The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

USS Nantucket

The USS Nantucket was a 1,875-ton Passaic-class coastal monitor built in Boston and commissioned February 26, 1863. It was 200 feet long, 46 feet wide, manned by a crew of 75 and a top speed of 7 knots. The single turret mounted one 15-inch and one 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannons.

It served in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. On April 7, 1863, it participated in the attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and sustained 51 hits. The Nantucket also participated in other operations around Charleston.

After the war, the Nantucket was in ordinary reserve for ten years and then was briefly recommissioned in 1882 and 1884 when it patrolled the northeast coast of New York and then was sent to New York and reserve again.

In 1895, it was transferred to the North Carolina Naval Militia. It was recommissioned for the Spanish-American War and stationed in Port Royal, SC, and sold for scrapping in 1900.

The Story of a Monitor. --Old B-Runner

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