Ten Historical Documents that Mention Monitors of the Passaic-class, Part One

John Ericsson, who was a Swedish inventor, designed a class of ten monitors that were built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Turret ships, which were protected by iron plates, had been introduced in 1862 and USS Monitor was the name that was given to the first of these vessels. Ironclads that mounted their guns in rotating turrets, thereafter, were known as monitors. John Adolphus Dahlgren designed the smoothbore guns, which were 11-inches or 15-inches in diameter, that were housed in the turrets Passaic-class monitors. Samuel Francis Du Pont, who was the first commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, received the first monitors of the Passaic-class at the beginning of 1863 and pitted them against Fort McAllister. Charleston, South Carolina, was the principle target of the Federal armada but Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee River, allowed the new class of turret ships to test their ordnance in battle. It was on the Ogeechee River, therefore, that Passaic-class monitors fired their guns in anger for the first time. The expeditions along the inland waterways of Georgia revealed that the iron batteries, which possessed two guns in a single turret, lacked adequate firepower to silence land batteries. Confederate shipping, however, was proven to be vulnerable to the Federal ironclads when CSS Nashville was destroyed by a turreted ship. Torpedoes, which lurked under the water, also proved to be a credible threat to iron batteries. Fort Sumter, which was attacked in the April of 1863, was able to repulse a column of nine ironclads with the help of the other batteries in Charleston Harbor. CSS Atlanta, a Confederate ironclad, was captured by two turreted ships in the June of 1863 but this victory did not prevent Dahlgren from replacing Du Pont as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The following ten historical documents, all of which were published in the nineteenth-century, contain information about Passaic-class monitors.

1) American Law Register and Review, Volume 12 by Various Authors.

An article, which appears in the twelfth volume of American Law Register and Review, provides information about the capture of CSS Atlanta by two monitors of the Passaic-class. A document, which spans from page 675 until page 685, details the legal proceedings that followed the capture of the Confederate ironclad by the Federal monitors of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. USS Nahant and USS Weehawken are revealed, on page 677, to have captured CSS Atlanta in the vicinity of Wassaw Sound. Captain John Downes is reported to have commanded USS Nahant while Captain John Rodgers, the senior of the two officers, is claimed to have commanded USS Weehawken during their engagement with the Confederate ironclad. Each of the monitors is reported to have been armed with an 11-inch and a 15-inch gun, which were of the type that John Adolphus Dahlgren had designed, that were housed in a rotating turret. It is revealed that the Battle of Wassaw Sound occurred on the 17th of June, 1863, after the monitors spotted CSS Atlanta at four 'o clock in the morning. USS Weehawken, at a distance of between three-hundred and four-hundred yards, fired twice upon CSS Atlanta while USS Nahant attempted to get in close range of the Confederate ironclad. CSS Atlanta is reported to have surrendered before USS Nahant was able to discharge its guns while USS Weehawken, which was unable to see the white flag that had been hoisted as a sign of its surrender, is claimed to have fired another salvo at the Rebel vessel. It is reported that Downes, upon learning that the Confederate ironclad had hoisted the white flag, expressed disappointment that the Rebel vessel had surrendered so soon. The crew of USS Nahant, including its executive officer, are claimed to have been the first to board the Confederate ironclad. It was concluded that USS Nahant and USS Weehawken, along with USS Cimmerone, should share the prize money for capturing CSS Atlanta with the government.

2) Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion, Volume II by William O. Blake.

Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion, which was composed by William O. Blake and published in 1866, is a collection of documents about the American Civil War that was released in two volumes. Chapter XX of the second volume of the series mentions that CSS Nashville was destroyed on the 27th of February, 1863, and provides information about the First Battle of Charleston Harbor as well as the capture of CSS Atlanta at the Battle of Wassaw Sound. Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont is reported, on page 368, to have transferred his flag from USS James Adger to USS New Ironsides on the day that the ironclads of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron passed the Charleston bar. On the 7th of April, 1863, Du Pont ordered the commanders of the ironclads to advance on Fort Sumter. Blake, on pages 368 and 369, reproduces the order of battle that was written by Du Pont and issued to the commanders of the ironclads. USS Weehawken, USS Passaic, USS Montauk, USS Patapsco, USS New Ironsides, USS Catskill, USS Nantucket, USS Nahant and USS Keokuk are identified as the nine ironclads that participated in the battle. Captain John Rodgers, Captain Percival Drayton, Commander John Lorimer Worden, Commander Daniel Ammen, Commodore Thomas Turner, Commander George Washington Rodgers, Commander Donald McNeill Fairfax, Commander John Downes and Alexander Colden Rhind are named as the commanders of the ironclads. USS Weehawken, on page 369, is identified as the leading vessel in the attacking column. An anti-torpedo raft, on page 370, is reported to have caused USS Weehawken to stop and the advancing ironclads were thrown into disarray. USS Catskill and USS Nantucket, on page 371, are reported to have fallen foul of USS New Ironsides as they approached the seacoast fort. Du Pont, on page 373, is claimed to have called off the attack at five 'o clock in the afternoon after USS Keokuk was reported to be in a sinking condition by Rhind.

