U.S.S. Onondaga (1864)
The Onondaga was a twin-turret monitor ironclad, among the third generation commissioned by the Union -- which went on to order the world's first triple-turret monitor, the USS Roanoke, during the Civil War. The Onondaga was a large armored ship of the first class, packing 8" and 15" artillery, and of robust construction that stood the test of time. Designed by George W. Quintard and built at the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, NY and commissioned on March 24, 1864, she cost the government dearly, but there was a war on. In making this buy the military sought to acquire a formidable blockader and mobile battery, with reliable armor and engines, capable of providing artillery support to Union troops along the James River in the last two years of the war, and the final drive on Richmond. Taken longitudinally, Onondaga's design was somewhat symmetrical, with a layout dominated by the two turrets, similar to the Ericsson-designed Passaic class. Between the turrets sprouted the funnel and a few ventilation and steam pipes. Atop the forward turret sat a cylindrical pilothouse with a conical armored cap. On deck, huge anchor cranes at the bow, boats, and davits (which went away when she was stripped for action). Each turret contained one 15" Dahlgren smoothbore and one 8" Parrot rifle. Named for the Onondaga Nation of upstate New York, one of the Iroquois Confederation, the ship tried to derive fierce fighting spirit from the evocation of the historic native tribe. She is seen above anchored on the James in mid-1865, before being recalled for decommissioning in the mass demobilization that followed war's end.
Plans and Specifications
Specifications for the Onondaga:
Dimensions: 228' x 52'9" x 12'10" Displacement: 2,551 tons. Armament: (2) 15" Dahlgren SB; (2) 8" 150-pdr Parrot RML in 2 turrets. (Four 9.4" MLR in French service.) Armor: Wrought-iron type. Turrets 11.75", hull 5.5", decks 1", conning tower 11.75". Freeboard: 14". Propulsion: 4 coal-fired boilers, (2) horizontal return connecting rod engines developing 640 ihp, shafted to twin screw. Top speed: 7 kts. Crew: 150.
Metric specifications:
Dimensions: 69.67 x 15.6 x 3.91 m Displacement: 2,551 tons. Armament: (2) 381 mm Dahlgren SB; (2) 203 mm 150-pdr Parrot RML in 2 turrets. (Four 24 cm MLR in French service.) Armor: Wrought-iron type. Turrets 30 cm, hull 14 cm, decks 25 mm, conning tower 30 cm. Freeboard: 356 mm. Propulsion: 4 coal-fired boilers, (2) horizontal return connecting rod engines developing 477 kW, shafted to twin screw. Top speed: 13 km/hr. Crew: 150.
A beautiful chromolithograph illustrating the Onondaga at sea. Enlarge
James River Service
Currier & Ives and many another graphics firm profited from the cult of the invincible ironclad. Despite the romantic portrayal above, showing the burly ironclad breasting the deep-water billows, Onondaga spent her entire American war career as a river rat on the James. When she first arrived for duty, the Onondaga was assigned responsibility for a stretch of the river and remained there her entire wartime hitch; and there it was that she faced her peril. In late 1864, most of her mates in the James Flotilla were called away to assist in the assault on Fort Fisher, leaving the Onondaga and a couple of unarmored gunboats in charge of the long sector leading to Richmond. As soon as this weakness became known, the Confederate James River Squadron under the command of Comm. John K. Mitchell prepared to sortie from its base at Drewry's Bluff, 8 miles below Richmond. The Squadron consisted of three formidable casemate ironclads -- the 196' Virginia II, the 172' Richmond, and the 188' Fredericksburg -- plus five gunboats and tinclads. On January 23, 1865 the Squadron stood down the James to test Onondaga's mettle. The monitor initially withdrew downstream to a stretch of river that afforded better maneuverability and waited for the Confederates to get tangled up in Trent's Reach, as they had back in September 1864; or not, as fate would have it. In the event, the Confederates suffered three of their biggest vessels running aground on obstacles planted in the waters of the Reach.
Then Onondaga and her gunboats descended on the hapless Confederates and blasted them. Connecticut gunners on shore zeroed in on the stranded ships, sinking the torpedo boat Scorpion and exploding the tin-clad gunboat Drewry as she struggled to free the Richmond. The remaining Confederate vessels were refloated and withdrawn upriver the following day, a feat of some courage since they were under fire from Union batteries the whole time. So ended the Battle of Trent's Reach. While the main Confederate vessels retired to base without critical damage, their attack had failed to break through past Onondaga or cause her material damage. Though indecisive, on balance the action was more favorable to the Union than not. The Confederate commander was ousted and replaced with newly-returned war hero Raphael Semmes, fresh from the sinking of the Alabama. At any rate, the Confederates never came downriver again; their ironclads were all burnt to prevent capture as the Yanks stormed into Richmond later that spring.
Sale to France
A world-class ironclad like the Onondaga might be a fearsome weapon in wartime, but an expensive luxury in time of peace. In 1867, the U.S. Treasury had only begun to pay the bill on the Onondaga although she had been mothballed for almost two years. In lieu of the remaining debt, the Congress worked out a complicated deal, one very advantageous to the ship's builder. In exchange for remuneration of the payments already made, the Navy returned the vessel to G.W. Quintard, who in turn sold it to Napoléon III of France at a considerable markup. In 1868 Onondaga crossed the Atlantic under her own power to join her new outfit. She was to cruise under the French Tricolor for another 30 years and more. The French appreciated the great craftsmanship in the construction of the ship, but lost no time in rearming her with 9.4" rifles, then the standard in the French service.
FS Onondaga at Brest, late 1860s. With her smartly rigged conical awnings, fancy ironwork, and upright-boiler-like funnel, Onondaga resembles a Jules Verne contraption, particularly striking in snazzy black paint. In this scene at the gravel quarry, a barge and a brig are tied up behind our faithful ironclad. Her new 9.4" guns are plain to see, especially in the aft (right-hand) turret. Onondaga retained her American name while serving as a French coast defense vessel. She was struck in 1903 and finally broken up around 1904.
