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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

USS ONONDAGA

Info courtesy of hazegray.org.
Onondaga Class Monitor: Displacement: 2,551 tons. Dimensions: 228.5 x 51 x 13 feet/69.67 x 15.6 x 3.91 meters. Propulsion: HRC engines, 4 boilers, 420 hp, 2 shafts, 7 knots. Crew: 150. Armor: Iron: 5.5 inch sides, 1 inch deck, 11 inch turrets. Armament: 2 dual turrets, each with 1x15 inch Dahlgren smoothbore, 1x8 inch Parrot MLR.

Concept/Program: A larger purpose-built monitor, essentially the equivalent of two Passaic class ships. In service she saw only riverine duties, but was intended for coastwise duties as well.
Design: Designed by Quintard. Had a conventional iron hull with 14" freeboard. Turrets were essentially identical to those of the Passaic class.

Operational and Building Data: Onondaga was contracted to George Quintard; construction subcontracted to Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, NY. Contracted 26 May 1862, launched 29 July 1863, commissioned 4 March 1864. Saw extensive service along the James River, supporting Army operations. Decommissioned to reserve 8 June 1865.
Fate: Sold to her builder 12 July 1867, and was then resold to France under the same name. Was rearmed by the French with four 9.4 inch rifles; remained in service through 1903, stricken 1904, and subsequently scrapped.
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ONONDAGA 65k Plan view of the Onondaga. USN photo courtesy of"Monitors of the U.S. Navy, 1861-1937", pg 19, by Lt. Richard H. Webber, USNR-R. (LOC) Library of Congress, Catalog Card No. 77-603596.
ONONDAGA 145k Deep Bottom, Va., vicinity. Transport Linda of Philadelphia and a monitor, possibly the Onondaga on the James River, 1864. LOC photo LC-DIG-cwpb-01767, courtesy of lcweb2.loc.gov.
ONONDAGA 80k Onondaga at anchor on the James River, Virginia, during the Civil War, circa 1864-65. Photographed by Brady and Company. The original glass plate negative is in the Brady Collection, U.S. National Archives. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 63173.
ONONDAGA 128k Onondaga on the James River, Virginia, circa 1864-1865. Photo mounted on a stereograph card. This photograph has been somewhat retouched, most notably to emphasize the flag. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 43067.
ONONDAGA 105k Onondaga anchored off Aikens Landing in the James River, Virginia, in 1864-1865. Note the barges at the wharf in the foreground. Aikens Landing, near Dutch Gap, was the site of prisoner of war exchanges. Photo mounted on a stereograph card, published by E. & H.T. Anthony & Company, New York. Photo from National Archives & Record Administration (NARA), Record Group 19-N, Box 33. Courtesy of Dan Treadwell.
Text from U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 100989.
ONONDAGA 409k Onondaga on the James River, Virginia, in 1864-65. Note the pulling boat at her stern, with oars manned. Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization. Photo # HD-SN-99-01857 courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil, Defense Visual Information Center.
Text from U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 111-B-40.
ONONDAGA 92k Onondaga in the James River, Virginia, 1864-1865. Note the rowboat in the foreground, manned by Union Soldiers, and the obstructions across the river in the right distance. Photograph taken by Brady & Company. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 60210.
ONONDAGA 71k Colored lithograph of the Onondaga by Parsons, published by Endicott & Company, New York, circa 1865. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 51902-KN.
SANGAMON 91k Federal ironclads in the James River, Virginia photographed circa early 1865, probably in Trent's Reach. Ships are (from left to right): Saugus, Sangamon (probably), Atlanta and Onondaga. Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization. Photograph from the Collections of the U.S. National Archives. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 111-B-1961.
ONONDAGA 120k Federal ironclads in Trent's Reach, James River, Virginia photographed circa early 1865. Nearest ship is Saugus, with a mine sweeping "torpedo rake" attached to her bow. Next monitor astern is probably Sangamon. Visible just to the right of her is either Mahopac or Canonicus. Last two ships are Atlanta and Onondaga. Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization. Note the log boom across the river in the foreground and the signal tower atop the hill in the right distance. Photograph from the Collections of the U.S. National Archives. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 111-B-80.
ONONDAGA 59k Sepia wash drawing of the Onondaga by R.G. Skerrett, 1899. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57816.
ONONDAGA 52k Watercolor of the Onondaga by Oscar Parkes. Courtesy of Dr. Oscar Parkes, London, England, 1936. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 59545.
ONONDAGA 66k Engraving of the Onondaga published in "Harper's Weekly", 3 February 1866 as part of a larger print entitled "The Iron-clad Navy of the United States. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 61428.
ONONDAGA 58k Onondaga at Brest, France, circa the later 1860s or the 1870s. She was originally the Onondaga, commissioned in 1864 and sold to France in 1867. Courtesy of William H. Davis. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 60211.
(NISMF)376kA guest studies a painting depicting the history of battleships. The artwork was painted by George Skybeck and presented to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association during their annual banquet at Honolulu, Hawaii, on 8 Dec 1991. USN photo # DN-SC-92-05391, by PHC Carolyn Harris, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Not Applicable To This Ship
Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Battleship Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Monitor National Marine Santuary, NOAA.
Tour the Wreck of the Monitor.
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