USS Waxsaw (1865)

History
United States
NameUSS Waxsaw
BuilderA. & W. Denmead & Son, Baltimore, Maryland
Laid downMarch 1863
Launched4 May 1865
CommissionedNever commissioned
FateBroken up, 25 August 1875
General characteristics
Class and typeCasco-class monitor
Displacement1,175 long tons (1,194 t)
Length225 ft (69 m)
Beam45 ft (14 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
PropulsionScrew steamer
Speed9 knots (10 mph; 17 km/h)
Complement69 officers and enlisted
Armament2 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns
Armor
  • Turret: 8 in (200 mm)
  • Pilothouse: 10 in (250 mm)
  • Hull: 3 in (76 mm)
  • Deck: 3 in (76 mm)

USS Waxsaw, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was laid down in March 1863, before the official order had been placed, at Baltimore, Maryland, by A. & W. Denmead & Son; launched on 4 May 1865; and completed on 21 October 1865.

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