USS Neosho, the lead ship of her class, was an ironclad river monitor laid down for the Union Navy in the summer of 1862 during the American Civil War.

Neosho had four steam boilers powering a two-cylinder, western steamboat-type engine that drove the sternwheel.

[1] The ship had a maximum speed of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) in service[2] and she carried 50 long tons (51 t) of coal.

[1] Neosho's main armament consisted of two smoothbore 11-inch (279 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in a single turret[4] that had an arc of fire of 300°.

She left Cairo on 14 July 1863 and reached Vicksburg on 6 August, just over a month after it had surrendered after a lengthy siege.

Neosho and other warships patrolled the Mississippi and its tributaries to prevent Confederate raiders and flying batteries from ambushing Union supply ships.

"[6] From 12 March to 22 May 1864, Neosho participated in the unsuccessful Red River Campaign under the command of Rear Admiral David Porter.