.gif)
USS Weehawken (1862)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Weehawken was a Passaic-class ironclad
monitor
in the United States Navy
during the American Civil War
.
Weehawken was launched
on 5 November 1862 at Jersey City, New Jersey
by Zeno Secor & Company; sponsored by Ms. Nellie Cornstock; and commissioned
on 18 January 1863, Captain
John Rodgers
in command.
Weehawken was an improved and enlarged version of . Accompanied by and towed by , she departed New York on 18 January 1863, bound for Port Royal, South Carolina
, and duty with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The three vessels encountered gale force winds and high seas off the New Jersey
coast on 20 January. Iroquois and Boardman headed for sheltered waters; but Rodgers pressed on in Weehawken. The Passaic ironclads differed from the original Monitor in having less deck overhang and a rounded lower hull. This enabled Weehawken — unlike her famous prototype — to ride out a heavy sea with relative ease. Rodgers reported that "the behavior of the vessel was easy, buoyant, and indicative of thorough safety." Weehawken put into Norfolk
for minor repairs, leaving on 1 February in tow of screw steamer . She arrived at Port Royal on 5 February, and deployed in the blockade off Charleston, South Carolina
.
On 7 April, Weehawken led the Union fleet in the first major naval assault against Confederate
installations in Charleston harbor. The attack failed miserably, and the fleet withdrew after only 40 minutes. During the action, Weehawken took 53 hits and had a torpedo (naval mine
) explode beneath her keel without suffering serious damage. Shortly after the attack, Rear Admiral
John A. Dahlgren
replaced Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont as commander of the squadron.
After repairs, Weehawken proceeded to Wassaw Sound, Georgia, on 10 June to block the expected sortie of ironclad . The Confederate ram and two escort steamers showed themselves early on the morning of 17 June. Weehawken and weighed anchor to meet Atlanta which ran hard aground only moments after entering the sound. Weehawken commenced firing at 05:15 and ceased a quarter of an hour later when the Confederate vessel surrendered. With only five shots, Rodgers blew the roof off Atlantas pilothouse
and pierced the grounded ram's casemate
, putting two gun crews out of action. Capt. Rodgers became a national hero and received commendations from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
, President
Abraham Lincoln
, and Congress
. He was promoted to commodore and ordered north to command the new ironclad . Both Weehawken and Atlanta returned to Port Royal.
Weehawken resumed operations against Confederate strongholds in and around Charleston harbor. On 10-11 July, Union ironclads , , Nahant, and Weehawken shelled Confederate batteries at Fort Wagner
on Morris Island, South Carolina, to cover an Army
amphibious landing under Brigadier General
Quincy A. Gillmore. Despite additional bombardments on 18 and 24 July, the monitors failed to silence the fort, leaving General Gillmore's troops pinned down on the beach caught between a murderous hail of cross fire. Fort Wagner was finally reduced during a naval bombardment of Forts Gregg
, Sumter
, and Moultrie on 17 August.
Weehawken, Montauk, Nahant, , and now took aim at Fort Sumter, pounding it to rubble during two separate bombardments on 23 August and 1-2 September. Admiral Dahlgren demanded Sumter's surrender on 7 September and ordered Weehawken to deploy in a narrow channel between the fort and Cumming's Point on Morris Island. There, Weehawken grounded, taking concentrated gunfire from Fort Moultrie and Sullivan's and James Island
. The vessel was refloated with the help of tugs on 8 September, and received a "Well done!" from Admiral Dahlgren for outstanding defensive gunnery while aground. Weehawken repaired at Port Royal until 4 October, then returned to Charleston for routine patrol duty in the harbor.
The next two months were uneventful, and Weehawken lay anchored off Morris Island
during a moderate gale early on the morning of 6 December. Suddenly, the ironclad signalled for assistance and appeared to observers ashore to be sinking. Attempts to beach the vessel failed, and she sank bow first five minutes later in 30 ft (9.1 m) of water. A court of inquiry found that Weehawken had recently taken on a considerable amount of heavy ammunition in her forward compartments. This change excessively reduced her forward freeboard, causing water to rush down an open hawse pipe and hatch during the storm. As the bow sank, and the stern rose, water could not flow aft to the pumps and the vessel foundered.
Four officers and 27 enlisted men drowned aboard Weehawken.
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...
in 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...
during 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...
.
Weehawken was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 5 November 1862 at Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
by Zeno Secor & Company; sponsored by Ms. Nellie Cornstock; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 18 January 1863, Captain
Captain (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
John Rodgers may refer to:*John Rodgers , Colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland...
in command.
