MARCH 29TH, 1865: The USS Osage, Lt.Cmdr. William H. Gamble, upped anchor and got underway inside the bar at Blakely River, Alabama. Gamble was doing this quickly as he was trying to avoid a collision with the ironclad USS Winnebago, which was drifting alongside in a strong breeze.
Suddenly a torpedo exploded under the monitor's bow, and, Gamble reported, "the vessel immediately commenced sinking."
The Osage lost four men and had eight wounded in the explosion. She was the third ship to be sunk in the Blakely River during March and the second in two days as torpedo warfare cost the North dearly even though its ships controlled the waters near Mobile.
--Old B-Runner
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