USS Keokuk (1862)
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USS Keokuk was an experimental ironclad screw steamer of the United States Navy named for the city of Keokuk, Iowa. She was laid down in New York City by designer Charles W. Whitney at J.S. Underhill
USS Keokuk h 59546
USS Keokuk in the ways before launching
The Gun battery at Fort Sumter responsible for the Keokuk's sinking
Harper's Weekly illustration from 1863 of USS Keokuk sinking.
Fort Sumter
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Fort Sumter is an incomplete sea fort at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where the battle that sparked the American Civil War took place. Built on an artificial island in 1829 in respo
USS Keokuk (1862)
…in clearing torpedoes from the path of Du Pont's ironclads slowed their progress. Shortly after 3 p.m., they came within range of Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter; and the battle began. Southern obstructions and a strong flood tide made the ironclads virtually unmanageable, while accurate fire from the forts…
View from north in 2009
Fort Sumter was photographed in 1861 when it was still intact.
Letter from William H. Seward advising President Lincoln on the obstacles in resupplying Fort Sumter, March 1861
Major Anderson and His Officers prior to Bombardment of Ft Sumpter 1861