Incredibly sharp photo of the U.S. monitor "Canonicus" at Hampton Roads, Virginia, when she was shown at the Naval Review during the Jamestown Exposition in 1907. The lead ship of her class, "Canonicus" and her sisters were improved "Passaics", and had better protection and higher speed than their predecessors. 224 feet long and displacing 2,100 tons, the "Canonicus" was armed with two 15" Dahlgren smoothbores and protected by iron armor up to 10" thick.
She was commissioned on April 16, 1864, and saw considerable action during the final stages of the Civil War. In 1864 she served with the James River Flotilla, and was engaged with Confederate vessels and shore batteries at Trent's Reach, Dutch Gap, and Howlett's Farm. She then joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in December of that year, and participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina (Dec. 24-25, 1864, and Jan. 13-15, 1865).
Fort Fisher was the largest fortification on the North American continent, and "Canonicus", along with her sister ships, the "Saugus" and the "Mahopac", as well as the large double-turret monitor "Monadnock" and the massive broadside ironclad, the "New Ironsides", provided heavy fire support at close range.
The commander of the "Canonicus", Lieutenant-Commander George E. Belknap, gave a stirring description of the second attack in his post-battle report: "...during the actions of the 13th, 14th, and 15th instant, which resulted in the capture of Fort Fisher, this ship engaged that work at a distance of seven hundred (700) yards, perhaps a little closer on the 15th, as the smoothness of the sea enabled me to go into shoaler water than on the preceding days, having at one time only a foot and a half of water to spare under our keel.
...On the first day of the attack, the 13th, the enemy replied vigorously to our fire until late in the afternoon... They soon obtained our range and struck the ship frequently, while many shots fell close alongside. Upon one occasion, two shots out of three, fired simultaneously, struck the side-armor abreast the turret.
We count thirty-six (36) hits this day, and everything about the deck not shot-proof was badly cut up. Two men were knocked down and stunned at the guns by the impact of a 10-inch gun-shot upon the turret. The flag was shot away twice and gallantly replaced by Quartermaster Daniel D. Stevens [who was afterwards awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery under fire --DM].
Not content with solid shot, the enemy fired shells occasionally, to burst over the turret, and now and then the bullet of a sharp-shooter whistled over us.
On the second and third days the fire of the enemy was comparatively feeble... At this time we also received a 10-inch shot on the side-armor, fired from the water battery on the right of the sea-face of the fort.
Our fire was slow and deliberate, and every effort was made to dismount the enemy's guns, and though almost hidden by traverses, I am happy to say we succeeded in dismounting two of them. Acting Ensign M.W. Weld knocked over a six-inch rifle on the second day, and the executive officer, Lieutenant R.S. McCook, disposed of a 10-inch columbiad on the third day of the action."
After the War, the "Canonicus" patrolled the Atlantic coast from 1872 to 1877, and was then decommissioned. She remained in the Navy's inventory until the Jamestown Exposition in 1907, and it's interesting to note that she was even caught on moving film at this event, by Thomas Edison. Unfortunately, the "Canonicus"--the very last survivor of the Civil War-era monitors--was sold for scrap the following year.
via US Naval History Buffs FB group
