The first USS ''Monocacy'' was a sidewheel

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

in 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 ...

. She was named for the

Battle of Monocacy The Battle of Monocacy (also known as Monocacy Junction) was fought on July 9, 1864, about from Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate forces under Lieut ...

. ''Monocacy'' was launched by A. & W. Denmead & Son,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, on 14 December 1864; sponsored by Miss Ellen Denmead; completed late in 1865; and placed in service in 1866. Future

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

Henry Francis Bryan Henry Francis Bryan (May 3, 1865 – March 19, 1944) was a United States Navy Rear Admiral and the governor of American Samoa. He served as governor from March 17, 1925, to September 9, 1927. Bryan was one of only three naval governors of the terri ...

served as her commander for some of her sailing days.

Service history

Assigned to the

Asiatic Squadron The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...

, ''Monocacy'' remained there until 1903, a period of service so long that the light-draft gunboat was given the nickname " Jinricksha of the Navy". After patrol duty through 1867, ''Monocacy'' joined her squadron in representing the U.S. Government at the opening of the ports of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and Hyōgo, Japan, 1 January 1868. In December, she surveyed the Inland Sea between

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

and Osaka to locate appropriate sites for lighthouses, another step in the realization of American commercial trade with isolationist Japan. The gunboat spent most of 1869 and 1870 patrolling off Japan to help check license in the restless years following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

in 1867. After repairs at Shanghai, ''Monocacy'' began charting the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

on 23 March 1871. By April she was underway for Nagasaki, Japan, to participate in a five-ship survey expedition to the Salee River,

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, and, while there, attempt contact with representatives of the Kingdom of Korea. After Korean shore batteries attacked screw tug near

Chemulpo Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, a landing party of 576 sailors and 110 marines stormed a series of forts along the Salee River on 10 June, losing three killed and seven wounded. The expedition retired in July. In September, the gunboat resumed her navigation of the Yangtze before returning to Shanghai 4 February 1872. For the last quarter of the 19th century, ''Monocacy'' cruised along the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China, docking in Japan through the winter months. On 7 October 1884, while at

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, China, Captain of the Afterguard

William H. Belpitt William Henry Belpitt (May 3, 1860 - November 30, 1912) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography Belpitt was born on May 3, 1859, in Ryde, New South Wales, A ...

rescued a Chinese man from drowning, for which he was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. From 23 October until 11 November 1899, the veteran ship carried the U.S. Minister to China as she visited the open ports of the Yangtze River. USS Monocacy

In 1900, ''Monocacy'' became involved in the repercussions of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. On 14 June, she captured seven small craft off Tongku, China. The foreign persecutions ended with the capture of

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

, on 14 August, by the

China Relief Expedition The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted ...

, and ''Monocacy'' docked at Taku Bar, China, where she remained through the razing of the

Taku forts The Taku Forts or Dagukou Forts (大沽口炮台), also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban ...

in accordance with the formal settlement signed in September 1901. On 22 June 1903 ''Monocacy'' was struck from the Navy list and sold to Hashimoto and Son, Nagasaki, Japan.

References

External links

Views of USS Monocacy from US Navy Historical Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monocacy (1864) Mohongo-class gunboats Boxer Rebellion naval ships of the United States 1864 ships