USS Chickasaw was an ironclad river monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, during which she was lightly damaged, and the bombardments of Forts Gaines and Morgan as Union troops besieged the fortifications defending the bay. In March–April 1865, Chickasaw again supported Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama. She was placed in reserve after the end of the war and sold in 1874. Her new owners converted Chickasaw into a train ferry in 1881 and renamed her Gouldsboro. The ship was later converted into a barge and remained in use until she sank sometime during the 1950s. Her wreck was discovered in the Mississippi River in New Orleans in 2003, although there are no plans to raise her. Description Chickasaw was long overall and had a beam of . The ship had a depth of hold of and a draft of . She was 970 tons burthen and displaced . Her crew numbered 138 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by two 2-cylinder horizontal non-condensing steam engines, each driving two propellers, using steam generated by seven tubular boilers. The engines were designed to reach a top speed of . Chickasaw carried of coal. The ship's main armament consisted of four smoothbore, muzzle-loading 11-inch Dahlgren guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets. Unlike her sisters, both of her turrets were designed by John Ericsson. Each gun weighed approximately and could fire a shell up to a range of at an elevation of +15°. The cylindrical turrets were protected by eight layers of wrought iron plates. The sides of the hull consisted of three layers of one-inch plates, backed by of pine. The deck was heavily cambered to allow headroom for the crew on such a shallow draft and it consisted of iron plates thick. The pilothouse, positioned behind and above the fore turret, was protected by of armor. Construction and service James Eads was awarded the contracts for all four of the Milwaukee-class ships. He subcontracted Chickasaw to Gaylord, Son and Co. of St. Louis, Missouri who laid down the ship in 1862. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after the Indian tribe, and was launched on 10 February 1864. Chickasaw was brought to Mound City, Illinois, on