3) The History of the Navy During the Rebellion, Volume 2 by Charles Brandon Boynton.

Charles Brandon Boynton, on Chapter XXXIV of the second volume of The History of the Navy During the Rebellion, provides details of the course of events that led to a blockade-runner being converted into an ironclad that was captured by two Passaic-class monitors. SS Fingal, on page 474, is described as a blockade-runner that managed to evade capture by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron as it approached Savannah. It was impossible for the blockade-runner, which is reported to have arrived at Savannah in the November of 1861, to pass the Federal blockaders on a second occasion and the Confederate government decided to transform the merchant vessel into an ironclad. Four Brooke rifles were mounted in a casemate, which was covered by two layers of iron plates which were seven-inches in width and two-inches in thickness, that was constructed on the deck. A ram, which is described as an iron beak, and a spar torpedo were installed at the bow of the vessel. It is revealed, on page 475, that SS Fingal was given the name CSS Atlanta after its conversion to an ironclad. Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont is claimed to have sent USS Nahant, which lacked a pilot, and USS Weehawken to Wassaw Sound when he learned of the presence of ironclads in Savannah. CSS Atlanta is reported, on page 478, to have fired the first shot of the naval engagement on at a quarter to five in the morning. USS Weehawken, in its turn, is claimed to have returned fire. The fight, in which USS Weehawken is reported to have fired five shots and USS Nahant is claimed to have been unable to discharge its guns, is reported to have lasted fifteen minutes. Only four of the five shots, which were discharged from the 11-inch and 15-inch guns, are claimed to have struck their target. The engagement of the 17th of June demonstrated that Passaic-class monitors, despite their lackluster performance against the Confederate batteries at Fort McAllister and Charleston, outclassed the ironclads that served the secessionist cause.

4) The British Navy: its Strength, Resources and Administration, Volume I and Volume III by Earl Thomas Brassey.

The British Navy: it's Strength, Resources and Administration is a series of five books by Earl Thomas Brassey that explore the naval technology that was in use in the second half of the nineteenth-century. Lessons were to be learned by the British Admiralty, of which Brassey was a member, about the naval aspects of the American Civil War. It is explained, on page 130 of the first volume of the body of work, that monitors were built for the United States Navy from 1862 until the end of the American Civil War. USS Camanche, USS Catskill, USS Jason, USS Lehigh, USS Montauk, USS Nahant, USS Nantucket and USS Passaic are described as being similar to USS Monitor in design but larger in size. It is revealed, on page 147 of the third volume of the series, that monitors of the Passaic-class were used as the inspiration for a new type of vessel that would be employed in the role of coastal defense. Passaic-class monitors, however, had been used in an offensive rather than a defensive role during the War of the Rebellion. Torpedoes, on page 399, are identified as a significant threat to monitors of the Passaic-class.  It is revealed that the low freeboard of the monitors, which is reported to have been eighteen inches above the waterline, made these ironclads vulnerable to subsurface explosions while the arrangement of battened hatches made it difficult for the crew members to escape if they were below deck at the time in which the ironclad struck a torpedo. Monitors of the Passaic-class are reported to have displaced 844-tons while the remaining floating power of the fighting vessels, according to the report of Admiral Goldsborough, is claimed to have been 200-tons. It is revealed that a monitor, which is not named, sank after it struck a torpedo near Charleston. Confederate ordnance, during the War of Secession, may have been unable to perforate the turrets of Passaic-class monitors but torpedoes were capable of blowing holes in the hulls of the iron batteries beneath the waterline.

5) The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe, Or, How the Confederate Cruisers were Equipped, Volume I by James Dunwody Bulloch.