Weehawken was an improved and enlarged version of . Accompanied by and towed by , she departed New York on 18 January 1863, bound for Port Royal, South Carolina
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...
, and duty with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The three vessels encountered gale force winds and high seas off the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
coast on 20 January. Iroquois and Boardman headed for sheltered waters; but Rodgers pressed on in Weehawken. The Passaic ironclads differed from the original Monitor in having less deck overhang and a rounded lower hull. This enabled Weehawken — unlike her famous prototype — to ride out a heavy sea with relative ease. Rodgers reported that "the behavior of the vessel was easy, buoyant, and indicative of thorough safety." Weehawken put into Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
for minor repairs, leaving on 1 February in tow of screw steamer . She arrived at Port Royal on 5 February, and deployed in the blockade off Charleston, South Carolina
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...
.
On 7 April, Weehawken led the Union fleet in the first major naval assault against Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
installations in Charleston harbor. The attack failed miserably, and the fleet withdrew after only 40 minutes. During the action, Weehawken took 53 hits and had a torpedo (naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
) explode beneath her keel without suffering serious damage. Shortly after the attack, Rear Admiral
Rear 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 :...
John A. Dahlgren
John 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...
replaced Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont as commander of the squadron.
After repairs, Weehawken proceeded to Wassaw Sound, Georgia, on 10 June to block the expected sortie of ironclad . The Confederate ram and two escort steamers showed themselves early on the morning of 17 June. Weehawken and weighed anchor to meet Atlanta which ran hard aground only moments after entering the sound. Weehawken commenced firing at 05:15 and ceased a quarter of an hour later when the Confederate vessel surrendered. With only five shots, Rodgers blew the roof off Atlantas pilothouse
Pilothouse
A pilothouse or pilot-house is a glass-enclosed room from which a ship is controlled by the ship's pilot. The pilothouse also is known as the wheelhouse....
and pierced the grounded ram's casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
, putting two gun crews out of action. Capt. Rodgers became a national hero and received commendations from Secretary of the Navy 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...
, 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....
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 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....
. He was promoted to commodore and ordered north to command the new ironclad . Both Weehawken and Atlanta returned to Port Royal.
Weehawken resumed operations against Confederate strongholds in and around Charleston harbor. On 10-11 July, Union ironclads , , Nahant, and Weehawken shelled Confederate batteries at Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor...
on Morris Island, South Carolina, to cover an Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
amphibious landing under Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Quincy A. Gillmore. Despite additional bombardments on 18 and 24 July, the monitors failed to silence the fort, leaving General Gillmore's troops pinned down on the beach caught between a murderous hail of cross fire. Fort Wagner was finally reduced during a naval bombardment of Forts Gregg
Fort Gregg
Fort Gregg was a Confederate fort located near Petersburg, Virginia.The battle for Fort Gregg occurred on April 2, 1865, in Dinwiddie County near the outskirts of Petersburg.-External links:* at the Historical Markers Database...
, 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 Moultrie on 17 August.
Weehawken, Montauk, Nahant, , and now took aim at Fort Sumter, pounding it to rubble during two separate bombardments on 23 August and 1-2 September. Admiral Dahlgren demanded Sumter's surrender on 7 September and ordered Weehawken to deploy in a narrow channel between the fort and Cumming's Point on Morris Island. There, Weehawken grounded, taking concentrated gunfire from Fort Moultrie and Sullivan's and James Island
James Island (South Carolina)
James Island is one of South Carolina's most urban Sea Islands. The island is separated from peninsular downtown Charleston by the Ashley River, from the mainland by Wappoo Creek and the Wappoo Cut, and from Johns Island by the Stono River...
. The vessel was refloated with the help of tugs on 8 September, and received a "Well done!" from Admiral Dahlgren for outstanding defensive gunnery while aground. Weehawken repaired at Port Royal until 4 October, then returned to Charleston for routine patrol duty in the harbor.
The next two months were uneventful, and Weehawken lay anchored off 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:...
during a moderate gale early on the morning of 6 December. Suddenly, the ironclad signalled for assistance and appeared to observers ashore to be sinking. Attempts to beach the vessel failed, and she sank bow first five minutes later in 30 ft (9.1 m) of water. A court of inquiry found that Weehawken had recently taken on a considerable amount of heavy ammunition in her forward compartments. This change excessively reduced her forward freeboard, causing water to rush down an open hawse pipe and hatch during the storm. As the bow sank, and the stern rose, water could not flow aft to the pumps and the vessel foundered.
Four officers and 27 enlisted men drowned aboard Weehawken.