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USS Mound City was a City class ironclad gunboat built for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the American Civil War. Originally commissioned as part of the Union Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla, she remained in that service until October 1862. Then the flotilla was transferred to the Navy and she became part of the Mississippi River Squadron, where she remained until the end of the war. While with the Western Gunboat Flotilla, ''Mound City'' took part in combat at Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, and in an expedition on the White River in Arkansas. At Fort Pillow, she was rammed by Confederate vessels of the River Defense Fleet and averted sinking only by retreating into shoals. On the White River during the Battle of Saint Charles, a chance Confederate shot penetrated the steam drum of her engines, resulting in the scalding of most of her crew, although the ship suffered only minor damage. After being transferred to the Navy's Mississippi River Squadron, she served in the Vicksburg campaign. Among her activities there were participation in the Steele's Bayou Expedition and the later bombardment of the batteries at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. Following the capture of Vicksburg and consequent opening of the Mississippi, she took part in the ill-fated Red River Expedition, from which she and the other ships were rescued only with difficulty. With the end of hostilities, she was decommissioned and sold to private parties. ==Design and construction== (詳細はUnion Army by industrialist and inventor James B. Eads. The boats were collectively known by various names: Eads gunboats, City class ironclads, or ''Cairo'' class (after the lead vessel) gunboats. Unofficially and more commonly, they were referred to as "Pook turtles," in reference to both their peculiar shape and the man who was most responsible for their design. The initial specifications were drawn up by Eads, Commander John Rodgers of the US Navy, and the US Army's Quartermaster-General Montgomery C. Meigs. Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair John Lenthall provided some initial plans, but the pressure of other duties soon forced him to turn the task over to Samuel Moore Pook.〔Pook is sometimes confused with his son, Samuel Hartt Pook, who was also a noted naval designer.〕 Most of the final design was created by Pook, with some modifications by Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. The engines were designed by A. Thomas Merritt.〔Milligan, ''Gunboats down the Mississippi,'' pp. 12–13.〕 Pook's design was constrained by the requirement that the vessel be armored. It would also have to operate on the shallow waters of the interior. Together, these meant that the hull had to be made quite broad, in order to support the weight of the armor. Faced with the limitations of the technology of the day, Pook decided that the hull should be built with three keels, the outboard pair somewhat longer than the one on the centerline. Propulsion would be provided by a single paddlewheel, immediately aft of the center keel; perhaps unintentionally, this meant that it would be somewhat protected from enemy projectiles by the armor carried along the sides.〔ORA s. III, v. 2, p. 818.〕 The contract for constructing the seven gunboats was awarded to Eads and was signed on 7 August 1861. It called for the boats to be completed by 10 October, with penalties for failure to meet schedule. The cost was projected to be $89,600 per boat.〔ORA s. III, v. 2, p. 816.〕 Four of the seven were built in shipyards near St. Louis, while the remaining three, including ''Mound City,'' were built by Hambleton, Collier and Company at Mound City, Illinois, a short distance above Cairo on the Ohio river. Because of design changes during construction, the boats were not completed until nearly the end of the year, and the cost per vessel, $191,408, was more than double the contracted amount.〔Gibbon, ``Warships and naval battles of the Civil War,'' p. 17.〕 ''Mound City'' had two engines, one driving each side of the paddlewheel, mounted 90 degrees apart. Each engine had a single cylinder of bore 22 inches (0.56 m) and stroke 6 feet (1.83 m).〔ORA s. III, v. 2, p. 821.〕 These were able to drive her at a maximum speed of 8 knots (15 km/h). The engines for the class were built by Hartupee and Company of Pittsburgh, Eagle Foundry of St. Louis, or Fulton Foundry, also of St. Louis.〔 The steam drums were at first mounted so low that the engines worked with water rather than steam, so the drums had to be moved to the top of the boilers. In their new position, they were not protected by the extra armor that was given to the engines.〔Milligan, ''Gunboats down the Mississippi,'' p. 23. ORN s. I, v. 22, p. 493.〕 As completed, ''Mound City'' displaced 512 tons. She was 175 feet (53.3 m) in length, 51 feet 2 inches (15.6 m) in beam, and drew 6 feet (1.8 m).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Mound City (1861)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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