James Dunwody Bulloch describes the manner in which SS Fingal was procured for the Confederate States of America on Chapter III of The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe, Or, How the Confederate Cruisers were Equipped and explains that the blockade-runner was converted into an ironclad after the United States Navy prevented it from making a return voyage to Europe. Bulloch, who procured ships for the secessionist cause, explains how he was able to purchase SS Fingal on the third chapter of his memoir and describes how the blockade-runner was transformed into CSS Atlanta while it was detained in Savannah. Bulloch, who refers to ironclads as armour-clads and who spells Wassaw as Warsaw, describes the capture of the ironclad by two monitors of the Passaic-class. It is claimed, on page 110, that SS Fingal was built on the River Clyde and that it was used in the Highland trade before it ran war supplies into Savannah. SS Fingal is revealed, on page 111, to have been the first blockade-runner that was operated by the Confederate government and it is reported to have been transformed into CSS Atlanta after it ran the Federal blockade. It is claimed, on page 131, that the original intention of the Confederate government had been to load SS Fingal with cotton and send it back to Europe. The only route of escape for the blockade-runner is revealed, on page 132, to have been through Warsaw Inlet. It is reported, on page 144, that the Navy Department decided to convert SS Fingal into an ironclad after it became apparent that Savannah had been closed off by the Federal blockade. CSS Atlanta, on page 145, is claimed to have been sent to fight the monitors that were anchored at Warsaw Sound. USS Nahant and USS Weehawken are reported, on page 146, to have encountered CSS Atlanta on the 17th of June. It is revealed, on page 147, that Captain William Augustin Webb surrendered CSS Atlanta after a fifteen minute engagement with the Passaic-class monitors. 

6) The Life of John Ericsson, Volume II by William Conant Church.

William Conant Church, on the nineteenth chapter of the second volume of The Life of John Ericsson, describes the circumstances in which the monitors of the Passaic-class were built during the American Civil War. CSS Virginia, which the Federal forces referred to as Merrimac, had fought USS Monitor to a tactical draw but was forced to abandon its mission of destroying the wooden blockading vessels that were stationed at Hampton Roads. It is revealed, on page 3, that John Ericsson received orders for six monitors in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hampton Roads while Commodore Smith is reported to have suggested alterations to the original design. Ericsson is reported to have received the first orders by the 16th of March, 1862, and was informed that the monitors needed to be completed by the 31st of July. It is revealed, on page 4, that a new class of monitor was designed by the Swedish inventor. Gustavus Vasa Fox, who was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, became an advocate for the Passaic-class of monitors after he spoke to those who served on the original monitor that Ericsson had designed. New plans were drawn, after a verbal agreement was made between the Swedish engineer and the Navy Department, that rectified some of the defects of the original monitor. William Howard Seward, in a letter that appears on page 6, informs Ericsson that the Navy Department chose the name of the first six monitors of the Passaic-class. USS Impenetrable, USS Penetrator, USS Paradox, USS Gauntlet, USS Palladium and USS Agitator are revealed to have been the original names of the monitors before USS Passaic, USS Montauk, USS Catskill, USS Patapsco, USS Lehigh as well as USS Sangamon were chosen as more suitable alternatives. Chapter XXII explores the design features as well as the service history of Passaic-class monitors and it is claimed, on page 55, that ironclads of this class were struck 1,031 times during the course of the conflict.

7) The Southern Rebellion by William August Crafts.

William August Crafts, on the one-hundred-and-thirty-third chapter of The Southern Rebellion, describes the difficulties that were faced by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at the beginning of 1863 and focuses on the principle operations that occurred in the Department of the South. It is explained, on page 480, that the unprotected fighting vessels that served under Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont were incapable of engaging the heavy seacoast batteries or the powerful ironclads that were under construction. Monitors, of the type that were designed by John Ericsson, are reported to have been built in Northern shipyards for service in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. CSS Nashville is reported, on page 481, to have been destroyed by USS Montauk while sheltering under the guns of Fort McAllister. It is claimed that the Federal monitor approached the obstructions that the Confederates had placed in the Ogeechee River, which ran through Georgia, before opening fire on the Rebel commerce raider. The fight, which is reported to have occurred in February and which is claimed to have lasted twenty minutes, resulted in the Confederate raiding vessel bursting into flames and exploding when the fire reached its magazines. Further engagements between the monitors and Fort McAllister, in which the ironclads were unable to inflict any serious damage on the fortifications, are reported to have occurred later in the month. Nine ironclads are claimed to have crossed the Charleston Bar on the 6th of April, 1868, in preparation for the coming attack on the seacoast batteries. USS Catskill, USS Montauk, USS Nahant, USS Nantucket, USS Passaic, USS Patapsco and USS Weehawken are identified as seven of the nine ironclads that participated in the First Battle of Charleston Harbor. USS New Ironsides, which served as the flagship of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and USS Keokuk are named as the other two ironclads that crossed the Charleston bar on the 6th of April. 

8) The Autobiography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren by John A. Dahlgren.

