The first USS Miantonomoh was a the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of her class of double-turreted, twin-screw, wooden-hulled, ironclad 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...

s 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...

 following 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...

.

Miantonomoh was laid down at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, in 1862; launched 15 August 1863; and commissioned 18 September 1865, Commander Daniel Ammen

Daniel Ammen

Daniel Ammen was a U.S. naval officer during the American Civil War and the postbellum period, as well as a prolific author.-Biography:...

 in command.

North Atlantic Squadron, 1865–1870

Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron

North Atlantic Squadron

The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic Squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the North Atlantic Fleet. On Jan...

, Miantonomoh cruised for a short time along the east coast, thence steamed to the Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 where she remained until April 1866. In late April she sailed to New York and there prepared for an extended cruise to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an waters. Under the command of Comdr. John C. Beaumont, she sailed with steamers  and on 6 May. After touching at Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, she reached St. John's, Newfoundland, 23 May. There she embarked the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Gustavus Fox

Gustavus Fox

Gustavus Vasa Fox was an officer of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican-American War, and as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War.-Biography:...

, who arrived 3 June en route to undertaking special assignments in Europe.

Upon the order of President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

, Secretary of the Navy

United States Secretary of the Navy

The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...

 Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...

 instructed Fox to deliver Alexander II

Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...

, Emperor of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, a copy of a Joint Resolution of Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 which expressed "deep regret" at the recent attempt on the Czar’s life and congratulations on his escape from harm. In addition, and of greater importance, Welles requested Fox to visit important naval stations and collect:

"...all the information that is attainable relative to the means which are possessed by the principal naval powers for building, repairing, and laying up naval vessels, an...in regard to their navy yards and navy establishments....You should also examine some of the more modern built naval vessels abroad; and, availing yourself of your experience...institute comparisons between the present naval appliances and improvements of your own country and those of Europe..."

Departing St. John's on 5 June, the three ships crossed the Atlantic in less than 11 days. Fox described the first ocean crossing of an ironclad monitor as "a pleasant trip." During much of the voyage she was towed by Augusta "as a matter of convenience and precaution rather than necessity."

After reaching Queenstown

Cobh

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...

 on 16 June, Miantonomoh steamed via Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 to Cherbourg, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, where Fox debarked on 29 June for talks with Napoleon III

Napoleon III of France

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...

. She returned to the English coast on 7 July and a week later received visitors including British royalty, government officials, and members of the press, all of whom viewed her with wonderment and amazement. Her departure in naval design caused considerable comment in the English press, and the Times exclaimed: "The wolf is in our fold; the whole flock at its mercy."

The success of her reception in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 typified her subsequent visits to other European nations during the next several months. Departing 15 July, Miantonomoh steamed to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 where she was inspected by King Christian IX

Christian IX of Denmark

Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...

 and the royal family; thence, on 31 July, she entered the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 en route to Russia. Eleven ships of the Russian Navy, including four monitors of the Uragan class

Uragan class monitor

The Uragan class was a class of monitors built for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. The ships were built to the plans of the American Passaic-class monitors, a design that was tested on a smaller scale on the USS Monitor...

, met her at Helsingfors (Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

) and escorted her to Kronshtadt where she arrived 5 August. She remained at that important Russian naval base for more than a month. During that time she was viewed with interest and attention by the Czar, his family, and leading Russian naval officers.

Commenting on the success of the naval mission to Russia, Captain Alexander Murray

Alexander Murray (1816-1884)

Alexander Murray was an officer in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 later wrote: "We were the victims of a hospitality which I did not believe had an existence out of America, and...of a generosity which does not often fall to the lot of navy officers anywhere;...."

From Russia Miantonomoh continued her triumphant visit to European ports. With Assistant Secretary Fox embarked, she visited Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, in mid-September; thence, she arrived Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

, Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, 1 October amidst "a great number of the Prussian ships of war." The monitor left Fox to complete his duties on 3 October and steamed to Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 where she arrived the 6th. "Here we remained a week," wrote Captain Murray, "and experienced the full flood of that tide of visitors to the ‘monitor’ which had been increasing ever since we left the United States...."

Miantonomoh called at French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 ports during the next six months. Her mission of showing both the flag and herself proved wholly successful. The "tide of visitors," reported Captain Murray, "wherever we went, overwhelmed us."

In company with Augusta, Miantonomoh departed Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 on 15 May 1867. Steaming via the Canary and Cape Verde. Islands, Caribbean ports and the Bahamas, she anchored off League Island, Philadelphia, 22 July, thus completing a cruise of more than 17,700 miles. Captain Murray concluded his report to Secretary of the Navy Welles: "The vessels themselves [are] in such a condition as to be readily enabled to repeat the service just performed." Miantonomoh, however, decommissioned at Philadelphia 26 July 1867 and was laid up at League Island.

Miantonomoh recommissioned 15 November 1869, Comdr. R. W. Shufeldt in command. She steamed to New England and served with the funeral fleet that escorted the British ship HMS Monarch

HMS Monarch (1868)

HMS Monarch was the first sea-going warship to carry her guns in turrets, and the first British warship to carry guns of calibre.-Design:...

 carrying the body of George Peabody

George Peabody

George Peabody was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Peabody Trust in Britain and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, and was responsible for many other charitable initiatives.-Biography:...

, noted American philanthropist, back to 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...

 for burial. She continued her operations in the North Atlantic station until 28 July 1870 when she decommissioned at Boston.

Reconstruction, 1874

As part of Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson

George M. Robeson

George Maxwell Robeson was an American Republican Party politician and lawyer from New Jersey who served as a Union army general during the American Civil War, and then as Secretary of the Navy during the Grant administration. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1879 to...

's ambitious plans to overhaul and modernize ships of the Navy, Miantonomoh was taken to Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

, in 1874, ostensibly for "repairs" at the yard of John Roach

John Roach

John Robert Roach was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995.-Biography:...

. On 23 June 1874 Congress authorized funds for the purpose of "completing the repairs" of four double-turreted monitors including Miantonomoh. However, the "repairs" consisted of the constructing of new vessels under the guise of repairing the old ones. She was broken up in 1875 and but few of her materials were used in the building of the larger, more heavily armored, iron-hulled “New Navy” monitor which became the second Miantonomoh

USS Miantonomoh (BM-5)

The second USS Miantonomoh, an iron‑hulled, twin‑screw, double‑turreted monitor of the , was laid down by John Roach & Son of Chester, Pennsylvania in 1874; launched 5 December 1876; and commissioned in an uncompleted condition on 6 October 1882, Commander Francis J...

.