AH-WR-0588

USS Osage

River Monitor · United States · Lost 1865 · The Gulf of Mexico

A single-turret river monitor that survived the Red River Campaign only to sink to a mine during the final Union assault on Mobile.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

USS Osage was a single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built at Carondelet, Missouri, and commissioned in 1863. She fought through the 1864 Red River Campaign, including the Battle of Fort DeRussy, before being transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron for the 1865 campaign against Mobile. During the attack on Spanish Fort on March 29, 1865, she struck a Confederate mine and sank rapidly. The hulk was later raised and sold in 1867.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: Union Iron Works
Yard: Carondelet, Missouri
Material: Iron
Length: 180 ft
Beam: 45 ft
Tonnage: 523
Propulsion: Steam, sternwheel
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: March 29, 1865
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Blakely River, near Spanish Fort, Alabama
Water: Blakely River, Mobile Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Casualty figures for the sinking are not established in the sources reviewed.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Raised and sold in November 1867.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 30.65° N 87.93° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Spanish Fort, Alabama
Region: The Gulf of Mexico

General area only: coordinate of the mouth of the Blakeley (Blakely) River near Spanish Fort, the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

Casualty figures from the sinking are not established in the sources reviewed.

Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
Build, service, and loss narrative.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Blakeley River
coordinate of the named place of loss (mouth of Blakeley River, citing USGS GNIS)