USS Lehigh (1863)

Last updated

Uss Lehigh 1863.jpg
USS Lehigh during the Spanish–American War
History
Naval jack of the United States (1865-1867).svg United States
NameUSS Lehigh
Builder Reaney, Son & Archbold
Launched17 January 1863
Commissioned15 April 1863
Decommissioned8 September 1898
FateSold, 14 April 1904
General characteristics
Class and type Passaic-class monitor
Displacement1,335 long tons (1,356 t)
Length200 ft (61 m) overall
Beam46 ft (14 m)
Draft11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion2 Martin boilers, 1-shaft Ericsson vibrating lever engine, 320 ihp (235 kW)
Speed7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph)
Complement88
Armament
  • 1 × 15 in (381 mm) smoothbore
  • 1 × 8 in (203  mm) Parrott rifle
Armor
  • Iron
  • Side: 5 – 3 in (12.7 – 7.6 cm)
  • Turret: 11 in (27.9  cm)
  • Pilothouse: 8 in (20.3  cm)
  • Deck: 1 in (2.5  cm)

The first USS Lehigh was a Passaic-class monitor launched 17 January 1863 by Reaney, Son & Archbold, Chester, Pennsylvania, under a subcontract from John Ericsson; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 15 April 1863, Commander John Guest in command.

Contents

USS "Lehigh" on the James River Virginia, showing dents in the monitor's turret armor made by Confederate cannon shot [US National Archives] Crew of Monitor on James River, Virginia - NARA - 524442.jpg
USS "Lehigh" on the James River Virginia, showing dents in the monitor's turret armor made by Confederate cannon shot [US National Archives]
USS Lehigh showing the same dents in the monitor's turret armor USS Lehigh NH 51302.jpg
USS Lehigh showing the same dents in the monitor's turret armor

A week later, the new monitor joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Newport News, Virginia. She performed blockade duty in the Hampton Roads-Virginia Capes area, and on the night of 10 June joined a flotilla under Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee in an expedition up the James River to assist Army troops. Returning to Newport News two days later, she resumed blockade duty until sent back up the James with seven other Union warships to threaten Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. In the wake of the Battle of Gettysburg, the movement was designed to divert Confederate strength from General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia which had invaded the North and imperiled Washington, D.C. The expedition caused the South to evacuate Fort Powhatan, leaving no defenses on the James below Chaffin's or Drewry's Bluffs, some 8 miles (13 km) from Richmond. The situation relaxed as the Confederate Army retreated across the Potomac River, and the Union warships dropped down river to Hampton Roads. On the morning of 23 July, Lehigh, towed by Circassian, got underway north and arrived New York City two days later for repairs. In August 1863, commanded by Commander Andrew Bryson, she headed south and joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, South Carolina. The monitor took part in the attacks on Fort Sumter of 1 and 2 September, being struck several times; engaged Sullivan's Island 7 September; Fort Moultrie 8 September, receiving 29 hits; covered a landing party attacking Fort Sumter 9 September; and from 27 October to 20 November engaged Fort Sumter almost daily, running aground 16 November off Sullivan's Island under heavy enemy fire. Five of Lehigh's sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for helping to free the vessel during this incident: Landsman Frank S. Gile, Coxswain Thomas Irving, Gunner's Mate George W. Leland, Landsman William Williams, and Seaman Horatio Nelson Young. [2] [3]

USS Lehigh to the right of USS Montauk in Philadelphia Navy Yard, circa 1902. Uss Montauk 1862.jpg
USS Lehigh to the right of USS Montauk in Philadelphia Navy Yard, circa 1902.

After repairs at Port Royal, South Carolina, Lehigh rejoined the fleet off Charleston 13 January 1864, was assigned to picket duty, and during the following year kept up an intermittent fire on various enemy fortifications in Charleston Harbor. In March 1865, Lehigh rejoined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and served in the James River through the end of the Civil War. She decommissioned at League Island Navy Yard on 9 June 1865.

