Ten Historical Documents that Mention Monitors of the Passaic-class, Part Two
Passaic -class monitors, which were built to the designs of Captain John Ericsson, were ironclads that mounted their guns in a single turret. Rear-admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont and Rear-admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren, during the time in which they commanded the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, directed the actions of the second generation of Ericsson batteries. Passaic -class monitors, in the January of 1863, received their baptism of fire upon the waters of the Great Ogeechee River. CSS Atlanta , which was an iron-cased ram that had been built upon the hull of a gun-runner, was blockaded by USS Passaic at the time in which the Ogeechee River Expeditions were occurring. Fort McAllister, which had been established at Genesis Point, exchanged fire with the ironclads on more than one occasion. CSS Rattlesnake , which was also known as CSS Nashville , was destroyed by a Passaic -class monitor while it took shelter beneath the batteries of Fort McAllis...