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USS CANONICUS

Canonicus Class Monitor: Displacement: 1,034 tons. Dimensions: 225 x 43.8 x 13.6 feet. Propulsion: Ericsson VL engines, 2 boilers, 320 hp, 1 shaft, 7 knots. Crew: 85. Armor: Iron: 3-5 inch sides, 1 inch deck, 11 inch turret. Armament: 1 dual turret with 2x15 inch Dahlgren smoothbore.

Operational and Building Data: The first Canonicus, a single-turret monitor, was launched 1 August 1863 by Harrison Loring, Boston, Mass., and commissioned 16 April 1864 at Boston. Decommissioned to reserve 30 June 1865. Renamed Scylla, 15 June 1869, then Canonicus, 10 August 1869. May have been overhauled during 1869-1872. Recommissioned 22 January 1872 and operated with the fleet, but was frequently placed out of commission for short periods. Decommissioned to reserve 1877. Retained in reserve for use as a display at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition; was cleaned up, towed to the Exposition and placed on display, but was not recommissioned or made operable.
Fate:. Sold 19 February 1908.
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CANONICUS 83k Canonicus with a schooner alongside, probably in the James River area, Virginia, in 1864-65. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 55200.
CANONICUS 72k Canonicus with awinings rigged and a schooner alongside, probably in the James River area, Virginia, in 1864-65. She appears to be taking on coal from the schooner. The tug Zeta (1864-65) is in the foreground. Text info courtesy of sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov. & USNHC. Original photo from the LOC # LC-B811- 2469[P&P]. Forms part of Brady Civil War Photograph Collection (Library of Congress).U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 55199.
CANONICUS 61k LCDR. George Eugene Belknap was the commanding officer of the ironclad Canonicus during the expeditions against Fort Fisher, North Carolina. The first attack was between 24 thru 27 December 1864. The navy and army units were unsuccessful in this first expedition. The second attack between 13 - 15 January 1865 succeeded in the capture of the fort located on Federal Point. More than 35 sailors and Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroism in this action. To read a detailed account of the campaigns check out the text from "The Guidebook to the Navy in the Civil War". Library of Congress photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
CANONICUS 81k Fort Fisher operation, December 1864 -- January 1865. Lithograph by Endicott & Company, New York, circa 1865, entitled "Monitor Iron-Clads and the New Ironsides, Forming part of the Fleet of Rear Admiral D.D. Porter, U.S.N. riding out a Gale of Wind, at Anchor off Fort Fisher, Coast of North Carolina, December 21, 1864." The print is dedicated by the publisher to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox. Monitors in the foreground and middle distance are (from left to right) Monadnock (twin-turret), Canonicus, Mahopac and Saugus. Ships in the distance (from left to left-center) are: Brooklyn, New Ironsides, Juniata, Tacony and Malvern. Collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 1936. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 42241.
CANONICUS 69k Fort Fisher operation, December 1864 -- January 1865. 19th-Century painting, by an unidentified artist, depicting U.S. Navy ironclads bombarding Fort Fisher during one of the two assaults that ended in its capture. Twin-turret monitor in the center foreground is Monadnock. Large broadside ironclad beyond is New Ironsides. The three single-turret monitors are Canonicus, Mahopac and Saugus. Presented by Albert Rosenthal, January 1935. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 42240.
CANONICUS 142k "For the Third Time the Flag was Replaced", Artwork by Bacon, published in "Deeds of Valor", Volume II, page 79, by the Perrien-Keydel Company, Detroit, Michigan, 1907. It depicts Quartermaster Daniel Dickinson Stevens replacing the National Colors on board Canonicus, while under heavy enemy fire during the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in January 1865. He received the Medal of Honor for his heroism on this occasion. Presented by Albert Rosenthal, January 1935. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 79935.
SANGAMON
sangamon1b		 780k 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 via Robert Canchola.
Benham 133k Commander Andrew Ellicott Kennedy Benham commanded the Canonicus in the early 1870’s. Photo from the Library of Congress via Bill Gonyo.
Monitors 607k Monitors in ordinary at League Island Navy Yard: Nahant, Lehigh, Canonicus, Manhattan, Jason [ex-Sangamon],Catskill, Montauk, Mahopac & Ajax circa 1890 - 1901, but most likely taken in 1898. Insert Image and text provided by University of California, Riverside.
Photo courtesy of The Herald. (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 22 April 1898, Image 10, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Photo LC-D401-21287 courtesy of loc.gov.
Monitors677kOUR NAVY AS IT IS TODAY
1. Monadnock (BM-3) . 2. Petrel. 3. Puritan (BM-1) . 4. Concord. 5. Wilmington. 6. Amphitrite (BM-2) . 7. Ajax. 8. Machias. 9. Cincinnati. 10. Marblehead. 1 1. Montgomery. 12. Minneapolis. 13. Kearsarge (BB-5). 14. Kentucky (BB-6). 15. Bancroft. 16. Dolphin. 17. Vesuvius. 18. Raleigh. 19. Indiana (BB-1). 20. Iowa (BB-4). 21. Olympia. 22. Terror (M-4). 23. Catskill . 24. Miantonomah (BM-5). 25. Gustine. 26. Yorktown. 27. Texas. 28. Helena. 29. Massachusetts (BB-2). 30. Columbia. 31. New Orleans, 32. San Francisco. 33. Canonicus . 34. Camanche . 35. Monterey (BM-6). 36. Brooklyn. 37. Detroit 38. Atlanta. 39. Alabama (BB-8). 40. Albany. 41. Baltimore. 42. Chicago. 43. Newark, 44. Boston. 45. Charleston. 46. Oregon (BB-3). 47. New York. 48. Manhattan. 49. Philadelphia. 50. Lehigh. And Torpedo Boats. Drawn by "W. A. Verhas.		Image and text provided by University of Tennessee.
Photo by The Maryville Times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 28 May 1898, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
NAHANT 288k Nahant, Lehigh, Canonicus, Manhattan, Jason [ex-Sangamon],Catskill, Montauk & Mahopac lay tied up in rusting retirement, circa 1900. Photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp.
JunkNROLD TIME MONITORS TO BE SOLD AS JUNK.
THE MONITOR MONTAUK
The last of the old time war monitors, five in number, have been condemned by a naval board of survey and the Navy Department will shortly sell them to the highest bidders. The vessels are the Canonicus, Jason [ex-Sangamon], Lehigh, Montauk and Nahant. They are at the League Island Navy Yard. They will probably be bought by junk dealers and broken up for the iron contained in them.		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo courtesy of The Washington Times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 19 October 1902, Image 7, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
CANONICUS 46k Canonicus in Hampton Roads, Virginia, circa 12 June 1907. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 55202.
CANONICUS 63k Canonicus in Hampton Roads, Virginia, 12 June 1907. Note the three-masted schooner at right, with two U.S. Navy armored cruisers beyond her. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 78678.
CANONICUS 435k Canonicus, as seen on 12 June 1907 at Hampton Roads, Virginia.Library of Congress, LC-D4-22439, courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
FLORIDA NR A Plea for the Monitor in Coast Defence
Tallahassee, ex-Florida (M-9).
Pictured also are the Canonicus, Amphitrite (BM-2), & Monterey (BM-6).		 Image and text provided by West Virginia University
Photo courtesy of The Sunday Telegram. (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 19 March 1916, THIRD SECTION, Image 27, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
(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 December 1991. USN photo # DN-SC-92-05391, by PHC Carolyn Harris, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
USS CANONICUS History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)
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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