Wassuc

Wassuc

(Mon.: dp. 1,175: 1. 225'; b. 45'; dr. 6'; s. 9 k.; a. 2 11"
D. sb.; cl. Casco)

Wassuc—a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor—was laid down in June 1863 at Portland, Maine, by George W. Lawrence & Co.; launched on 25 July 1865; and completed on 28 October 1865.

Wassuc was a Casco-class monitor intended for service in the shallow bays, rivers, and inlets of the Confederacy. These warships sacrificed armor plate for shallow draft and were fitted with a ballast compartment designed to lower them in the water during battle.

However, when the first ships of the class were launched in the spring of 1864, the Navy discovered that serious errors had been made in calculating their displacements. They proved to have barely three inches of freeboard—even without turret, guns and stores. Therefore, the Navy Department ordered on 24 June 1864 that Wassuc's deck be raised 22 inches to provide sufficient freeboard. Upon delivery, the monitor was laid up at the Boston Navy Yard; and she saw no commissioned service. She was renamed Stromboli on 15 June 1869 but resumed the name Wassuc on 10 August 1869. Wassuc was sold for scrapping on 9 September 1875.