USS Tecumseh
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USS Tecumseh, an iron-hulled
single-turret monitor, was launched 12 September 1863, at Jersey City, New
Jersey. Although slated to strengthen Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's West Gulf
Blockading Squadron for operations against Confederate fortifications guarding
Mobile Bay, Tecumseh served temporarily with the James River service of
the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. To guard Union shipping against
Confederate forces, the Union Army and Navy worked closely together by blocking
the channel to prevent Confederate warships from coming down the upper navigable
reaches of the James. Tecumseh was instrumental during these operations,
sinking four hulks and a schooner. Although Tecumseh was involved in a
number of notable operations along the James River, its most famous battle would
be its last--the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Tecumseh arrived off Mobile Bay on the evening of 4 August 1864. Shortly
after 6 a.m. on 5 August, the 18-ship Union squadron crossed the bar at flood
tide and moved into the bay with Tecumseh leading the van of monitors,
which included USS Manhattan, USS Winnebago, and USS Chickasaw.
The ironclads passed between the fortified headlands to starboard of the
lightly-protected wooden steam frigates, taking the brunt of Confederate Fort
Morgan's heavy guns. Just after 7 a.m., Tecumseh opened fire on the
fort's batteries. Meanwhile, Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan's squadron,
centered around the heavy ironclad ram CSS Tennessee, sortied to meet the
attackers. When Tecumseh veered left to engage the Confederate ram, the
Union monitor hit an underwater mine or torpedo. After a tremendous explosion, Tecumseh
heeled over and sank rapidly with its captain and 92 crewmen. As Tecumseh
rolled over, two shells fired from nearby Fort Morgan struck the sinking
monitor.
In February of 1967, the Smithsonian Institution's Tecumseh Project Team found the wreck capsized and buried in Mobile Bay, just off Fort Morgan. However, due to insufficient funding, the project was suspended. In 1974, the Smithsonian returned custody of the wreck to the General Services Administration. In a 1993 survey, archaeologists from East Carolina University reported the hull to be covered by a calcareous crust with only nominal surface deterioration present. A management plan has been written for Tecumseh's continued protection and preservation. It is planned to implement this program in 1996.
- from the US Navy