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Later Classes of Monitors:
USS Keokuk (Moodna)
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Sinking of the USS Keokuk, on the morning after battle
at Charleston, South Carolina, April 7, 1863
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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Originally named the Moodna,
but renamed the Keokuk before being launched on December
6, 1862. She was built by Charles W. Whitney in New York. The
Keokuk was an experimental ironclad steamer, she had
two stationary, cylindrical gun towers, each with three gun
ports, she was often mistaken for a double turreted monitor.
The Keokuk's armor was alternating horizontal iron bars
and strips of wood.
This new ironclad joined the South Atlantic
Blockading Squadron for an attack on Charleston. She arrived
in Newport News on March 13, 1863 and after repairs to her propeller
(fouled by a buoy) she headed back to Port Royal, South Carolina,
March 26, 1863. The Keokuk laid buoys with the Bibb
to guide Rear Admiral Du Pont's arrival to the strongly fortified
Confederate harbor.
Due to low tide the Keokuk moved
ahead in the battle and lay less 600 yards from Fort Sumter
in a narrow channel. She remained there for an half hour receiving
the "undivided attention" of the Confederate guns. The Keokuk
was hit 90 times with one-fifth piercing the armor at or below
the water line. She finally with drew and spent the night trying
to stay afloat. On April 8, 1863, a breeze came up and the Keokuk
sank off Morris Island South Carolina.
Displacement: 677 tons
Length: 159 feet 6 inches
Beam: 36 feet
Draft: 8 feet 6 inches
Go to Main Category:
Historic Legacy of the Monitor
Go to other documents in this category:
Introduction: Later Classes of
Monitors
Timeline of Later Monitors
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