Swan song

Military Images, Jul/Aug 1999 by Harlowe, Jerry

U.S.S. Augusta was one of many vessels purchased by the Navy early in the Civil War to supplement the woefully inadequate United States fleet. The ship was a solid built commercial transport of 1,013 tons which had been in service along the New York to Savannah run prior to service on the blockade. Her wooden hull was pushed through Atlantic waters by her large steam-powered side wheels and a three masted schooner rig. In naval service throughout the war Augusta performed well and with distinction as part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. However, her brief claim to fame did not arrive until the war had been settled and she was called upon to head to Europe as part of the small flotilla transporting Assistant Secretary Fox to the Court of Emperor Alexander II located in Cronstadt, Russia. The CdeV image of Augusta's quarter deck was taken as she lay at anchor. Although the image is not dated, there is a mix of uniforms captured in the image that include the latest uniform regulation of 1866. Augusta's anchorage at Halifax was her next to last stop before proceeding on to St. John's, Newfoundland in preparation for the final leg of the journey to Europe.

When the three ships assembled in St. Johns, the overall command of the squadron was with the captain of Augusta, Commander Alexander Murray. Murray was a native of Pennsylvania and by 1866 was a 31 year veteran of naval service with an excellent record in the recent war of the rebellion. Before Assistant Secretary Fox arrived at St. John's to join the flotilla, Commander Murray "...was the only officer acquainted with the fact that the Miantonomoh was to cross the Atlantic..." In the CdeV image, Commander Murray appears to be the officer standing in front, sixth from left, with his left hand on the hatch. The uniform sleeve clearly shows the five stripes of a Commander, and in the image this person is the only officer with that rank. We could presume to identify the other officers in the photo, based on their apparent rank, but the identifications would not be 100% certain.

The small squadron departed St. John's and headed out into an Atlantic Ocean sprinkled with ice bergs. During the crossing, Assistant Secretary Fox was joined in the adventure by a Captain in the Royal Navy with the delightful name John Bythesea. Secretary Wells was so eager to allow the British and the French to marvel at the monitor, that in an act of supreme confidence Wells allowed this British naval attache to accompany Fox aboard Miantonomoh as she made her way across the Atlantic. Wells wanted the British fully assured there were no tricks employed in crossing the monitor to European waters. Crossing Miantonomoh clearly demonstrated that monitor class warship could go to sea successfully, taking her devastating XV-inch shot and shell for special delivery to any belligerent navy.

Miantonomoh was the only ship in her class. She was 259 feet, 2 inches in length with an extreme beam of 52 feet, 10 inches. She drew a depth of water 14 feet 9 inches and was of 1,225 tons. She had two gun turrets, each 21 feet in diameter. Each turret housed two XV-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns protected by 11 inches of armor. By the standards of the day, Miantonomoh was a monster with an irresistible punch and seemingly impenetrable armor. Not even the British or French had guns of sufficient power available to fight a oneon-one battle with the ironclad American behemoth.