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USS Monadnock

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this ship’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Ship Information (from DANFS)1,2:

Name: USS Monadnock Type: Double-turreted Monitor Tonnage: 1,564
Length: 250” Beam: 55.5” Draught: Forward: 12’6”, Aft: 12’3”
Speed: Max: 9 knots Complement: 150 men Class: Miantonomoh
Armament: 4 15″ Dahlgren Smoothbores
Namesake: A monadnock of more than 3,100 feet in southern New Hampshire close to the border of Massachusetts; often called Grand Monadnock to distinguish it from Little Monadnock which lies nearby to the east.

Images:

cwpb-02100-02181vMonadnockCLOSEUP3

“NH 60657 USS Monadnock.”4

Ship Model Available:

Long Face Games Miantonomoh Class Ship Models Designs, 1/600 and 1/1200

USS Monadnock Long Face Games Ship Model Cover

 

Captain(s):
Captain John M. Berrien
Captain Image

Commander Enoch G. Parrott
Captain Image

Commander William Ronckendorff
Captain Image

Captain 4
Captain Image

 

First Offensive Order of Battle (June 13-18, 1864):

  • Not Yet Commissioned5

Second Offensive Order of Battle (June 19-30, 1864):

  • Not Yet Commissioned6

Third Offensive Order of Battle (July 1-31, 1864):

  • Not Yet Commissioned7

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle (August 1-31, 1864):

  • Not Yet Commissioned8

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle (September 1-October 13, 1864):

Not Yet Commissioned (September 1-October 3, 1864)9

Commissioned at Boston Navy Yard (October 4, 1864)10

  • Captain: Captain John M. Berrien (October 4, 1864)11
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:
  • Note: The Monadnock was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on October 4, 1864, Capt. John M. Berrien in command.12

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle (October 14-31, 1864):

  • Captain:
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle (November 1-December 31, 1864):

Hampton Roads, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (November 1, 1864)13,14

Not Present (North Carolina) (December 15, 1864)15

  • Captain:
    • Captain John M. Berrien (November 1, 1864)16
    • Commander Enoch G. Parrott (November 20 and December 5 & 15, 1864)17,18,19
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament: 4 x “guns” (December 15, 1864)20
  • Note: On December 15, 1864, this ship is noted as a “Class 3” vessel.21

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle (January 1-February 28, 1865):

Not Present (North Carolina) (January 1 & 15, 1865)22,23

Not Present (South Atlantic Blockading Squadron) (February 1, 1865)24

  • Captain: Commander Enoch G. Parrott (January 1 & 15 and February 1, 1865)25,26,27
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament: 4 x “guns” (January 1 & 15 and February 1, 1865)28,29,30
  • Note: On January 1 & 15 and February 1, 1865, this ship is noted as a “Class 3” vessel.31,32,33

 Ninth Offensive Order of Battle (March 1-April 2, 1865):

James River, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (March 18 and April 1, 1865) (at Trent’s Reach April 1)34,35,36

Hampton Roads, Va. | North Atlantic Blockading Squadron | Union Navy (April 15, 1865)37

  • Captain: Commander William Ronckendorff (March 18 and April 1 & 15, 1865)38,39,40
  • Crew Strength:
  • Armament: 4 x “guns” (March 18 and April 1 & 15, 1865)41,42,43
  • On March 18 and April 1 & 15, 1865, this ship is noted as a “Screw Class” vessel.44,45,46

 

Siege of Petersburg Battles:

  • TBD

 

Siege of Petersburg Involvement:47

The first Monadnock, a twin‑screw, wooden‑hull, double-turreted, iron‑clad monitor, was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass., in 1862; launched 23 March 1863; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 4 October 1864, Capt. John M. Berrien in command.

The only monitor of the class to see action during the Civil War Monadnock steamed to Norfolk, Va., and there Comdr. Enoch G. Parrott took command 20 November 1864…

[SOPO Editor’s Note: The ship’s earlier Civil War experiences are omitted here.]

After a stay at Port Royal, she returned to Hampton Roads 15 March [1865]. On 2 April, she steamed up the James River to support the final assault on Richmond and then assisted in clearing the river of torpedoes to allow safe passage to the fallen Confederate capitol. Returning to Hampton Roads 7 April [1865], she sailed out into the Atlantic on the 17th, en route to Havana, where she kept watch over CSS Stonewall. Back at Norfolk by 12 June [1865], she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on the 20th to fit out for her cruise to the west coast.

Monadnock departed Philadelphia 5 October [1865]; with Vanderbilt, Tuscorora, and Powatan. After stops at numerous South American ports, she transited the Straits of Magellan and continued on to San Francisco, anchoring off that city 21 June 1866. On 26 June she proceeded to Vallejo and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard where she decommissioned 30 June.

 

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

      Sources:

      1. “DANFS.” Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html. ↩
      2. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Volume 1, p. 148 ↩
      3. James River, Virginia. Gunboat COMMODORE PERRY and monitor on James River. (Between 1861 and 1869) Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2018670916/>. MANY thanks to Jeff Johnston for pointing out that this image is of the Monadnock, and thanks to Taft Kiser for alerting me to the linked Facebook post!  As Jeff points out, she was one of only two double turreted monitors on the James River, the other being the Onondaga.  However, in the full version of this image, the Onondaga and Mahopac lie along the shoreline in the center distance!  So we know this must be Monadnock by process of elimination. ↩
      4. “NH 60657 USS Monadnock.” Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-60000/NH-60657.html. Title: USS Monadnock Description: (1864-1874) Lithograph published in 1864 by Endicott & Company, New York. Courtesy of Commander Charles Moran, 1935. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 60657 ↩
      5. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      6. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      7. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      8. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      9. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      10. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      11. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      12. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      13. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 39–40 ↩
      14. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 140–142 ↩
      15. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
      16. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 39–40 ↩
      17. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩
      18. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 140–142 ↩
      19. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
      20. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
      21. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 192–194 ↩
      22. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
      23. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
      24. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
      25. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
      26. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
      27. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
      28. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
      29. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
      30. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
      31. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 398–400 ↩
      32. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 597–599 ↩
      33. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XI, pp. 722–724 ↩
      34. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
      35. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
      36. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, p. 59: Thanks to Jeff Johnston, admin of the Legacy of the USS Monitor Facebook page and USS Monitor historian for pointing out this validation that the Monadnock was indeed up the James River in March 1865. ↩
      37. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 116–118 ↩
      38. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
      39. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
      40. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 116–118 ↩
      41. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
      42. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
      43. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 116–118 ↩
      44. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 71–73 ↩
      45. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 93–94 ↩
      46. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Volume XII, pp. 116–118 ↩
      47. “Monadnock I (ScStr).” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monadnock-i.html. ↩

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