USS Vindicator (1864)

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The USS Vindicator put in on May 1864 at New Albany, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. The Vindicator was a ram, which was a ship that had as a primary weapon a re-enforced bow. The bow was designed to collide with the hull of an enemy ship. The Vindicator was the heaviest ram made by the United States during the American Civil War, weighing in at 750 tons - the heaviest Ram used by the US Navy was the captured CSS General Bragg, which weighed an amazing 1043 tons. This weight also may have led to sluggish maneuvering and its capture. She outweighed all of her sister ships by 300-500 tons. This extra mass gave the ship added penetrating power when colliding with another vessel.

Rams of the past where used for inland and coastal fighting between oar powered ships. With the advent of the sail as the primary means of propulsion, the ram style of combat was impractical do to the lack of maneuverability on a sailing ship. When steam ships began to make their way into combat, the ram was reemployed. In 1862, Charles Elliot, Jr. converted nine river towboats into rams for the US Army by reinforcing their hulls to withstand the impact when ramming enemy ships. After some success and useful utility with these ships, two rams were commissioned by the Army and transferred into the Navy prior to their completion. These side-wheel steam rams were the USS Avenger and USS Vindicator.

The USS Vindicator was attached to the Mississippi Squadron and made the "Flag Ship" between Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi. In November 1864, she covered a Federal cavalry raid up the Yazoo River. On the 23rd and 24th of April 1865, she was sent south in pursuit of a Confederate Ship, the CSS Webb, as it tried to escape the Red River and head south down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. The Webb managed to break free of the Red River blockade but after passing New Orleans became cornered by US ships. The Webb's crew ran her ashore and destroyed her.

In July of 1865, the USS Vindicator was decommissioned and sold that November. It was then renamed the New Orleans and was used by civilians. In 1869 she was finally sold for scrap.