George Work
Compliments of Alabama Confederate Images
Served aboard the USS Tecumseh as paymaster
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USS Tecumseh was a Canonicus-class
monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Although
intended for forthcoming operations against Confederate fortifications guarding
Mobile Bay with Rear Admiral David Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron,
Tecumseh was temporarily assigned to the James River Flotilla in April 1864. The
ship helped to plant obstacles in the river and engaged Confederate artillery
batteries in June.
Tecumseh was sunk on 5 August during the Battle of Mobile Bay when she struck a
mine. The ship capsized and rests upside down northwest of Fort Morgan. The
Smithsonian Institution surveyed her wreck in 1967 with the intent of raising
it, but ultimately decided against the project when proffered funding was
withdrawn. Several other plans to raise the wreck have been made, but all have
fallen through.