Photo NH 55828 of the Naval Historical Center. Wash drawing by F. Muller, circa 1900, depicting Benton on the Western Rivers during the Civil War. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Follow the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Benton_(1861).jpg
Gideon Welles being secretary of the navy was already on 29 April 1861 informed by James B. Eads that the snag boat known as the Submarine No. 7 was suitable to be rebuild as a so-called cotton-clad. This center-wheel snag boat build by the navy was now property of Eads’ Missouri Wrecking Company and was used to salvage ships sunk on the Mississippi. She was a catamaran with two hulls each divided by 7 watertight compartments. This made believe Eads that she could suffer badly from enemy gunfire without sinking and for a sum of 3,000 dollars she could be rebuild ad a so-called cotton-clad armed with 32-pdr guns. . She was begin November 1861 for a price of 2,600 dollars as a rebuild by James B. Eads at St. Louis. After changing her lower deck into a gun deck and adding extra accommodations she was suitable to serve as a flagship. Commissioned on 24 February 1862 as part of the Western Gunboat Flotilla of the Union Army, transferred by the War Department on 1 October 1862, decommissioned on 20 July 1865 and the same year sold on 29 November and broken up.
With a displacement of 633 long tons were her dimensions 202’x 72’x 9’. The two inclined engines allowed a speed of 5,5 knots. The crew numbered 176 men. The forward casemate was protected by 2.5” backed by 2.5’ wood and the lateral casemate by .625”backed by 2’wood while the pilothouse was protected by 2.5”armour. The casemate was rectangular shaped with sloping sides. The armament constantly changed. In February 1862 it consisted of 2-9”smooth bore guns, 7-42pdr rifles and 7-32 pdr rifles while for instance in December 1863 it consisted of 8-9”smoothbore guns, 2-Parrott 100pdr rifles, 2-50pdr rifles, 4-32pdr rifles and 1-12pdr howitzer.
.jpg){kind=link}