This was the Canonicus-class monitor built by Miles Greenwood in Cincinnati, Ohio. Like the two from Alexander Swift, it was launched too late to take part in the war. It was constructed at the shipyard of John Litherburg. It was laid down in 1862, launched December 1864 and commissioned April 16, 1865.
It was originally called the USS Tippecanoe, but had the name changed to Wyandotte after a naval ship by that name was decommissioned and sold into the merchant service in 1865.
The Wyandotte was 223 feet long, had a 43.4 foot beam and mounted two 15-inch Dahklgren smoothbore cannons in the turret.
After commissioning, it was sent to New Orleans where the name was changed from Tippecanoe to Vesuvius in 1869 and later to the Wyandotte that same year.
From 1870-1872, it was laid up in Key West and the Philadelphia naval Yard. The next two years it underwent extensive repairs and was recommissioned in 1876, serving in the North Atlantic Squadron.
More to Come. --Old B-R
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
