USS Chickasaw (1864)
USS Chickasaw was an ironclad river monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, during which she was lightly damaged, and the bombardments of Forts Gaines and Morgan as Union troops besieged the fortifications defending the bay. In March–April 1865, Chickasaw again supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama. She was placed in reserve after the end of the war and sold in 1874. Her new owners converted Chickasaw into a train ferry in 1881 and renamed her Gouldsboro. The ship was later converted into a barge and remained in use until she sank sometime during the 1950s. Her wreck was discovered in the Mississippi River in New Orleans in 2003, although there are no plans to raise her. Description Chickasaw was long overall and had a beam of . The ship had a depth of hold of and a draft of . She was 970 tons burthen and displaced . Her crew numbered 138 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by two 2-cylinder horizontal non-condensing steam engines, each driving two