The second USS ''Puritan'' was a ''Puritan''-class
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, West ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, constructed in 1882. She was the only ship in her class.
Construction
On 23 June 1874 President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
's
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
George Robeson, in response to the
Virginius Incident, ordered the of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
laid down (scrapped, redesigned, and rebuilt). Secretary Robeson's revised design of the "repaired" ''Puritan'' called for two turrets, and called for a superstructure, tall stack, and military mast that came to be identified with monitors built between 1889 and 1903.
Because of the level of disrepair of the original ''Puritan'', a new ''Puritan'' was built by
Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works of
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...
and completed by the
New York Navy Yard,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. Officially, the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
records list this action as a repair and redesignation of the original ''Puritan'', not the building of a new vessel, even though very few building materials from the original were included in the construction of the second. The new ''Puritan'' was launched 6 December 1882 and commissioned on 10 December 1896, with
Captain John R. Bartlett in command.
By 1891, she had been equipped with four guns in barbette turrets, with a plane of fire above the water. The armored belt was deep, thick amidships, with an armor deck of ; barbettes, ; and inclined turrets, .
The original officer quarters were below deck, which were converted to additional crew quarters after new officer quarters were constructed in the superstructure.
Service history
![Uss puritan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/USS_Puritan.jpg)
''Puritan'' had a busy career in 1898 during the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
. Assigned to the
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n blockade in April, she joined and in shelling
Matanzas on the 27th. After a stop at
Key West in early May, she departed on the 20th to join the force building under
Rear Admiral William T. Sampson
William Thomas Sampson (February 9, 1840 – May 6, 1902) was a United States Navy rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Biography
He was born in Palmyra, New York, and entered ...
that would eventually move against
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
. ''Puritan'' linked up on the 22nd and Sampson moved his ships to
Key Frances on the
Nicholas Channel in order to execute his plan to contain the
Spanish Fleet at Santiago. The success of Sampson's squadron at Santiago on 3 July resulted in almost the complete destruction of the Spanish Fleet.
After Cuba, she sailed for
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
where she landed a party of US Marines and shelled the Spanish positions at the
Battle of Fajardo
The Battle of Fajardo was an engagement between the armed forces of the United States and Spain that occurred on the night of August 8–9, 1898 near the end of the Puerto Rican Campaign during the Spanish–American War.
Background
Proceeding ...
.
Following wartime service, ''Puritan'' served as a practice ship for the
Naval Academy
A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers.
See also
* Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...
from 1899 to 1902. She was decommissioned on 16 April 1903 at
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
but was recommissioned 3 June to serve as a
receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
at
League Island
League Island was an island in the Delaware River, part of the city of Philadelphia, just upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River. The island was developed as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Since the late 20th century, it has been ...
. In 1904, she was loaned to the
Naval Militia
A naval militia is a reserve military organization administered under the authority of a state government in the United States. It is often composed of reservists of the Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve, retirees ...
of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and served there until 14 September 1909. ''Puritan'' then moved to
Norfolk, Virginia where she was again decommissioned on 23 April 1910.
In March 1910, it was proposed by a commodore that the monitors in service with the U.S. Navy, including ''Puritan'', , and , be used as forts near Key West in order to make it into "an American Gibraltar." The Spanish–American War and the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
(under construction in 1910) had caused Key West's military importance to rise because of its geographical location. It was pointed out that the defenses of
Fort Zachary Taylor
The Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, better known simply as Fort Taylor (or Fort Zach to locals), is a Florida State Park and National Historic Landmark centered on a Civil War-era fort located near the southern tip of Key West, Florida. ...
on the island were not enough, as ships could sit seven miles south of the fort (outside the range of its guns) and shell Key West. The proposal advocated the placement of monitors in strategic locations around Key West. Dykes of "piling, rock and riprap" would then be constructed around the ships. Water inside of these dykes would be pumped out to be replaced by dirt, creating an
artificial island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...
that was a "complete, modern double-turreted fort".
She was struck from the
Navy List
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
27 February 1918 and, with the submarine
USS ''Plunger'' (SS-2) on board, was one of several vessels sold on 26 January 1922, to J. G. Hitner and W. F. Cutler of Philadelphia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puritan (Bm-1)
Monitors of the United States Navy
1882 ships
Ships built by the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works
Spanish–American War monitors of the United States