Military Science

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Entry Category: Military Science - Starting with U

USS Marmora

The USS Marmora was a stern-wheel steamboat that served as a U.S. Navy warship in and around Arkansas during the Civil War. The Marmora was built at the William Latta yard at Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in 1862 for Captain James McDonald, who had it constructed after running another boat of the same name. The 207-ton stern-wheel steamboat was 155 feet long and thirty-three feet and five inches wide, with a four-foot, six-inch draft. The ship’s twin Watson and Monroe boilers sported an innovation, with each having three eleven-inch and three eight-inch flues. Its wheel, which was twenty feet in diameter, worked twenty-four-foot buckets. The U.S. Navy bought the vessel on September 17, 1862, after McDonald had taken it on a handful …

USS Moale (DD-693)

The USS Moale (DD-693) was an Allen M. Sumner–class U.S. Navy destroyer launched in 1944 and named for Edward Moale Jr., a native of Little Rock (Pulaski County). The vessel saw action in World War II and the Korean War during a nearly thirty-year career. Edward Moale Jr., was born in Little Rock on September 10, 1866, one of three sons and a daughter of professional soldier Edward Moale and Jeannie Moale. The family did not stay in Little Rock long, as federal census records show them living at Fort Dodge, Kansas, in 1870. By 1880, they were stationed at Fort Benton, Montana, and it was from that state that the younger Moale was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy …

USS Monarch

The sidewheel steam ram Monarch saw extensive service with Lieutenant Colonel Charles Rivers Ellet’s Ram Fleet as part of the Union’s Western Gunboat Fleet during the Civil War, including operations on the White River against Fort Hindman, during the ongoing battle for control of significant interior rivers in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Originally built as a towboat in Fulton, Ohio, in 1853, the Monarch was purchased by the U.S. Army and commissioned at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in April 1862. The Monarch joined Ellet’s Ram Fleet in May, with Captain R. W. Sanford in command. The Monarch’s first service consisted of scouting Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River. Afterward, the vessel participated in the Battle of Memphis on June 6, along with the …

USS Monroe County (LST-1038)

The USS Monroe County (LST-1038) was an LST-542 Class tank landing ship built in 1944 that saw service in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It was designated the USS Monroe County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in seventeen U.S. states, including Arkansas. LST-1038 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1038 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used to create causeways when …

USS Montgomery County (LST-1041)

The USS Montgomery County (LST-1041) was an LST-542 Class tank landing ship built in 1944 that saw service in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It was designated the USS Montgomery County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in eighteen U.S. states, including Arkansas. LST-1041 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1041 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used to create causeways when …

USS Mound City

The USS Mound City was a Union naval vessel that served during the Civil War primarily in and around Arkansas on the Mississippi and White rivers in operations during and after the Vicksburg Campaign. It is most famous for the loss of a majority of its crew as a result of “the deadliest shot of the war.” Built as a Cairo-class ironclad in August 1861 under the supervision of James Buchanan Eads and named for Mound City, Illinois, this vessel was received by the U.S. Navy on December 5, 1861, and placed under Commander Augustus H. Kilty. As a screw-driven, steam-powered sternwheeler, the USS Mound City measured 175 feet in length and fifty-one feet at the beam. It weighed 512 tons, …

USS New Era

The sternwheel steamer New Era saw extensive service with the Union’s Western Gunboat Fleet during the Civil War, including operations on the White and Mississippi rivers during the ongoing battle for control of significant interior rivers in the Trans-Mississippi Department. At least three wartime vessels of this name participated in Union naval operations at various times. Consequently, details of its service are somewhat muddled. Built in Wellsville, Ohio, in 1862, the New Era served on the Ohio River until it was purchased for service on the western rivers. The 137-foot vessel displaced 157 tons and drew four to six feet of water. Its armaments included six twenty-four-pound howitzers. Purchased by the U.S. Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 27, 1862, …

USS Ouachita County (LST-1071)

The USS Ouachita County was a Landing Ship, Tank (LST), operated by the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Known as LST-1071 for most of its career, it was renamed in honor of Ouachita County, Arkansas, on July 1, 1955. The keel of the ship was laid down on February 13, 1945, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in Hingham, Massachusetts. Launched on March 14, 1945, the ship was commissioned on April 9 under the command of Lieutenant W. C. Scott. The Ouachita County was an LST-542 class ship, which was a subset of the LST (2) class. The ships were designed to unload tanks and other heavy equipment by landing directly onshore and using large bow doors as …

USS Poinsett (AK-205)

The USS Poinsett was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named for Poinsett County and was part of the same class as the USS Chicot, USS Craighead, and USS Sebastian, all named for Arkansas counties. Construction on the ship began on November 6, 1943, and it was launched on May 22, 1944. Constructed by Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the Poinsett was acquired by the U.S. Navy on January 22, 1945. It was commissioned on February 7, 1945, in Houston, Texas, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Robert Baughman. The Alamosa class consisted of cargo ships designed to deliver troops, equipment, …

