USS Essex

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USS Essex

Courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph

Built By: Unknown, New Albany, Indiana as the New Era

Sailed: 1856

Commissioned: September 20, 1861

Decommissioned: July 20, 1865

Characteristics

Type: Ironclad

Displacement: 640 tons

Length: 250 feet

Beam: 60 feet

Draft: 6 feet

Propulsion: Propeller

Armament

1 32-pounder

3 11-inch guns

1 10-inch gun

1 12-pounder boat-howitzer

Battles

Western Gunboat Flotilla

Fort Henry (badly damaged by Confederate gunfire)

Red River Campaign