USS Onondaga

River Monitor [ 1864 ]

The USS Onondaga served throughout the latter half of the American Civil War as part of the James River Flotilla.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/18/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image courtesy of the United States Navy.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

With the outbreak of war between the states in the American Civil War (1861-1865), Union warplanners moved quickly to strengthen their position on inland waterways and commissioned many vessels for the task. USS Onondaga was ordered on May 26th, 1862 for this purpose and was designed as a river monitor - a large river-going warship featuring heavy guns and shallow draughts. Onondaga, described as a double-turreted river monitor, was laid down (by Continental Iron Works) that same year and launched on July 29th, 1863. She was commissioned for service on March 24th, 1864 and survived the whole of the war in service with the North. Decommissioned on June 8th, 1865, she was sold off to France where, rather interestingly, she continued under the same name. Her hulk was sold for scrap in 1904.

As built, USS Onondaga displaced 2,635 tons (short) and held a length of 226 feet with a beam of 51.5 feet and draught of 12.9 feet. Her power came from 4 x boilers feeding 2 x Horizontal back-acting steam engines driving 2 x propellers. The crew complement numbered 130 and armament centered on 2 x 15" Dahlgren smoothbore guns as a primary battery. The secondary battery was made up of 2 x 150-pounder Parrott rifled guns. The ship's profile involved a continuous flat main deck with a forward and afterward turret emplacement straddling a central smoke funnel. Armor protection ranged from 11.75" at the turrets to 5.5" at the waterline and 1" at the deck.

USS Onondaga's notable action of the war was as part of the James River Flotilla, participating in General Grant's march on Richmond, the Confederate capital. From there came a forgettable action against a Confederate river squadron which resulted in Onondaga's commanding officer facing court martial for "neglect of duty" following the decision to move the vessel further downstream. In the months after the war ended, the warship traveled back north where she ultimately faced decommissioning in New York waters.

In French service, she was given 9.4" rifled main guns, these supplanting the existing gun batteries of the original design. She was acquired on March 7th, 1867 and commissioned into the French Navy on June 15th, 1869, operating until the end of the century before being given up.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1864

Origin

United States

Complement

130
PERSONNEL

Class

USS Onondaga

Number-in-Class

1
VESSELS

Ships-in-Class

USS Onondaga

France (post-war, same name); United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

Length

226.0 ft
68.88 m

Beam

51.4 ft
15.67 m

Draught

12.9 ft
3.93 m

Displacement

1,250
tons

Installed Power: 4 x Boilers with 2 x Horizontal back-acting steam engines developing 642 horsepower and driving 2 x propellers.

Surface Speed

7.0 kts
(8.1 mph)

As USS Onondaga:

2 x 15" (381mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns

2 x 150-pdr Parrott rifled guns

French Navy:

2 x 9.4" rifled main guns

Supported Types

Graphical image of a historical warship turreted main gun armament

Graphical image of a cannonball cannon/gun armament

(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)

None.

Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period

Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image courtesy of the United States Navy.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)