The Baron De Kalb was originally called the St. Louis, when under the control of the Army, but when the Navy gained control of the operations on the Mississippi River, there was already a Navy ship with that name, so it was changed. The Baron De Kalb was one of seven nearly identical ships built by Eads at Cairo and St. Louis. They were shallow draft, driven by centered paddle wheels, and only partially armored. They were slow, hard to handle in the currents of the rivers, and vulnerable to plunging fire and hits in their un-armored areas, but they did yeoman service through 4 years of war. Also called "Pook Turtles" for the man who designed them. They were present at nearly every battle on the Mississippi and it's tributaries. The battles included Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Island No. 10, Ft. Pillow, Memphis, Vicksburg, the battles vs. CSS Arkansas, and the ill-fated Red River expedition to name a few. The other ships in the class were Cairo, now on display at Vicksburg Mississippi, Carondelet, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, and Pittsburgh

Back to the Gallery