USS ''Catskill'' was a monitor built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. She continued to serve the Navy after the war's end until decommissioned in 1898 after the end of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

Service history

Civil War

USS ''Catskill''—a single-

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

—was launched on December 16, 1862, by

Continental Iron Works The Continental Iron Works was an American shipbuilding and engineering company founded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 1861 by Thomas F. Rowland. It is best known for building a number of Monitor (warship), monitor warships for the United States Na ...

Greenpoint, New York Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn–Queens E ...

; outfitted at

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

; commissioned on February 24, 1863,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

George Washington Rodgers Commander George Washington Rodgers II (October 30, 1822 – August 17, 1863) was an officer of the United States Navy. Biography Rodgers was born in Brooklyn, the son of Captain George Washington Rodgers (1787–1832) and Anna Maria Perry. His ...

in command; and reported to the

South Atlantic Blockading Squadron The Atlantic Blockading Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to enforce the Union blockade of the ports of the Confederate States. It was formed in 1861 and split up the same year for th ...

. ''Catskill'' reported for duty at

Port Royal, South Carolina Port Royal is a town on Port Royal Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,220 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area. Port Royal is home to Marine Corps R ...

on March 5, 1863, and for the remainder of the war operated off

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. ''Catskill'' was damaged by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

gunfire during the 7 April attack on

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

that demonstrated both the strengths of well-defended fortifications and the limitations of monitor-type

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

s. That began the lengthy series of operations against the strongly fortified and stoutly defended harbor. From July–September 1863, ''Catskill'' repeatedly took part in attacks on the batteries and forts protecting Charleston from the sea. Rodgers was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

on 17 August, while directing the fire of his ship against Charleston's forts. The ship was hit by Confederate gunfire on several occasions, but skillful work by her crew—now under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edward Barrett—returned her to action without returning for repairs. ''Catskill'' destroyed the grounded

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

''Prince Albert'' off

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of Cabbage Pal ...

on August 9, 1864. When Charleston was evacuated on 18 February 1865, she boarded and took possession of the grounded blockade runner, ''Deer'', and later in that day raised the flag over another grounded steamer, ''Celt''.

Later career

Relieved from duty, ''Catskill'' cleared Charleston on July 13, and sailed to the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

, where she was decommissioned on 26 July. Here she remained

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household and public officials more generally, it indicates that a position is a permanent one (in contrast to positions that are extraordinary). In naval matt ...

until 1873. During that time, she was briefly renamed ''Goliath'' (June 15 – August 10, 1869). Repaired at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

during 1874 and 1875, ''Catskill'' joined the

North Atlantic Squadron The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the No ...

, with whom she cruised along the northeast coast from March 4, 1876 – November 5, 1877. From 1878 to 1895, ''Catskill'' was in ordinary at various anchorages in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and from 1895 to 1898 in ordinary at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's League Island Navy Yard. Upon the outbreak of the

, ''Catskill'' was recommissioned for patrol duty in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

waters. This lasted from April 16 – September 22, 1898, after which ''Catskill'' returned to League Island until sold on 4 December 1901.

References

* * This article contains text from the US Naval Historical Center. * * * Additional technical data from

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Catskill''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catskill (1862) Passaic-class monitors Ships built in Greenport, New York 1862 ships Ships of the Union Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States American Civil War monitors of the United States Spanish–American War monitors of the United States USS Catskill