USS Polk County (LST-1084)

The USS Polk County (LST-1084) was an LST-542 Class tank landing ship built in 1944 that saw service at the end of World War II and in Korea and Vietnam. It was designated the USS Polk County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in twelve U.S. states, including Arkansas. LST-1084 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1084 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used …

USS Pruitt

The USS Pruitt was a Clemson-class destroyer built in 1919 and named for John Henry Pruitt, an Arkansas native who won two Medals of Honor for gallantry during World War I. John Henry Pruitt was born on October 4, 1896, in rural Newton County near the community of Fallsville. Pruitt joined the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after the United States entered World War I. On October 3, 1918, during the battle for Mont Blanc Ridge, Corporal Pruitt single-handedly attacked and destroyed two German machinegun nests before capturing forty enemy soldiers in an adjoining trench. Wounded by shellfire, he died the next day—his twenty-second birthday. Both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy awarded Pruitt a Medal of Honor for his actions …

USS Pulaski County (LST-1088)

The USS Pulaski County (LST-1088) was a tank landing ship that saw service in World War II and the Vietnam War. It was designated the USS Pulaski County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in seven U.S. states, including Arkansas. LST-1088 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1088 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used to create causeways when they had to debark their …

USS Queen City

Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter authorized the U.S. Navy’s purchase of the wooden-hulled, side-wheel commercial ferryboat the Queen City from Samuel Wiggins of Cairo, Illinois, for $16,000 at Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 13, 1863. The navy retained the vessel’s original name, which honored the city of Cincinnati, and commissioned it as the USS Queen City on April 1, 1863. Converted for use as part of the so-called tinclad fleet and assigned identification number 26, the USS Queen City was one of the few tinclads actually to carry iron plating. Fitted with 1.25 inch iron plating, the USS Queen City weighed 212 tons and carried a crew of sixty-five sailors and officers. The ship’s identification number is visible on the pilothouse …

USS Queen City, Sinking of

The USS Queen City was captured and sunk during an engagement on the White River in June 1864. It is the only example of a warship’s being captured by land forces in Arkansas. The Union stationed the Queen City on the White River in eastern Arkansas to protect barges going up the river to DeValls Bluff (Prairie County) and to combat any Confederate troops in the area. DeValls Bluff was vital to the Union forces in occupied Little Rock (Pulaski County) at the time, because much of their supplies were brought up the White from the Mississippi River and placed on a railroad in DeValls Bluff that then carried the goods to Little Rock. If the White were closed to …

USS Rattler

The USS Rattler was a Union side-wheel tinclad steamer that served along the Mississippi, Arkansas, and Ouachita rivers, among others. The ship is best known in Arkansas for its role in the battle to capture Fort Hindman. The Rattler was constructed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1862. Originally named the Florence Miller, the ship was purchased by the Federal government on November 11, 1862, and was renamed and commissioned in December. Acting Master Amos Longthorne served as the first commander of the ship. The ship was armed with two thirty-pound Parrott rifles and four twenty-four-pound guns. Joining the Mississippi River Squadron, the Rattler participated in the action against Fort Hindman in January 1863. A Union army under the command of Major …

USS Razorback

The USS Razorback (SS-394) is a Balao-class submarine that saw service in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The name “Razorback” came from the Rorqual family of whales, which are characterized by throat grooves that extend from the throat to the flippers. This submarine, after a long and varied service, is now docked in the Arkansas River in North Little Rock (Pulaski County), as part of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. The USS Razorback was constructed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine in 1943–44 and was launched on January 27, 1944. Between 1944 and 1945, the Razorback completed war patrols in the Pacific, which included being a member of an offensive group conducting patrols east of Luzon in …

USS Saline County (LST-1101)

The USS Saline County (LST-1101) was an LST-542 Class tank landing ship built in 1944 that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. It was designated the USS Saline County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in five U.S. states, including Arkansas. LST-1101 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1101 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used to create causeways when …

USS Sebastian (AK-211)

The USS Sebastian was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named for Sebastian County and was part of the same class as the USS Chicot, USS Craighead, and USS Poinsett, all named for Arkansas counties. Construction on the ship began on August 10, 1944, and it was launched on December 21, 1944. Constructed by Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the Sebastian was acquired by the U.S. Navy on loan from the Maritime Commission on August 10, 1945. After undergoing conversion for military use in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was commissioned on September 11, 1945. The Alamosa class consisted of cargo ships …

USS Sevier (APA-233)

