View source for USS Cincinnati (1861)

{{short description|Gunboat of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Cincinnati}}

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|+USS ''Cincinnati''
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|Ship image=The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14576178149).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Cincinnati'' on the Western Rivers in 1862–63
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1865}}
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|Ship namesake=[[Cincinnati, Ohio]]
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|Ship builder=[[James Eads]]
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|Ship launched=1861
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|Ship commissioned=January 16, 1862
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|Ship decommissioned=August 4, 1865
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|Ship fate=Sold, March 28, 1866
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|Ship class={{sclass2|City|ironclad|1}}
|Ship displacement=512 tons
|Ship length={{convert|175|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship armament=*6 × {{convert|32|pdr|abbr=on}}
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* 4 × {{convert|42|pdr|abbr=on}} r.{{clarify |reason=Define this abbreviation; |date=November 2012}}
* 1 × {{convert|12|pdr|abbr=on}} how.{{clarify |reason=Define this abbreviation; |date=November 2012}}
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The {{sclass2|City|ironclad|1}} '''USS ''Cincinnati''''' was a stern-wheel [[casemate ironclad|casemate]] [[gunboat]] in the [[United States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. She was named for [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], and was the first ship to bear that name in the United States Navy.

== Service history ==
''Cincinnati'' was built in 1861 under a [[United States Department of War|War Department]] contract by [[James Eads]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at [[Mound City, Illinois]], January 16, 1862, Lieutenant [[George M. Bache]] in command.

Assigned to duty with the [[United States Army|Army]] in the [[Western Gunboat Flotilla]] under U.S. Navy Flag Officer [[Andrew H. Foote]], ''Cincinnati'' participated in the attack and capture of [[Battle of Fort Henry#Fort Henry|Fort Henry]] (February 6, 1862); the operations against Island No. 10 (March 12{{spaced en dash}} April 7, 1862); the engagement with the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] gunboat fleet at [[Battle of Plum Point Bend|Plum Point Bend]] and the bombardment of [[Fort Pillow, Tennessee|Fort Pillow]] (May 10, 1862). This important series of operations was aimed at splitting the Confederacy. During the last engagement ''Cincinnati'', the lead vessel, was repeatedly struck by enemy rams and sunk.

Raised and returned to service, ''Cincinnati'' was transferred to the [[United States Department of the Navy|Navy Department]] 1 October 1862 with other vessels of the Western Gunboat Flotilla. She participated in the Army-Navy operation against [[Arkansas Post]] or Fort Hindman, a Confederate fort on the Arkansas River, and installations on the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] in January 1863, then was ordered to the [[Yazoo River]] where she took part in Steele's Bayou Expedition (March 14–27, 1863).

On May 27, 1863, during the Siege of [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], ''Cincinnati'' was ordered to steam down the Mississippi River and destroy two Confederate artillery guns which were impeding the advance of General [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]'s right flank. Between ''Cincinnati'' and the two guns was a Confederate eleven-piece [[heavy artillery]] battery which, from its position atop a bluff, had command over that entire stretch of the river. This "Upper River Battery" was composed of the remnants of Hoagley's Battery, CS and referred to simply as the "Arkansas Battery." The Union forces had been aware of the battery, but, shortly before ''Cincinnati'' received its orders, the battery had disappeared and was assumed to have been moved elsewhere. Unbeknownst to them, the battery's guns had been removed from view by simply lowering them from their carriages, both to protect them from the fire of ships on the river and to deceive the Union forces. The commander of the battery, Capt. William Pratt Parks, (CS Army) had discovered the Union signal code, and when he intercepted a message describing ''Cincinnati''{{'}}s mission, he had the guns re-assembled during the night and concealed them in brush.<ref name="deedsofvalor">{{Cite book |last=Beyer |first=Walter F. |author2=Oscar F. Keydel  |title=Deeds of Valor: How America's Heroes Won the Medal of Honor |publisher=The Perrien-Keydel Company |year=1902 |location=Detroit |volume=2 |pages=46–49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miA8AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

On the morning of May 27, ''Cincinnati'' headed downstream and reached its target, the two artillery guns. Just as it fired its first shots, the hidden battery on the bluff also opened fire, completely surprising the Union ship. The first Confederate shell scored a direct hit, passing through ''Cincinnati's'' [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]] and exiting through the bottom of the ship. Another shell disabled the ship's steering mechanism. ''Cincinnati''{{'}}s own guns could not be elevated enough to return fire on the high battery. Knowing his ship was doomed, the commander, Lieutenant [[George M. Bache]], headed ''Cincinnati'' full-steam back up the river in search of a place on which to [[Beaching (nautical)|beach]] the ship. A suitable spot being found, ''Cincinnati'' was run aground, a [[hawser]] tied to a tree, and gangplank laid out. Before the men could evacuate, the hawser came loose and the ship slipped from the bank out into the river, where it began to sink in about {{convert|18|ft|m}} of water. Many of the crew, including the commander, could not swim; those who could began to abandon ship. Still under intense fire four sailors, Landsman [[Thomas E. Corcoran]], Boatswain's Mate [[Henry Dow]], Seaman [[Thomas Jenkins (sailor)|Thomas Jenkins]], and Seaman Martin McHugh, swam back and forth, helping their crewmates to shore. They then reboarded ''Cincinnati'', hastily repaired a small boat which had been damaged by the Confederate fire, and loaded it with men who were too badly wounded to be dragged through the water. After Lieutenant Bache also climbed into the boat, they towed it to the safety of a Union [[flotilla]].<ref name="deedsofvalor"/> Six crewman from ''Cincinnati'' were awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for their actions during the sinking: Quartermaster [[Frank Bois]], Landsman [[Thomas E. Corcoran]], Boatswain's Mate [[Henry Dow]], Quartermaster [[Thomas W. Hamilton (Medal of Honor)|Thomas W. Hamilton]], Seaman [[Thomas Jenkins (sailor)|Thomas Jenkins]], and Seaman Martin McHugh.<ref name="deedsofvalor"/>

Raised again in August 1863, ''Cincinnati'' returned to patrol duty on the [[Mississippi River]] and its tributaries until February 1865 when she was transferred to the [[West Gulf Blockading Squadron]]. She patrolled off [[Mobile Bay]] and in the [[Mississippi Sound]]s until placed out of commission August 4, 1865 at [[Algiers, Louisiana]]. She was sold at [[New Orleans]] on March 28, 1866.

==See also==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
* [[Union Navy]]
* [[Anaconda Plan]]
* [[Mississippi Squadron]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c9/cincinnati-i.htm}}

==External links==
* [http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=928 Bombardment of Fort Henry (Feb. 2–6, 1862)]

{{City class ironclad}}
{{Union ironclads}}
{{1862 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cincinnati}}
[[Category:Ships of the Union Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:History of Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1861 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1862]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1863]]