USS Tecumseh
Monitor · United States · Lost 1864 · The Gulf of Mexico
A Union ironclad monitor sunk by a Confederate mine during the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, now a protected National Historic Landmark.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Tecumseh was a Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the Civil War. On August 5, 1864, leading the Union fleet into Mobile Bay, she struck a Confederate mine and sank within minutes, taking most of her crew down with her. The battle became famous for Admiral David Farragut's order to press on despite the minefield. Tecumseh's wreck remains largely intact beneath the sediment of Mobile Bay and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Vessel
- 1863
- Charles A. Secor & Co.
- Not established
- Iron
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, single screw
- United States Navy
Loss
- August 5, 1864
- Enemy action
- Mobile Bay, off Fort Morgan, Alabama
- Mobile Bay
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Most of the crew went down with the ship; exact figures vary between accounts.
- Tunis A.M. Craven
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Largely intact, buried in bay sediment.
- Not established
- Not established
- National Historic Landmark; managed under a U.S. Navy/National Park Service preservation plan
Position
- 30.232° N 88.026° W
- Surveyed position
- Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama
National Register of Historic Places nomination fixes the sunken monitor's position at the entrance to Mobile Bay near Fort Morgan.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Exact casualty figures vary between historical accounts and are not given here as a fixed number.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Loss circumstances, wreck condition, management.
National Register of Historic Places (NPGallery)
Landmark designation and site description.
National Register of Historic Places nomination form, USS Tecumseh
wreck position