The Autobiography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, edited by Peter Luebke, describes the life and career of the naval officer who commanded the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor. Rear-admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren, known as the father of American naval ordnance, was Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard before his promotion. Dahlgren had designed the 11-inch and 15-inch guns which were mounted in the turrets of Passaic-class monitors and it is reported, on page 60, that the guns were tested in New York while USS Passaic was undergoing trials. Dahlgren claims that he was stunned by the noise of the 11-inch gun, which had the appearance of a soda bottle, during the evaluation. It is explained, on the forth chapter, that Dahlgren was made the commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron after the First Battle of Charleston Harbor and the Battle of Wassaw Sound. Congress is reported to have nominated Dahlgren for promotion to Rear-admiral on the last day of February, 1863, while he was still a Captain. It is claimed, on page 74, that the presence of the Passaic-class monitors in Charleston Harbor dissuaded the Confederate ironclads from attacking the Federal troops that were under the command of Brigadier-general Quincy Adams Gillmore. Five monitors of the Passaic-class, on page 76, are reported to have attacked Fort Wagner while USS New Ironsides is claimed to have supported the turreted vessels during this engagement. USS Katskill, USS Montauk, USS Nantucket, USS Patapsco and USS Weehawken are identified as the five Passaic-class monitors that participated in the action. Fort Wagner was attacked on the morning of the 18th of July, 1863, and Dahlgren transferred his flag to USS Montauk before the engagement commenced. On the 17th of August, 1863, USS Weehawken and USS Passaic served as flagships during an engagement with the seacoast batteries in Charleston Harbor.

9) Memoir of John A. Dahlgren, Rear-admiral United States Navy by Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren.

Memoir of John A. Dahlgren, Rear-admiral United States Navy was written by the widow of the second commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren wrote the memoir, which was published in 1882, twelve years after the passing of her husband. Chapters fourteen to twenty of the memoir, which draws much of its material from the private journal of the Rear-admiral, focuses on the naval operations in Charleston Harbor and mentions the activities of Passaic-class monitors on several occasions. A 15-inch gun is reported to have been tested at the Ordnance Yard from the 12th of October until the 26th of October, 1862, and was mounted on USS Passaic after the trials had been completed. It is claimed, on page 381, that the gun was fired 250 times during the trial. Dahlgren is reported to have visited USS Passaic, which was anchored at New York, on the 26th of October. Chapter XIV explores the circumstances in which Dahlgren, who had hitherto been Commandant of the Washington Naval Yard, became the commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. It is claimed that the Senate made Dahlgren a Rear-admiral by on the 27th of February, 1863, at a time in which Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont remained in command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. USS Montauk is reported, on page 389, to have tested its 15-inch gun on the 11th of March. Dahlgren, on page 390, is revealed to have defended Du Pont after the failed assault on Fort Sumter and claims that the commanders of the ironclads concurred with the decision not to renew the attack. On the 6th of July, 1863, Dahlgren is reported to have replaced Du Pont as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On the 10th of July, 1863, USS Catskill is claimed to have led three monitors across the Charleston bar. USS Catskill, which Dahlgren refers to as Kaatskill, served as the flagship. The event, which is described on page 398, began at four 'o clock in the morning.

10) History of the Rebel Ram Atlanta by Robert Stewart Davis.

History of the Rebel Ram Atlanta, which was written by Robert Stewart Davis and published in 1863, is a pamphlet that details the career of an ironclad that was captured by two Passaic-class monitors. It is revealed that Davis, who worked as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, had been staying at Port Royal at the time in which CSS Atlanta was captured. USS Nahant and USS Weehawken are reported, on page 5, to have waited for CSS Atlanta at the mouth of the Wilmington River. Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, who is claimed to have received intelligence about the movements of the Confederate ram from deserters, is reported to have ordered the Federal monitors to guard the entrance to Wassaw Sound. Captain John Rodgers, who commanded USS Weehawken, is claimed to have positioned a picket boat at the confluence of the Wilmington River and Wassaw Sound. It is revealed that the picket boat, on the morning of the 17th of June, had returned to its parent vessel without having noticed any signs of the approaching ironclad. CSS Atlanta, which is claimed to have been travelling at speed, is reported to have been sighted at a distance of three miles from the monitors. Captain Rodgers and Commander Downes are claimed to have moved their ships, which were in danger of running aground, into deeper waters. Two wooden steamers are reported to have accompanied CSS Atlanta on the expedition and it was intended that these vessels, upon the capture of the Federal monitors by the Rebel ram, would tow USS Nahant and USS Weehawken to Savannah. It is revealed, on page 6, that CSS Atlanta ran aground twice and fired its pivot gun at USS Weehawken on the second occasion. The Federal monitor, in reply, is claimed to have struck the Rebel ram on five occasions with its 15-inch gun and caused considerable damage. Captain Rodgers, on page 7, is reported to have ordered Captain Harmony to board CSS Atlanta after it had raised the white flag.

Edited: 29th of November, 2024, which was a Sunday.