The Monohansett was a sidewheel steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 operating as a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 serving the island of Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....

 during the end of the nineteenth century. It was named after Monohansett Island, a tiny twelve-acre island off Naushon

Naushon Island

Naushon Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands, is seven miles long, just off Cape Cod, and four statute miles NW of Martha's Vineyard. The island is owned by the Forbes family and is included in the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts...

.

Construction

Monohansett was built in 1862 by the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, & Nantucket Steamboat Co. as a replacement for the steamer Eagle's Wing which had caught fire during a race on the Providence River

Providence River

thumb|The city of Providence as seen from the Providence River at its confluence with the Narragansett BayThe Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles...

 off Pawtuxet

Pawtuxet Village

Pawtuxet Village is a section of the towns of Warwick and Cranston, Rhode Island. It is located at the point where the Pawtuxet River flows into the Providence River and Narragansett Bay.- History :...

 the year previous, and was completely destroyed. The engine from Eagle's Wing was fitted into the new vessel. Monohansett was built in five months in the shipyard of Thomas Collier of New York under the supervision of Monohansetts designer Capt. Benjamin C. Cromwell of Vineyard Haven, MA. It was 182 feet (55.5 m) long, with a beam of 28 feet (8.5 m), 9'6" depth, and 489 registered tonnage. Its keel was made of white oak, its deck timbers were of oak and white chestnut, its tops of hackmatack and white chestnut. The Monohansett made its first trip to Martha's Vineyard, to the Edgartown wharf, on June 1, 1862.

Civil War service

Barely two months later, on August 13, 1862, Monohansett was chartered by the U.S. Government. During the 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...

 Monohansett carried dispatches to the fleet operating off Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...

 and Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

, as well as in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 and the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

. The small propeller steamer Helen Augusta was used as the substitute ferry to Martha's Vineyard during the war. By the end of the war, Monohansett was the headquarters boat at City Point

City Point

-Places:United Kingdom*CityPoint, an office tower in London, EnglandUnited States*City Point , a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut*City Point, Boston, a section of South Boston, Massachusetts...

 and was used by General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 as a dispatch boat. General Grant was reportedly very fond of this boat, and President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 and his wife also spent time of this vessel.

Vineyard ferry service

Monohansett returned to service as a Martha's Vineyard ferry in June 1865.

In the summer of 1874, President Grant used the Monohansett to visit Martha's Vineyard, arriving in Cottage City.

Monohansett was first commanded by Capt. Benjamin C. Cromwell, its designer, and during the Civil War by Hiram Crowell. Capt. Charles C. Smith (1826-____), who served as first mate with Capt. Crowell during war duty, became captain of the Monohansett in 1867, and was still master in 1885. It was also said to have been commanded at some point by Capt. Marshall (evidently Francis J. Marshall (1857-1933) of Edgartown, who had also commanded the Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard (steamboat)

The Martha's Vineyard was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the second half of the nineteenth century.It was built in 1871 in Brooklyn, NY...

, and would later command the Uncatena

Uncatena (steamboat)

The Uncatena was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the beginning of the twentieth century....

.

Although Monohansett was primarily a Vineyard boat, it would occasionally make trips to Nantucket, especially during wintertime "freeze-ups" when the Monohansett would force its way through the ice to relieve the isolated Nantucket residents.

Final years

Monohansett was sold in 1901 or 1903 (sources vary), and was used around Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and the North Shore

North Shore (Massachusetts)

The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important...

. In June 1904 it wrecked in a dense fog on Little Misery Island, Salem Harbor

Salem Harbor

Salem Harbor is a harbor in northeastern Massachusetts spanning an area north and south of Salem. Historically the Salem Harbor was the site of one of the major international ports in the colonies...

, while headed to Boston from Gloucester

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

.