Laid up and under repairs at League Island for a decade, Lehigh was recommissioned on 15 December 1875, with Commander George A. Stevens in command, and served as practice and school ship at the U.S. Naval Academy. In April 1876, she was assigned to the North Atlantic Station, and operated in the vicinity of Port Royal.

From 1879 to 1895 Lehigh lay in the James River at City Point and off Richmond. In 1895, she was taken to League Island and repaired, and on 18 April 1898 was recommissioned under Lieutenant R. G. Peek for coastal defense and stationed off the New England coast for the duration of the Spanish–American War. She was decommissioned 8 September 1898, and remained at League Island until sold 14 April 1904.

Notes

  1. ↑ USS Lehigh Library of Congress collections
  2. ↑ "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M–Z)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2012.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Brooklyn</i> (1858) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Brooklyn was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Minnesota</i> (1855) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned. She was recommissioned at the outbreak of the American Civil War and returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

USS <i>Galena</i> (1862) American military ship

USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from penetrating. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.

USS <i>Rhode Island</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Rhode Island was a side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy, commissioned in 1861.

USS <i>Pawnee</i> (1859) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe.

USS <i>Susquehanna</i> (1850) Sidewheel steam frigate

USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Susquehanna River, which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.

USS <i>Wabash</i> (1855) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Wabash was a steam screw frigate of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as Colorado. Post-war she continued to serve her country in European operations and eventually served as a barracks ship in Boston, Massachusetts, and was sold in 1912.

USS <i>Tacony</i> (1863) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Tacony was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a heavy gunboat with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Richmond</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Sumpter was a steamship in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Water Witch</i> (1851) US Navy gunboat

The third USS Water Witch was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is best known as the ship fired on by Paraguay in 1855. In 1864 she was captured by the Confederate States Navy, and subsequently was taken into that Navy as CSS Water Witch.

USS <i>San Jacinto</i> (1850) Screw frigate in the US Navy famous for her role in the Trent Affair of 1861

The first USS San Jacinto was an early screw frigate in the United States Navy during the mid-19th century. She was named for the San Jacinto River, site of the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. She is perhaps best known for her role in the Trent Affair of 1861.

USS <i>Iroquois</i> (1859) War ship

The first USS Iroquois was a Mohican-class sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Marblehead</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Marblehead was a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Pocahontas</i> (1852) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Pocahontas, a screw steamer built at Medford, Massachusetts in 1852 as City of Boston, and purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 20 March 1855, was the first United States Navy ship to be named for Pocahontas, the Algonquian wife of Virginia colonist John Rolfe. She was originally commissioned as USS Despatch – the second U.S. Navy ship of that name – on 17 January 1856, with Lieutenant T. M. Crossan in command, and was recommissioned and renamed in 1860, seeing action in the American Civil War. As Pocahontas, one of her junior officers was Alfred Thayer Mahan, who would later achieve international fame as a military writer and theorist of naval power.

USS <i>Nahant</i> (1862)

The first USS Nahant was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor of the United States Navy that saw service in the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Saugus</i> (1863) 1863 Canonicus-class monitor

USS Saugus was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The vessel was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron upon completion in April 1864. The ship spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the Confederate ironclads of the James River Squadron. She engaged Confederate artillery batteries during the year and later participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, defending the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1864 – January 1865. Saugus returned to the James River after the capture of Fort Fisher and remained there until Richmond, Virginia, was occupied in early April.

USS <i>Sangamon</i> (1862)

USS Sangamon was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor constructed for the Union Navy during the second year of the American Civil War where she operated in the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She was later recommissioned and placed into service during the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Catskill</i> (1862)

USS Catskill was a monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She continued to serve the Navy after the war's end until decommissioned in 1898 after the end of the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Wachusett</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Wachusett – the first U.S. Navy ship to be so named – was a large (1,032-ton), Mohican-class steam sloop-of-war that served the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and used by the Navy as part of the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.