USS Carondolet Model

Description:

Physical Description

Wooden model with plastic parts.

Specific History

Model built to the plans of William Geoghagen.

General History

USS Carondolet was a 512-ton ironclad gunboat in the style of the Cairo. It was built in Saint Louis and commissioned in January 1862. Within a month it had contributed to the capture of both Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. The Carondolet fought in more engagements than any ship until World War II, including the capture of a Confederate fortress at Island Number Ten, operations against Fort Pillow, near Memphis, and a major campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi. The only real opposition the Carondolet faced was in the Yazoo River when it engaged the Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas. On July 15, 1862, the Carondolet was severely damaged by the Arkansas. After repairs, the Carondolet and the other ships of the army’s Western Gunboat Flotilla were transferred to the U.S. Navy. It was decommissioned in 1865.