USS Tunxis (1864)

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Uss Tunxis 1864.jpg
Engraving of USS Tunxis published in "The Soldier in Our Civil War"
History
US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Tunxis
OrderedApril 1863
Builder Reaney, Son & Archbold, Chester, Pennsylvania
Launched4 June 1864
Commissioned12 July 1864
DecommissionedSeptember 1864
FateBroken up, 1874
General characteristics
Class and type Casco-class monitor
Displacement1,175 long tons (1,194 t)
Length225 ft (69 m)
Beam45 ft (14 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
PropulsionScrew steamer
Speed9 knots (17 km/h)
Complement69 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • 1 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns
  • 1 × 150-pounder rifle
Armor
  • Turret: 8 in (200 mm)
  • Pilothouse: 10 in (250 mm)
  • Hull: 3 in (76 mm)
  • Deck: 3 in (76 mm)

The first USS Tunxis was launched on 4 June 1864 at Chester, Pennsylvania, by Reaney, Son & Archbold; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 12 July 1864. On 21 September 1864, the light-draft monitor departed the sheltered waters of the navy yard on her maiden voyage. However, she soon began taking on water at such an alarming rate that she came about and returned to Philadelphia where she was decommissioned later in the month.

Contents

Design revisions

Though the original designs for the Casco-class monitors were drawn by John Ericsson, the final revision was created by Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers following Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont's failed bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1863. By the time that the plans were put before the Monitor Board in New York City, Ericsson and Stimers had a poor relationship, and Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair John Lenthall had little connection to the board. This resulted in the plans being approved and 20 vessels ordered without serious scrutiny of the new design. $14 million US was allocated for the construction of these vessels. It was discovered that Stimers had failed to compensate for the armour his revisions added to the original plan and this resulted in excessive stress on the wooden hull frames and a freeboard of only 3 inches. Stimers was removed from the control of the project and Ericsson was called in to undo the damage. He was forced to raise the hulls of the monitors under construction by nearly two feet and the first few completed vessels had their turrets removed and a single pivot-mount 11 inch Dahlgren cannon mounted. These same few vessels had a retractable spar torpedo added as well.

Tunxis would be the first monitor of the class to keep her armoured turret. On 19 October 1864 Tunxis entered William Cramp & Sons' shipyard, Philadelphia, for extensive refit and rebuilding. On 12 July 1866, two years to the day since her first commissioning, the monitor emerged from the complete overhaul far more seaworthy than before. Nevertheless, since her class design had proven disappointing, she was immediately laid up at League Island Navy Yard.

Fate

On 15 June 1869, her name was changed to Hydra; and, on 10 August 1869, she was renamed Otsego. In 1874, Otsego was broken up for scrap, having never seen active service.

See also

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USS Etlah, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was still under construction at St. Louis, Missouri, at the close of the American Civil War. A Casco-class, light-draft monitor, she was intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.

USS <i>Casco</i> (1864)

The first USS Casco was the first of a class of twenty 1,175-ton light-draft monitors built by Atlantic Works, Boston, Massachusetts for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Naubuc</i> (1864)

The first USS Naubuc, laid down as a 1,175-ton light-draft monitor at Perine's Union Iron Works, Williamsburgh, NY, was launched 19 October 1864. However, as with others of her class, she was of faulty design and was found to be unseaworthy prior to her completion. She was then converted to a torpedo boat, 4th rate, with one XI-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, and arid Wood-Lay spar torpedo equipment.

USS <i>Modoc</i> (1865)

USS Modoc, a single turret, an 1175-ton Casco-class light draft monitor built under contract by J. S. Underhill at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was completed as a spar torpedo vessel in June 1865. She had no active service, spending her entire Navy career laid up "in ordinary" at Philadelphia.

USS <i>Yazoo</i> (1865)

USS Yazoo — a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor — was laid down in March 1863, before final government approval had been given, by Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia.; launched on 8 May 1865; and completed on 15 December 1865.

USS Umpqua, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was laid down in March 1863, before the official order had been placed, at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, by Snowden & Mason; launched on 21 December 1865; and completed on 7 May 1866.

USS Waxsaw, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was laid down in March 1863, before the official order had been placed, at Baltimore, Maryland, by A. & W. Denmead & Son; launched on 4 May 1865; and completed on 21 October 1865.

USS Suncook – a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor – was built by the Globe Works, South Boston, and delivered to the government at the Boston Navy Yard on 8 July 1865.

USS Shiloh was a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor that was slated to enter service with the United States Navy. The contract for her construction was awarded on 24 June 1863 to George C. Bestor of Peoria, Illinois. Her keel was laid down later that year at the yard of Charles W. McCordat of St. Louis, Missouri. However, while Shiloh was still under construction, USS Chimo, one of the first of the Casco-class monitors to be launched, was found to be unseaworthy.

USS Cohoes — a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor — was still under construction at the close of the American Civil War. She was a Casco-class, light-draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.

USS Klamath — a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor of the United States Navy — was launched 20 April 1865 by S. T. Hambleton & Co., Cincinnati, OH, under subcontract with Alexander Swift & Co., also of Cincinnati, OH. She was delivered to the Navy on 6 May 1866 but was never commissioned and saw no service.

USS Koka—a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor—was launched 18 May 1865 by Wilcox & Whiting, Camden, New Jersey. She was a Casco-class, light-draft monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy. These warships sacrificed armor plate for a shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.

USS <i>Nausett</i> (1865)

USS Nausett, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was built by Donald McKay, South Boston, MA, and launched on 26 April 1865, and commissioned on 10 August 1865, Acting Master Win. U. Grozier in command. Soon after her commissioning, she steamed to New York, NY, where she decommissioned on 24 August 1865, and was laid up at the New York Navy Yard.

USS <i>Wassuc</i> (1865)

USS Wassuc — a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor — was built by the George W. Lawrence & Co., Portland, ME, and launched 25 July 1865, and completed 28 October 1865.

USS <i>Shawnee</i>

USS Shawnee was a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor built by Curtis & Tilden, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was delivered 22 July 1865, and commissioned 18 August 1865.

USS <i>Chimo</i> (1864)

USS Chimo, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was built by the Aquila Adams company in South Boston, Massachusetts, and launched 5 May 1864, and commissioned 20 January 1865, Acting Master John C. Dutch in command.

<i>Casco</i>-class monitor

The Casco-class monitor was a unique class of light draft monitor built on behalf of the United States Navy for the Mississippi theatre during the American Civil War. The largest and most ambitious ironclad program of the war, the project was dogged by delays caused by bureaucratic meddling. Twenty ships of the class were eventually built at great expense, but proved so unseaworthy when trialed that they were quickly sidelined, causing a public scandal.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.