USS Choctaw
From CivilWarWiki
USS Choctaw, a side wheel steamer, was originally built for the merchant service at New Albany, Indiana in 1853. She was purchased by the Army in 1862 and converted into an ironclad ram; transferred to the Navy; and commissioned at St. Louis, Missouri on 23 March 1863, Lieutenant Commander F. M. Ramsay in command.
From 23 April 1863 until the end of the war Choctaw operated in the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Between 29 April and 1 May 1863, she stood up the Yazoo for a feigned attack on Haynes' Bluff designed to prevent the Confederates from reinforcing Grand Gulf. During this action she was struck 53 times. Remaining in the Yazoo, she took part in attacks with the Army which led to the destruction of Confederate works at Haynes' Bluff and the burning of the navy yard and ships lying there at Yazoo City between 18 and 23 May. On 6 and 7 June, she joined in repelling a Confederate attack at Millkin's Bend, Louisiana, after which she rescued a large number of Confederates from the river and sent them in as prisoners. Between 7 March and 15 May 1864 she took part in the operations leading to the capture of Fort DeRussy.
Choctaw arrived at Algiers, La., 20 July 1865, and was placed out of commission 2 days later. She was sold at New Orleans on 28 March 1866.
Part of the text is incorporated from the United States Navy's Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, a work in the public domain.
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