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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images
Ships of the Spanish-American War--
Older U.S. Navy Monitors

In response to public concerns about possible Spanish naval raids on U.S. cities, several Civil War monitors were recommissioned during April and May 1898. Each armed with a pair of obsolete muzzle-loading guns, these ships were stationed along the East Coast for the remainder of the War, training new recruits and providing a visible measure of local defense.


This page features Spanish-American War period photos of older monitors, including views taken on board one of these ships.

If better quality reproductions than these digital images are desired, see "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

In all cases, clicking on the small photograph will prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 44266

USS Jason (1862-1904, ex-Sangamon)

Photographed on 27 May 1898, probably at New York, after being recommissioned for coastal defense service during the Spanish-American War.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 70,620 bytes; 740 x 614 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 45635

USS Nahant (1862-1904)

Photographed in New York Harbor by Hart, 1898.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 46,887 bytes; 740 x 519 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 58950

USS Wyandotte (1864-1899, ex-Tippecanoe)

At the Boston Navy Yard, MA, with her crew paraded on deck, 1898.

Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 74,187 bytes; 740 x 612 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 89461

USS Lehigh (1863-1904)

View looking aft with her deck awash, while operating off Cape Cod, MA, 4 May 1898. Note water kicked up from her open propeller well.

Courtesy of H. Leavitt Horton, 1978.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 66,018 bytes; 590 x 619 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 82124-KN (Color)

USS Nahant (1862-1904)

Crewmen swabbing out her XI-inch Dahlgren muzzle-loading gun, during drills at the New York Navy Yard, 1898. USS New Orleans is in the background. The original photograph was published on a color-tinted postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons.

Courtesy of Myles DeSomer, 1975.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 76,207 bytes; 740 x 503 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 100797-KN (Color)

USS Nahant (1862-1904)

Crewmen mending the flag on deck, 1898. Dents in her turret armor were received from Confederate gunfire during the Civil War, some thirty-five years earlier. The original photograph was published on a color-tinted postcard by the Robbins Brothers Co., Boston. Copyrighted by Waldon Fawcett, Washington, DC, circa 1898.

Courtesy of Carter Rila, 1986.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 92,113 bytes; 740 x 527 pixels

 

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17 February 1998