Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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'Y 55+ -xveaud-rinuzmzmramhwssawnunv-remain wnmmnmmeenm-mmmn: Ohio for l1320,666, and naturally required a con- siderable amount of refitting for naval service. The conversion to a gunboat was accomplished by cutting her down to one deck, raising per- pendicular oak bulwarks around the sides as a defense against musketry, dropping the boilers into the hold, and placing the steam pipes as low as possible. She was armed with four 8-inch smoothbores and a pair of 32-pounders fone of the latter was later replaced by two 30-pounder Parrott rifles, and by 1864 she had also been armed with two additional 8-inch guns.j Commander Roger N. Stembel was assigned as first captain of Lexington, he commanded a vessel 177 feet 7 inches in length, having a breadth of 36 feet, 10 inches, weighing 448 tons, and boasting a speed of 7 knots. Furthermore, his officers were all army men! At Cairo, Illi- nois on August 12, she was assigned to duty with the Western Flotilla, an Army organization whose ships were paid for and controlled by the Army and staffed completely by Army officers and enlisted men-except for the Commanding Officer who was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy. Later, after much friction, between the Army and Navy-each wanted control of the river-going forces, but the Army didn't want to man them-naval officers and men took over the gunboats. This gunboat, along with a pair of other timberclads, Tyler and Conestoga, was placed at the disposal of General Grant and assigned to aid Union forces in maintaining control of the environ lands along the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. During the organization of the main Union ironclad fleet she and Tyler were used to support Union Army movements and disperse possible concentrations of Confed- erate sympathizers. In this capacity Lexington supported Grant's movements against Paducah, Kentucky, where she seized the steamer W B. Perry on August 22. On September 4 Lexington briefly exchanged fire with Confederate Gunboat jackson Qformer- ly the old towboat Yankeej, but was forced to break off the engagement because of a depleted powder supply and because half the gun tackles for the cannons were not in working condition The same day shots were traded with the bat- teries at Hickman and Columbus, Kentucky. In company with another timberclad, Lexing- ton covered the advance of Grant's Army on Norfolk, Mississippi. This was accomplished by the ships steaming down the river, lobbing shells ahead of the advancing troops-much in the manner of gunfire support ships' shore bom- bardments in conjunction with amphibious land- ings or beach head attacks in modern warfare. The next day, as the town had fallen, the Union vessels engaged the batteries near Lucas Bend and attacked enemy ships in the river. jackson and a steamer took refuge under the potent Con- federate shore batteries which prevented their capture, but one vessel was severely damaged when one of Lexingtonis 8-inch guns dropped a 15-second time-fused shell into the starboard wheelhouse. The next assignment proved an uneventful one - standing guard in the Ohio River for ten days in support of an expedition to Owensboro, Ken- tucky. Returning to harassment duty in the Mis- sissippi, Lexington again engaged the batteries at Columbus on October 7. Exactly a month later she joined with gunboat Tyler to protect General Grantls Army transports during the bat- tle of Belmont, Missouri. When the reinforced Confederates, supported by fresh artillery, sud- denly launched an attack on the troop trans- ports, the two ships moved in close to shore and opened up a withering fusillade of grape, canis- ter and 5-second shells. The land-based guns could not depress quickly enough to fire on the gunboats, and the Confederates were routed with heavy casualties. The effectiveness of the timber- clads in this engagement reportedly gave Grant a high idea of the powers of floating artillery. The beginning of 1862 saw Lieutenant james W. Shirk take over as commanding officer. january was spent primarily in operations in the Tennessee, and on February 6 Lexz'ngton joined the Union flotilla for the attack on Fort Henry. There were seven Union warships in the river for the attack-three ironclads, the super-ironclad Essex and the trio of timberclads Tyler Cones toga and Lexington The morning was dark and threatening with the river running high after 10

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bf iq Assigned to harass British shipping of the very coast of the island Empire in I 77 Z the Continental Brig Lexington assisted in the capture or destruction of numerous enemy vessels, until her am- munition exhausteai she was captured ojj' the French coast following a fierce battle.

