While writing yesterday's Charleston Harbor search, I noticed the name of a Union monitor, the USS Weehawken, which sank off Charleston. I'd heard of it somewhere, but realized that not only did I not know it had sunk by Charleston, but I couldn't place it.
So, Wikipedia, here I come.
The USS Weehawken was a Passaic Class Monitor commissioned January 18, 1863 and served almost 11 months before meeting its fate, sinking while at anchor December 6, 1863. It weighed 1,173 tons, was 200 feet long and had a 46 foot beam. Its armament consisted of a 15-inch smooth bore and an 11-inch Dahlgren smooth bore.
It was one of the few Union ironclads to actually engage a Confederate ironclad in battle.
After commissioning, it joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On its way from the north, it encountered a major storm off the New Jersey coast, but rode it out easily thanks to improvements that had been made since the original Monitor. This is especially surprising considering its eventual fate.
More Coming. --Blockade-R
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
