USS Winona was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for service with the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Winona was heavily armed, with large guns for duels at sea, and 24-pounder howitzers for shore bombardment. Winona saw significant action in the Gulf of Mexico and in the waterways of the Mississippi River and was fortunate to return home safely after the war for decommissioning.
USS Winona in the Mississippi River off Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March 1863.
Reconnaissance of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, by gun-boats including Winona from Farragut's Squadron
The Unadilla class was a class of gunboat built for the Union Navy at the outbreak of the American Civil War. Ships of the class were also known as "90-day gunboats" due to their rapid construction. The class was designed to be fully oceangoing while having a light enough draft to be able to operate close inshore, for blockade duty or other operations in shallow waters.
Lithograph of a Unadilla-class gunboat, ca. 1861
The hulls of the Unadilla-class gunboats may have been modelled on the 1860 rebuild of USS Pocahontas
USS Unadilla under construction at the yard of John Englis, New York
USS Aroostook in Chinese waters, ca. 1867
