft: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Propulsion: 4-cylinder steam engine, 2 screws
Speed: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement: 92 officers and men
Armament: 2 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore 11-inch Dahlgren guns
Armor: Alternating horizontal iron bars and oak, sheathed with sheet iron, 5.75 in (146 mm)
 
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