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USS Nahant (1862)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Nahant was a Passaic-class ironclad
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
that saw service in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Nahant was launched on 7 October 1862, by Harrison Loring, South Boston
South Boston, Massachusetts
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. One of America's oldest and most historic neighborhoods, South Boston was formerly known as Dorchester Neck, and today is called "Southie" by...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and commissioned on 29 December 1862, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
John Downes in command.
Fort McAllister
The new single-turretGun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
ed monitor joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Port Royal Harbor
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
on 20 February 1863, and saw her first action in the Union
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
bombardment of Fort McAllister
Fort McAllister
Fort McAllister may refer to:*Fort McAllister Historic Park, a Georgia state park located near Keller and Richmond Hill in South Bryan County, Georgia ....
on 3 March.
Charleston
A little over a month later, she participated in Rear AdmiralRear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
’s valiant but ill-fated attack on Charleston Harbor
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The ironclads crossed Stono Bar and entered Charleston Harbor on 6 April, but a heavy fog stopped their advance lest they run aground attempting to negotiate the tricky channels leading to the vital Confederate port. Though dawn broke clear the next morning, an ebb tide kept the warships from getting underway until noon. Shortly after 15:00, 's guns opened on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
, and through the afternoon Du Pont's ships stubbornly hammered at Confederate batteries while withstanding the intense and accurate converging fire of the Southern cannon.
With darkness approaching and his ironclads severely battered, Du Pont broke off the action, determined to return to the fray at daybreak. That night, however, reports from his captains of the serious damage suffered by their ships convinced him that the small chance of success of another attack did not justify the great risk to his squadron.
In the fighting, Nahant had been hit 36 times, disabling her turret and breaking off a large piece of iron inside her pilot house, killing her helmsman and wounding her pilot. The next day, with her sister monitors, she retired to Port Royal for repairs.
CSS Atlanta engagement
On 10 June, after intelligence reports indicated that the ram was preparing to attack wooden blockader , Du Pont ordered Weehawken, CaptainCaptain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
John Rodgers
John Rodgers (naval officer, Civil War)
John Rodgers was an admiral in the United States Navy.-Early life and career:Rodgers, a son of Commodore John Rodgers, was born near Havre de Grace, Maryland. He received his appointment as a Midshipman in the Navy on 18 April 1828...
, and Nahant to Wassaw Sound
Wassaw Sound
Wassaw Sound is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Georgia, United States near Savannah where which the Wilmington River flows.-American Civil War naval battle:...
, Georgia to await the powerful ironclad ram. Shortly before dawn, a week later, Atlanta, accompanied by stern wheel gunboat and ram , steamed down the Wilmington River and entered Wassaw Sound to attack the monitors. The Confederate flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
carried a torpedo projecting from her bow, hoping to explode it against one of the monitors before dispatching the other with her guns.
Seeing the Southern ships approach, Weehawken and Nahant headed in to accept the challenge. As the adversaries closed to fighting range, Atlanta was first to fire, but soon ran aground, where she could not aim her guns effectively. The monitors held their fire until within 200 yd (182.9 m). Weehawken then quickly put five rounds from her heavy guns into the ram. With two of his guns out of action, two of his three pilots severely wounded, and his ship hard aground, Cdr. William A. Webb
William A. Webb
William A. Webb was an American sailor and Mexican-American War veteran who resigned his United States Navy commission after more than 20 years of service to join the Confederate States Navy in the American Civil War...
, CSN, was compelled to surrender Atlanta while her escorts scurried to safety. Atlanta was subsequently purchased from a prize court by the Federal Government and commissioned in the Union Navy.
Blockade duty
Early in July, after he had taken command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Rear Adm. John A. DahlgrenJohn A. Dahlgren
John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren was a United States Navy leader. He headed the Union Navy's ordnance department during the American Civil War and designed several different kinds of guns and cannons that were considered part of the reason the Union won the war...
ordered the monitors back to Charleston harbor. Nahant, now under the command of William Kennon Mayo
William Kennon Mayo
William Kennon Mayo was an officer in the United States Navy, most notably during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War....
, and her sisters bombarded Confederate works on Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
on 10 July, supporting and covering the landing of Army troops. For almost two months, the shelling continued until the steadfast defenders were finally compelled to abandon Battery Wagner, their last position on the island, on 6 September.
In ensuing months, Nahant continued operations in the vicinity of Charleston, patrolling, enforcing the blockade, and bombarding Confederate positions ashore. On 15 November, she joined in supporting the Union Army at Cumming’s Point on Morris Island during a heavy evening bombardment from Fort Moultrie. The next day, despite heavy shelling from shore batteries, she helped refloat Lehigh after her sister monitor had run aground.
On 2 February 1865, Nahant joined Lehigh and in shelling the Confederate blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
Presto after the blockade runner had run ashore under the batteries of Fort Moultrie. After three days of shelling, the hulk was completely destroyed.
Spanish-American War
Nahant decommissioned at Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on 11 August 1865. While laid up, she was renamed Atlas on 15 June 1869, but resumed the name Nahant on 10 August. The veteran monitor recommissioned at League Island
League Island
League Island was an island in the Delaware River, part of the city of Philadelphia, just upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River, which was the site of the Philadelphia shipyard, which eventually became the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, now known as the Philadelphia Naval Business...
on 12 April 1898 and steamed to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for harbor defense during the Spanish-American War. Nahant decommissioned at League Island and was laid up there until sold on 6 April 1904, to L. E. Hunt of Melrose, Massachusetts
Melrose, Massachusetts
-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...
.