211 USS LAFAYETTE 1863

The USS Lafayette was launched under the name Aleck Scott in 1848, originally as a transport and passenger steam powered sidecar. The unit was built in the city of Saint Louis, Missouri. In May 1862, Aleck Scott was bought by the War Department and renamed USS Fort Henry, only to be renamed USS Lafayette in September 1862. At the same time, the civil sidewheel was deeply modernized and rebuilt into an armored sidewheel ram (ironclad ram). After modernization, the unit was 85 m long, 14 m wide and with a draft of 2.4 m. The displacement slightly exceeded 1,200 tons. The unit was able to reach a maximum of 4 knots. The main armament was two 280mm Dahlgren cannons and four cannons, also a 230mm Dahlgren. The USS Lafayette battleship took part primarily in the battle of Vicksburg in 1863 and in the campaign for the so-called Red River Campaign. The unit was decommissioned in the summer of 1865.