.jpg) USS Miantonomoh inWashington Navy Yard, 1865 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Miantonomah class |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Canonicus class |
| Succeeded by | USS Dictator |
| Subclasses | Agamenticus,Miantonomah,Tonawanda |
| Built | 1862–1865 |
| In service | 1864–1872 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Scrapped | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Monitor |
| Displacement | 3,400long tons (3,455 t) |
| Length | 258 ft 6 in (78.8 m) |
| Beam | 52 ft 9 in (16.1 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft 8 in (3.9 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2–4 ×steam engines |
| Speed | 9–10knots (17–19 km/h; 10–12 mph) |
| Complement | 150–167 |
| Armament | 2 × twin 15 in (380 mm)smoothboreDahlgren guns |
| Armor |
|
TheMiantonomoh class consisted of fourmonitors built for theUnion Navy during theU.S. Civil War, but only one ship was completed early enough to participate in the war. They were broken up in 1874–1875.
Designed byJohn Lenthall.[1] Thehull of the monitors were of a conventional form[clarification needed], but were constructed of wood, not iron. The ships displaced 3,400long tons (3,500 t) and were 258 feet 6 inches (78.79 m) in length with a 53 feet (16 m)beam and 13 feet (4.0 m)draft.Freeboard was 31 inches (79 cm),[2] which left part of the hull exposed, this was covered several inches of armor plate backed by oak. Theturrets, with 11 inches (280 mm) of an armor,[1] were similar to the turrets on thePassaic class, only slightly larger. There werepilothouses fitted on the top of each turret. A lighthurricane deck was constructed between the turrets, along with a tall funnel and a tall ventilation shaft. There were some variations within the class which leads some sources to identify them as four one-ship classes. One difference was thatTonawanda's turrets were closer together than the other three ships in the class.[2]
By the 1870s the wooden hulls had already begun to rot, and the ships were taken out of service.[2] As part ofSecretary of the NavyGeorge M. Robeson's ambitious plans to overhaul and modernize ships of the Navy, the ships were moved to shipyards in 1874, ostensibly for "repairs". On 23 June 1874Congress authorized funds for the purpose of "completing the repairs" of four double‑turreted monitors. However, the "repairs" consisted of constructing of new vessels under the guise of repairing the old ones. They werebroken up in 1874–1875 and but few of their materials were used in the building of the larger, more heavily armored, iron‑hulled "New Navy" monitors.[3]
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agamenticus | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 1862 | 19 March 1863 | 5 May 1864 | Scrapped, 1874 |
| Miantonomoh | New York Navy Yard | 15 August 1863 | 18 September 1865 | Scrapped, 1875 | |
| Monadnock | Boston Navy Yard | 23 March 1863 | 4 October 1864 | Scrapped, 1874 | |
| Tonawanda | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 6 May 1863 | 12 October 1865 |
Agamenticus operated off the northeast coast of the United States from Maine to Massachusetts until she was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 30 September 1865. RenamedTerror on 15 June 1869, the monitor joined theNorth Atlantic Fleet on 27 May 1870. She primarily operated betweenKey West, Florida, andHavana, Cuba, over the next two years.Terror, towed by the tugPowhatan, headed north for Philadelphia where she was placed out of commission and laid up on 10 June 1872. During this time, from 1872 to 1874, her deterioration progressively worsened, with dry rot eating away her timbers. She was broken up in 1874.[4]
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Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron,Miantonomoh cruised for a short time along the east coast, thence steamed to theWashington Navy Yard where she remained until April 1866. In late April she sailed to New York and there prepared for an extended cruise to European waters.
She sailed with steamersAugusta andAshuelot 6 May. After touching atHalifax, Nova Scotia, she reachedSt. John's, Newfoundland, 23 May. Departing St. John's 5 June, the three ships crossed the Atlantic in less than 11 days. After reachingQueenstown 16 June,Miantonomoh steamed viaPortsmouth toCherbourg, France. She returned to the English coast 7 July and a week later received visitors including British royalty, government officials, and members of the press, all of whom viewed her with wonderment and amazement. Her departure in naval design caused considerable comment in the English press, and the Times exclaimed: "The wolf is in our fold; the whole flock at its mercy." Departing 15 July,Miantonomoh steamed toDenmark; thence, on the 31st, she entered theBaltic Sea en route toRussia. Eleven ships of theRussian Navy, including four monitors, met her atHelsingfors, and escorted her toKronshtadt where she arrived 5 August. She visitedStockholm, Sweden, in mid‑September; thence, she arrivedKiel,Prussia, 1 October. She left 3 October and steamed toHamburg where she arrived the 6th.Miantonomoh called at French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian ports during the next 6 months. In company withAugusta,Miantonomoh departedGibraltar 15 May 1867. Steaming via theCanary andCape Verde, Islands, Caribbean ports and the Bahamas, she anchored offLeague Island, Philadelphia, 22 July, thus completing a cruise of more than 17,700 nautical miles (32,800 km; 20,400 mi).Miantonomoh was decommissioned at Philadelphia 26 July 1867 and was laid up at League Island.[3]
Miantonomoh recommissioned 15 November 1869. She steamed to New England and continued her operations in the North Atlantic station until 28 July 1870 when she decommissioned at Boston. She was broken up in 1875.[3]
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The only monitor of the class to see action during the Civil WarMonadnock steamed to Norfolk, Virginia, and there Comdr. Enoch G. Parrott took command 20 November 1864. On 13 December she departed Norfolk for the assault againstFort Fisher. On the morning of Christmas Eve, she closed the entrance of the river, guarded by Fort Fisher. At less than 1,200 yards (1,100 m) from shore she beganbombarding the fortification and continued throughout the day. Theattack was renewed 13 January 1865. Through the 15th,Monadnock again shelled the fort's defenses, disabling many of the guns. During the action, perhaps the largest amphibious operation in American history, prior toWorld War II, Monadnock was struck five times.[5]
After thisMonadnock turned towardCharleston, South Carolina. She crossed over the Bar on the 20th, after its evacuation by Confederate troops. On 19 February, while still in the Charleston area; she sent a volunteer crew to take possession ofblockade runnerDeer.[5]
After a stay atPort Royal, she returned to Hampton Roads 15 March. On 2 April, she steamed up theJames River to support the final assault onRichmond. Returning to Hampton Roads 7 April, she sailed out into the Atlantic on the 17th, en route toHavana, where she kept watch overCSS Stonewall. Back at Norfolk by 12 June, she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on the 20th to fit out for her cruise to the west coast.[5]
Monadnock departed Philadelphia 5 October; withVanderbilt,Tuscarora, andPowhatan. After stops at numerous South American ports, she transited theStraits of Magellan and continued on toSan Francisco, anchoring off that city 21 June 1866. On 26 June she proceeded toVallejo and entered theMare Island Navy Yard where she decommissioned 30 June.[5]
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Completed too late for service in the Civil War,Tonawanda, was decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard on 22 December 1865. Reactivated on 23 October 1866 for duty as a training ship at theUnited States Naval Academy. She was renamedAmphitrite on 15 June 1869. When her assignment at Annapolis ended in 1872, she was taken to the Delaware River and broken up in 1873 and 1874.[6]
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