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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Champion (II)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sidewheel Steamer (Tinclad #24):
  • Built in 1859 at Cincinnati, OH. as SS Champion No. 4
  • Purchased, 14 March 1863 by the Navy at Cincinnati, fitted out at Cairo, IL.
  • Commissioned USS Champion, at Cairo, IL., 26 April 1863, Acting Master Alfred Phelps, Jr., in command
  • During the Civil War Champion was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, continuously from 27 April 1863 to 9 June 1865, providing yeoman service which included
    Patrolling the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Red Rivers
    Transporting troops, prisoners, supplies, and cotton
    Towing and convoying ships; and delivering dispatches
  • Decommissioned, 1 July 1865, at Mound City, IL.
  • Final Disposition, sold, 29 November 1865, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 115 t.
    Length 145 8"
    Beam 26' 5"
    Draft 3' 6"
    Speed 4 kts
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 24-pdr smoothbore
    one 12-pdr smoothbore
    Propulsion steam
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Champion 102k Lithograph by Middleton, Strobridge & Co., Cincinnati, OH., 1864 of USS Champion ("Tinclad" #24). Lithograph by Middleton, Strobridge & Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1864, after a drawing by Chas. A. Fisher. Inscription below the image reads: "United States Steamer Champion. Mississippi Squadron. Acting Ensign Thomas Divins, Commanding Nov. 1864". Thomas "Divins" is a misprint for Thomas Divine.
    Courtesy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 61484.    		 Aryeh Wetherhorn and Tommy Trampp
    Yazoo 112k "View of Steamers Sunk by the Rebels Between Island Number Ten and New Madrid"
    Line engraving, based on a sketch by Alexander Simplot, published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting ships sunk by the Confederates off their fortifications at Island Number 10, circa 7 April 1862. As identified on the engraving, the ships are (from left to right):

    USS Champion,
    CSS Yazoo,
    CSS Grampus,
    CSSJohn Simonds,
    CSS Red Rover,
    CSSPrince,
    CSS Admiral,
    CSS Ohio Belle,
    CSS De Soto,
    CSS Kanawha Valley,
    CSS Winchester and
    CSS Mars. Most of these vessels, some of which were not sunk, were later employed by the Union forces.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 59024    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Champion
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 9 September 2016