USS Merrimack ( Merrimack Ship of the United States ) - United States Navy steam frigate. The first frigate in a series of six ships, launched in 1854. Like other ships, it is named after one of the American rivers - Merrimack . Launched on June 15, 1855 .
| Merrimack | |
|---|---|
| USS Merrimack | |
 | |
| Service | |
 USA | |
| Class and type of vessel | steam frigate |
| Launched | June 15, 1855 |
| Commissioned | February 20, 1856 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | Burnt and flooded at the dock on April 20, 1861. Raised and rebuilt into the CSS3 Virginia armadillo. |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 3,200 tons |
| Length between perpendiculars | 275 ft (84 m) |
| Midship Width | 38.5 feet (11.7 m) |
| Draft | 24 feet (7.3 m) |
| Engines | Sails Steam engine |
| Armament | |
| Total number of guns | 14 × 8 inch 2 × 10 inch 24 × 9 inch |
It is best known for the fact that the skeleton of its hull was raised after flooding and used to build the battleship Virginia, a ship of the Confederation of the Southern States , which participated in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads raid that took place at the beginning of the Civil War in the United States .
Service History
The Merrimack was launched at the Boston Naval Shipyard on June 15, 1855 . February 20, 1856, the frigate was included in the lists of the fleet. Captain Garrett Pendergrast was appointed commander of the ship.
During the first voyage, the ship visited the waters of the Caribbean and Western Europe , visiting Southampton , Brest , Lisbon and Toulon returned to Boston .
April 22, 1857 the ship was decommissioned during the repair. On September 1, 1858, after the repair was completed, the ship was again put into operation.
On October 17, the frigate left Boston as the flagship of the United States Pacific Squadron. Rounding Cape Horn , the ship cruised off the Pacific coast of South and Central America until November 14, 1859 , after which it headed for Norfolk.
On February 16, 1860, the ship was put out to sediment in Norfolk.
During the crisis preceding the inauguration of Lincoln , the Merrimack was still on the joke. Gideon Wells, who became Minister of the Sea, began to prepare the ship for the transition to Philadelphia , but rapidly developing events prevented this transition. The naval base in Norfolk suddenly appeared on the territory of the state, who wished to leave the Union. On April 20, 1861, federalists were forced to evacuate the base in Norfolk, hastily destroying everything that was possible. Shortly before this, the Confederates blocked the fairway in order to prevent the frigate from leaving. On the day of the evacuation of the federalists, the Merrimack was set on fire and abandoned to burn out in shallow water.
The Confederation, desperate for ships, soon picked up the skeleton of the Merrimack, burned out along the waterline , and turned it into an armored ram.
The new ship, called CSS Virginia , was incorporated into the Confederate fleet on February 17, 1862 .
Southerners planned to use the battleship to lift the naval blockade imposed by the federalists. The wooden ships of the northerners, blocking access to the Chesapeake Bay , cut off the major cities of the southerners Norfolk and Richmond from international trade. On March 8 and 9, 1862, the famous battle took place on the Hampton Roads raid, on the second day of which the Virginia met in battle with the federalist battleship Monitor .
Literature
- Nelson, James L. The Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack. - NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004 .-- ISBN 0-06-052403-0 .