The USS Sevier (APA-233) was a 6,720-ton Haskell-class attack transport built in 1944 and named for counties in three states, including Arkansas. The Kaiser Company of Vancouver, Washington, laid down the hull for the USS Sevier on October 4, 1944, under a contract with the Maritime Commission. It launched on November 16, 1944. The Sevier was commissioned on December 5, 1944, under Captain A. R. Ponto. The ship was 455 feet long and 62 feet wide and could reach speeds of 17.7 knots. It had a crew of fifty-six officers and 490 sailors and could carry up to eighty-six officers and 1,440 men. The Sevier was armed with one 5-inch gun, one quad-40mm antiaircraft mount, four twin 40mm guns, and …

USS St. Francis River (LSMR-525)

The USS St. Francis River (LSMR-525) was an LSMR-501 Class landing craft medium (Rockets) that was built in 1945 and saw service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. LSMR-525 was designated the USS St. Francis River on October 1, 1955, in honor of the St. Francis River, which flows through Missouri and Arkansas, and another river of the same name in Maine. The USS St. Francis River was one of a class of ships designed to provide fire support for combat operations ashore. The vessel weighed 520 tons, was 203.5 feet long and 34.5 feet wide, and could reach speeds of 13 knots. It was armed with one five-inch gun, four 4.2-inch mortars, and two 40mm antiaircraft guns. …

USS Stone County (LST-1141)

The USS Stone County (LST-1141) was an LST-542–class tank landing ship built in 1945 that saw service in the Pacific after World War II and in the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was designated the USS Stone County on July 1, 1955, in honor of counties in Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. LST-1141 was one of a class of vessels—called Landing Ship, Tank—created to carry tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment, and supplies during military operations along coastal areas. Called “Large Slow Targets” by their crews, they were designed as shallow-draft vessels; when carrying a 500-ton load, LST-1141 drew only three feet eleven inches forward and nine feet ten inches aft. They carried pontoons amidships that could be used …

USS Tensas

aka: Tom Sugg [Steamboat]
The USS Tensas was originally the steamboat Tom Sugg, which was captured by Federal troops during the Little Rock Campaign of 1863 and refitted as a tinclad gunboat before again returning to private service in 1865. The Tom Sugg was a sixty-two-ton sidewheel paddleboat built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1860. The vessel was ninety-one feet and eight inches long and twenty-two feet and five inches wide. By 1862, the steamboat was being used by Confederate forces in Arkansas, and in the spring of 1862, Captain John W. Dunnington “armored” it with cotton bales and mounted an 8-inch cannon on its bow so that it could be used against Major General Samuel R. Curtis’s Army of the Southwest. While there are …

USS Thach (FFG-43)

The USS Thach was an Oliver Hazard Perry–class guided missile frigate launched in 1982 and named after John Smith (Jimmie) Thach, an innovative World War II Navy aviator who rose to the rank of full admiral. In a nearly thirty-year career, the Thach was active in both military and anti-narcotic operations. Jimmie Thach was born in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) on April 19, 1905. As a naval aviator during World War II, he developed a system in which two planes would weave back and forth when under attack, drawing the attacking fighter into the line of fire of one of the American planes; the “Thach Weave” was credited with increasing the downing of Japanese planes during crucial battles in the …

USS Tyler

The 180-foot-long A. O. Tyler, a Mississippi and Ohio river packet named for its original owner, was the largest of three side-wheeled steamboats purchased by the United States War Department for conversion into river gunboats at the beginning of the Civil War. Navy commander John Rodgers, the purchaser of the craft, felt it inappropriate to call the boat Tyler since former President James Tyler was a leading secessionist, preferring instead to refer to the boat as Taylor for unionist Zachary Taylor. However, the name Tyler remained official. During the first year and a half of the war, the gunboat was under U.S. Army control as part of the Western Gunboat Flotilla—yet was staffed by naval officers—to provide artillery support for General …

USS Van Buren (PF-42)

The USS Van Buren was a Tacoma-class patrol frigate launched in 1944 that served in the New Guinea campaign in the western Pacific during World War II. The USS Van Buren was the second U.S. naval vessel to bear that name. The first was an early nineteenth-century revenue cutter named for U.S. president Martin Van Buren. The World War II patrol frigate was named in honor of the city of Van Buren, the county seat of Crawford County. The Van Buren’s hull was laid down on June 24, 1943, by Consolidated Steel Corporation in Los Angeles, California. The vessel was launched on July 27. It was commissioned at Terminal Island on December 17 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Charles …

USS White River (LSMR-536)

The USS White River (LSMR-536) was an LSMR-501 Class landing craft medium (Rockets) that was built in 1945 and saw service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. LSMR-536 was designated the USS White River on October 1, 1955, in honor of rivers in seven states, including Arkansas. The USS White River was one of a class of ships designed to provide fire support for combat operations ashore. The vessel weighed 520 tons, was 203.5 feet long and 34.5 feet wide, and could reach speeds of 13 knots. It was armed with one five-inch gun, four 4.2-inch mortars, and two 40mm antiaircraft guns. Ten rocket projectors were continuously fed, with each firing thirty pin-stabilized five-inch rockets per minute, allowing …