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- - '.2i,-++r,:x::guLg44a,+,:::,g.1:ggr.rr-2.'3i1'11f 'tQi6? ' -'- ----.:: 1.55 .2 heavy rains. The stream was filled with drifting trees and a number of large white objects that looked like polar bears but were in actuality rebel contact torpedoes fcomparable to today's mines, torn from their moorings by the flood. The ships arrived in position at 11:35 a.m., when the ironclad Cincinnati opened the battle with the initial shot. A furious exchange of fire from both sides quickly followed, and several of the ships took a terrific pounding before the Fort struck her colors under the bruising bombard- ment. The fight was of rather brief duration and im- mediately upon its conclusion Flag Officer Andrew Foote dispatched his three timberclads up the Tennessee. They cruised right through the heart of the Confederate states to Alabama and at Cerro Gordo, Tennessee, captured the steamer Eastioort, which was being refitted as an ironclad ram, and two other Steamers. In addi- tion, the rebel forces were forced to burn six Steamers loaded with supplies to prevent their capture. After repairs at Carondelet, Missouri, Lexz'ng- ton and her fellow gunboat Tyler were taken up the Tennessee by Navy Lieutenant William Gwin to attack a rebel outpost at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. On March 1, 1862, Lexington and Tyler easily dislodged the Confederate artillery and infantry from the landing to permit the Army transports to land troops. At daybreak on April 6 the Confederates launched a tremendous counter-attack which bent the Union center and started swinging the left flank back into the river. The two gunboats moved in close to shore-so that their keels were almost on the river's bottom - and with double charges of grape and a short amount of powder fired into the charging South- ern ranks. After ten minutes of firing by the gun- boats the carnage and destruction was so terrible that the Southern ranks broke and scattered in a disorderly rout. Upon seeing their comrades fleeing in panic, and assuming the Union forces had launched a counter-attack, Rebel forces in other sectors broke off the attack and also fled. Lexington and Tyler were thus credited with pre- venting certain Union defeat. The Army reports to the War Department were so laudatory in their comments on the service rendered by the two gunboats that on April 19, 1862 Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles pen- ned a special letter to the Commanding Officers of the vessels commanding them and their crews for the sterling performance and ability in combat. Remaining in the Tennessee River until May when they were forced to the riverls mouth be- cause of the low stage of water, Lexington and Tyler proceeded to Cairo, Illinois to take on stores and ammunition. At the Naval Base Lex supplemented her armament with two rifled 30- pounders and then proceeded to join the main Mississippi Squadron in its attack on FortPillow. Moving down the Mississippi and into the White River with several other gunboats in mid- June, Lexington scored direct hits june 17 to si- lence the batteries at St. Charles, Arkansas, which had been thwarting the vessels' progress. After landing some embarked Indiana volun- teers to occupy the fortification, she pushed sixty- three miles further up the River, before turning back. On july 16, 1862 Congress passed an Act changing the name of the Western Flotilla to the Mississippi Squadron and turning the ships over to the Navy. During the fall Lexington was detailed to escort Army transports on the Mississippi, offering them protection from the guerilla bands which were roaming the river banks. When the autum- nal rains started falling in November, the streams were full enough once again for active operations and Lexington joined in the force at- tempting to ford the Yazoo River and land an infantry force to attack Vicksburg from the rear. The expedition got underway on December 12, with the Lex and several other light-draft gun- boats in the van of the column. The presence of torpedoes was soon discovered and the work of taking them up was extremely hazardous be- cause of the Confederate sharpshooters who were concealed behind the levees. At Haynes, Bluff further progress was halted by the Southern forts which lined the heights. Lexington and her sister ships, along with two ironclads, shelled the forts, but without success. The river's shallow draft and the possibility of 11 9--1531 7' 4.-.gzrzzrzzir-.1 -N .f.::.:::1L ? l.-l air:-.-:rv i f-:::fr-.kgif jig -7