USS Tonawanda (1864)

The USS "Tonawanda" - a double-turreted coastal monitor built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard - was launched on 6 May 1864; and commissioned on 12 October 1865, Commander William Ronckendorff in command.

The "Tonawanda" was designed by Chief of Naval Engineering John Lenthall. Lenthall actually designed four monitors at that time. The "Monadnock" and the "Agamenticus" were the first and are considered the two "Monadnock"-class vessels. Lenthall altered the designs of the next two, the "Miantonomoh" and the "Tonawanda" and dubbed them the "Miantonomoh"-class. Because of the similarities between the two classes they are sometimes referred to collectively as the "Miantonomoh"-class.

The "Tonawanda" used powerful steam engines designed by Chief of Steam Engineering, Benjamin F. Isherwood. Her hull design was also much more streamlined than monitors designed by John Ericsson. Unfortunately, her internal frames were only 4.5 in oak and like Lenthall's "Roanoke" conversion, the weight of her turrets weakened the structural integrity of the hull and she was prone to rotting and cracking.

Completed too late for service in the Civil War, "Tonawanda" was decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard on 22 December 1865. Reactivated on 23 October 1866 for duty as a training ship at the United States Naval Academy, she was serving in that capacity when she was renamed "Amphitrite" on 15 June 1869. Her assignment at Annapolis, MD ended in 1872, and she was taken to the Delaware River and broken up in 1873 and 1874 by the Harlan and Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington, DE under the guise of being "rebuilt" into a modern monitor. The completely new monitor that replaced her was also named "Amphitrite", but shared nothing but the name with the older ship.

See also

*See USS "Amphitrite" for other ships of this name.

References

*"This article contains text from the US Naval Historical Center."
*DANFS
*"Additional technical data from" cite book
last = Gardiner
first = Robert
coauthors =
title = Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905
publisher = Conway Maritime Press
date = 1979
pages = p. 121
month =
isbn = 0 85177 133 5

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t6/tonawanda-i.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Tonawanda"]