A very interesting story I was not familiar with in Nilda Rego's days Gone By column in the January 3, 2010, Contra Costa (Ca) Times. It concerns a Union monitor that was built in New Jersey, shipped to San Francisco in pieces and sunk in the ship carrying it.
I also messed up on the spelling of the USS Camanche, spelling it like the Indian tribe, Comanche, and not finding anything in the searches as a result.
On November 3, 1863, the people of San Francisco were overjoyed as the ship Aguila entered the bay carrying the pieces of the second-generation monitor USS Camanche in its hold, the first ironclad on the Pacific Coast.
Always fearing an attack by Confederate raiders or privateers, the citizens had constantly petitioned Washington, DC, for one. Now it was here. Instead of the two 12-inch guns on the USS Monitor, the Passaic-class Camanche mounted two 15-inch cannons.
It had been built in New Jersey, dismantles, and on May 30, 1863, had begun its five and a half month voyage to California.
Six days after arrival, a severe gale blew in and sank the Aguila, with the Camanche still in its hold.
And the Story Continues. --Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment