USS Saugus
Civil War Union Naval Monitor

USS Saugus (1864-1891).
Briefly renamed Centaur in 1869

USS Saugus , a 2100-ton Canonicus class monitor, was built at Wilmington, Delaware. Commissioned in April 1864, she served in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War's final year, primarily in the James River region. The ship engaged Confederate batteries and ironclads in Trent's Reach, on the James, on 21 June 1864 and fired on the enemy on other occasions during the next several months.

In late December, she went to sea to participate in the abortive attempt to capture Fort Fisher, on the North Carolina coast. A few weeks later, Saugus returned for the bombardment and amphibious operation that took that vital strong point on 15 January 1865, thus closing the port of Wilmington to blockade runners. After a few months' further duty on the James, she went to the Washington Navy Yard, D.C., in early April and was temporarily used there as a prison for suspected conspirators in the murder of President Abraham Lincoln.

Saugus was out of commission at the Washington Navy Yard between June 1865 and April 1869

In Trent's Reach on the James River, Virginia, circa early 1865.
Note the mine sweeping "rake" attached to her bow.

Federal ironclads in Trent's Reach, James River, Virginia
Photographed circa early 1865.
Nearest ship is USS Saugus , with a mine sweeping "torpedo rake" attached to her bow. Next monitor astern is probably USS Sangamon . Visible just to the right of her is either USS Mahopac or USS Canonicus . Last two ships are USS Atlanta and USS 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

Kindle Available
Naval Strategies

Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
Compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Mallory, against his rival in the North, Welles. Mallory used technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers




Kindle Available
Reign of Iron

Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack
The first ironclad ships to fight each other, the Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimack), were the unique products of American design genius

Kindle Available
Hunley the Confederacy Secrect Hope

The H. L. Hunley
The Secret Hope of the Confederacy

On the evening of February 17, 1864, the Confederacy  H. L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic and became the first submarine in world history to sink an enemy ship. Not until World War I "half a century later” would a submarine again accomplish such a feat. But also perishing that moonlit night, vanishing beneath the cold Atlantic waters off Charleston, South Carolina, was the Hunley and her entire crew of eight


Officers pose on deck, in front of the gun turret, probably while the ship was serving on the James River, Virginia, in early 1865.

Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia
Four monitors laid up in the Anacostia River, off the Washington Navy Yard, circa 1866.
Ships are (from left to right): USS Mahopac , USS Saugus , USS Montauk (probably); and either USS Casco or USS Chimo .



Civil War Replica Musket
Civil War Musket
Wood & Steel Frontier Rifle Designed After The Original Rifle





Civil War soldier toys 102 pieces
Civil War Soldier 102 Piece Playset
 
  • 25 Union and 25 Confederate Soldier Figures, 18 Horses, 10 Cannon
  • 2 Covered Wagons, 2 Tents, 2 Canoes, 2 Flags, 16 Fences
  • Size: Figures Stand up to 2-1/8 inches tall
  • Scale: 1/32nd, Wagons and Horses slightly smaller
 

Civil War Ships and Battles


Civil War Submarines

RAM Ships

Civil War Naval Timeline

American Civil War Exhibits

State Battle Maps

Civil War Summary

Civil War Timeline

Women in the Civil War

Battles by Campaign
Confederate Kepi
Civil War Confederate
Suede Grey Kepi Hat





Civil War Revolver Pistol
Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol


American Civil War Naval Book Titles
Hatteras Island
The Civil War on Hatteras Island North Carolina
New light on the experiences of Civil War soldiers stationed on the Outer Banks. It follows the crucial maritime battles along the Outer Banks and the famous Burnsides Expedition. Aa fascinating history of how one of America's most treasured islands played a significant part in the Civil War
Kindle Available
Raising the Hunley

Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine
For more than a century the fate of the Hunley remained one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Civil War. Then, on August 8, 2000, with thousands of spectators crowding Charleston Harbor, the Hunley was raised from the bottom of the sea and towed ashore.
The Story of the CSS Hunley
The Story of the H.L. Hunley
During the Civil War, Union forces blockade the port of Charleston so the Confederate army seeks a way to attrack the Yankee Ships. George Dixon is part of the group of men given the task of creating and building the "fish boat," a submarine. The H.L. Hunley ultimately sets out on its mission to sink Yankee ships, but fails to return, its whereabouts unknown.
Kindle Available
Wolf of the Deep

Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama
In July 1862, the Confederate captain Raphael Semmes received orders to report to Liverpool, where he would take command of a secret new British-built steam warship. His mission: to prey on Union commercial vessels and undermine the North's ability to continue the war

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles
Halls of Honor
Halls of Honor
The U.S. Navy Museum takes you on an informed and entertaining romp through one of North America s oldest and finest military museums. The museum has been in continuous operation at the Washington Navy Yard since the American Civil War
Raise the Alabama
Raise The Alabama
She was known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France
Blue and Grey
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries

The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue vs Grey
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union



American Military Gear Recruiter and History
United States Marines gear history and support of Semper Fi Fund

 

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
US Naval Archives


Search
AmericanCivilWar.com
 
Enter the keywords you are looking for and the site will be searched and all occurrences of your request will be displayed. You can also enter a date format, April 19,1862 or September 1864.
Books
Civil War
Womens Subjects
Young Readers
Military History

DVDs
Confederate Store
Civil War Games
Music CDs
Reenactors