The USS Neosho was named for the Neosho River that ran through Kansas and Oklahoma. The ironclad river monitor was built at the Union Iron Works, Carondelet, Missouri, and commissioned on May 13, 1863. It was one of the “Turtleback design” ironclads, measuring 180 feet long, weighing 523 tons with a draft of 4 feet 6 inches, and carried a crew of 100 officers and men. The Neosho, along with its sister ship the USS Osage were the only two stern wheel ironclads built by the U.S. Navy.
The Neosho was assigned to patrol the Mississippi River and its tributaries to prevent Confederate raiders and flying batteries from ambushing Union supply ships. In the spring of 1864 she also engaged in the unsuccessful Red River campaign while under the command of Rear Admiral David Porter.
The goals of the Red River Campaign were to capture Shreveport, Louisiana, control the Red River to the north and occupy east Texas. The USS Neosho was part of the U.S. Navy flotilla assigned to open and secure the Red River from the Confederates and support infantry and cavalry units as needed. The U.S. Navy was successful in controlling the river, however the infantry and cavalry were unable to gain success on land and retreated.
The USS Neosho was decommissioned on July 23, 1865 and placed in reserve, but was reactivated and renamed the Vixen in June 1869. Renamed the Osceola in August 1869, the ship was decommissioned again and sold on August 17, 1873.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30184-F
