USS Catskill (1862)
| USS Catskill USS Catskill in 1898 while on coastal defense duty during the Spanish-American War. | |
| Career | United States Navy Jack |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Catskill |
| Builder: | Continental Iron Works |
| Laid down: | 1862 |
| Launched: | 16 December 1862 |
| Commissioned: | 24 February 1863 |
| Decommissioned: | 22 September 1898 |
| Renamed: |
USS Goliath, 15 June 1869 USS Catskill, 10 August 1869 |
| Fate: | sold, 4 December 1901 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Passaic-class ironclad monitor |
| Displacement: | 1,335 long tons (1,356 t) |
| Length: | 200 ft (61 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
| Installed power: | 320 ihp (240 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
1 × Ericsson vibrating lever engine 2 × Martin boilers 1 × shaft |
| Speed: | 7 kn (8.1 mph; 13 km/h) |
| Complement: | 87 |
| Armament: | 1 × 15 in (380 mm) smoothbore gun, 1 × 11 in (280 mm) Dahlgren gun, 2 × 12-pounder Dahlgren deck howitzers (picket duty only) |
| Armor: |
|
| Notes: | Armor is iron. |
USS Catskill (1862) was a monitor that served the United States Navy during the American Civil War in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. She continued to serve the Navy after the war’s end until decommissioned in 1898 after the completion of the Spanish-American War.
Contents
Built in Greenpoint, New York, in 1862
USS Catskill — a single-turreted Passaic-class monitor — was launched on 16 December 1862 by Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; commissioned on 24 February 1863, Commander George Washington Rodgers in command; and reported to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Civil War Operations
Assigned to the South Atlantic blockade
Catskill reported for duty at Port Royal, S.C. on 5 March 1863, and for the remainder of the war operated intensively on the blockade off Charleston, S.C.. Catskill was damaged by Confederate gunfire during the 7 April attack on Fort Sumter that demonstrated both the strengths of well-defended fortifications and the limitations of monitor-type ironclads. That began the lengthy series of operations against the strongly-fortified and stoutly-defended harbor.
From July–September 1863, Catskill repeatedly took part in attacks on the batteries and forts protecting Charleston from the sea. She also cruised on picket duty, guarding other ships of the squadron from the determined and ingenious attacks launched against them, and patrolling constantly against blockade runners.
Commanding officer killed in action
Catskill's commanding officer, Cdr. Rodgers, was killed in action on 17 August, while directing the fire of his ship against Charleston's forts. The ship was hit by Confederate gunfire on several occasions, but skillful work by her crew — now under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edward Barrett — returned her to action without returning for repairs.
Catskill destroyed the grounded blockade runner Prince Albert off Fort Moultrie on 9 August 1864. When Charleston was evacuated on 18 February 1865, she boarded and took possession of the grounded blockade runner, Deer, and later in that day raised the flag over another grounded steamer, Celt.
Post-Civil War service
Relieved from duty, Catskill cleared Charleston on 13 July, and sailed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she was decommissioned on 26 July. Here she remained in ordinary until 1873. During that time, she was briefly renamed Goliath (15 June–10 August 1869). Repaired at New York during 1874 and 1875, Catskill joined the North Atlantic Squadron, with whom she cruised along the northeast coast from 4 March 1876-5 November 1877. From 1878-1895, Catskill was in ordinary at various anchorages in Virginia, and from 1895-1898 in ordinary at Philadelphia's League Island Navy Yard.
Spanish-American War service
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Catskill was one of the craft recommissioned for patrol duty in New England waters, thus releasing more modern ships for active fighting. This period of commission lasted from 16 April-22 September 1898, after which Catskill returned to League Island until sold on 4 December 1901.
References
- This article contains text from the US Naval Historical Center.
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- Additional technical data from Gardiner, Robert (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press. p. 120. ISBN 0 85177 133 5.
External links
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- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Passaic class monitors of the United States Navy
- Ships built in New York
- 1862 ships
- Ships of the Union Navy
- American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States
- American Civil War monitors of the United States
- Spanish–American War monitors of the United States
- Catskills
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