Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

The USS Arkansas (M-7), also known as the USS Ozark (BM-7)—one of four monitor-class naval vessels built for the U.S. Navy in the late 1800s—was launched. Although designed as surface warships, these vessels were primarily relegated to support operations because they were obsolete by the time they were finished. The Arkansas served various assignments before it was reflagged as the USS Ozark. In 1913, it was refitted as a submarine tender and a year later, it participated in the American occupation of Mexico. Before being decommissioned in 1919, the ship patrolled coastal waters near Key West, Central America, and the Panama Canal; it was sold for scrap metal early in 1922.