USS Monongahela ( 1862 ) USS " Monongahela " ( 1862 ) was a barkentine – rigged screw sloop - of - war that served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War . Her task was to participate in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America . Post - war , she continued serving her country in various roles , such as that of a storeship and schoolship . Built in Philadelphia . " Monongahela " — the first United States Navy ship to bear that name — was built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard and was launched on 10 July 1862 ; sponsored by Ms . Emily V . Hoover , daughter of Naval Constructor Hoover who superintended the ship ’ s construction ; and commissioned on 15 January 1863 , Captain James P . McKinstry in command . Civil War service . Assigned to bombardment duty . Initially assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron , " Monongahela " sailed instead to reinforce Rear Admiral David G . Farragut ’ s West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Mobile , Alabama , remaining on duty off that port until ordered to attempt to run past Confederate batteries on the Mississippi River at Port Hudson , Louisiana on the night of 14 – 15 March 1863 . As Army forces ashore conducted a mortar bombardment , the squadron got underway about 22 : 00 , heavier ships , , and " Monongahela " screening the smaller , , and from the forts , with steam frigate bringing up the rear . In the course of the ensuing furious engagement , only " Hartford " and " Albatross " succeeded in passing up river , " Richmond " losing her steam power early in the battle and drifting downstream out of range with " Genesee " lashed alongside . " Monongahela " grounded under the guns of a heavy battery , taking a pounding and losing six men killed and 21 wounded , including the captain , until she worked loose with " Kineo " s aid . While attempting to continue upriver , her overloaded engine broke down , and the sloop was forced to drift downstream with " Kineo " . " Mississippi " — grounding at high speed — was hit repeatedly and set afire , eventually blowing up and ending the engagement . Attack on Port Hudson . On 27 May , Confederate defenders turned back a major assault on Port Hudson following constant bombardment by " Monongahela " , serving as temporary flagship of Admiral Farragut , and other ships of the squadron . On 7 July , the ship , in company with , engaged southern field batteries behind the levee , below Donaldsonville , Louisiana , " Monongahela " s new skipper Commander Abner Read being killed in this action . She then departed on 26 October for Brazos Santiago , Texas , to support General Nathaniel Banks ’ troops in the capture of that town and Brownsville from 2 – 4 November , in addition capturing several blockade runners . " Monongahela " continued her duty off Texas , covering the landing of 1 , 000 Union troops on Mustang Island , Aransas Pass , Texas on 16 – 17 November and supporting a Union reconnaissance at Pass Cavallo on the gulf shore of Matagorda Peninsula from 31 December 1863 – 1 January 1864 . She returned to blockade off Mobile , Alabama , soon after , stopping numerous blockade runner s throughout the spring and summer of 1864 . Mobile Bay operations . On 15 July , the warship ’ s boats conducted a reconnaissance of the Mobile Bay area to determine the Confederate torpedo ( naval mines ) defenses ; and then on 3 August , Admiral Farragut took his stripped - for - action squadron of 18 ships , including four monitor s , against those defenses . In the fierce fight and great victory that followed , " Monongahela " bombarded Confederate forts and then rammed the heavy Confederate ram " Tennessee " . The sloop succeeded only in damaging herself in the full speed drive into the armored enemy ship , but combined heavy gunfire from the other Union ships forced the Confederate warship to surrender , ending the battle and closing the last major gulf port to the South . " Monongahela " remained on duty with the West Gulf squadron until the end of the Civil War . Post - war service . Caught in a tsunami . Post - war , " Monongahela " was assigned to the West Indies Squadron . While on service with the West Indies Squadron , the warship had the unique experience of being landed high and dry almost a mile inland from the shoreline when a tidal wave struck Frederikstad , St . Croix on 18 November 1867 . Following an earthquake , she was hit by a wall of water high and carried over the beach and warehouses to come to rest on an even keel some distance from the water . A working party of mechanics from New York Navy Yard under Naval Constructor Thomas Davidson succeeded in refloating the ship on 11 May 1868 , following a four month endeavor . " Monongahela " was towed to New York City and thence Portsmouth where she was slowly repaired , finally departing in 1873 to join the South Atlantic Station . Redesignated a training ship . Following a three - year cruise on that duty , the steam sloop served as a training ship off the east coast and then departed for the Asiatic Station , serving in the Far East until need of repairs took her to Mare Island Navy Yard in 1879 where she decommissioned . In 1883 , the veteran warship was converted to a supply ship , with all her machinery being removed that fall to make additional room for supplies . During the conversion , her rig was changed to bark to allow her handling by a smaller crew . " Monongahela " continued her duty on the Pacific Squadron as storeship at Callao , Peru into 1890 , and then sailed round Cape Horn to Portsmouth Navy Yard to be fitted out as an apprentice training ship . Emerging from the refit a full - rigged ship , the old converted sloop joined the Training Squadron in 1891 , serving in that capacity until relieving on 15 May 1894 as U . S . Naval Academy Practice Ship . Making annual cruises each year except for 1898 , when the war with Spain intervened , the ship conducted her last Academy cruise from 6 June - 4 September 1899 , sailing to England and Portugal . Upon completion of this cruise , the " Monongahela " became a training ship for apprentices at the Naval Training Station in Newport , Rhode Island . She served for three years in that capacity and cruised to ports throughout Europe ’ s Atlantic coast and the Caribbean . Destroyed by fire . Finally detached from the Atlantic Training Squadron on 9 May 1904 , the old warship served as a storeship at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba until totally destroyed by fire on 17 March 1908 . A 4 - inch gun was salvaged from her wreck and put on display at the Naval Station . Since the gun was deformed by the heat from the fire , it was nicknamed " Old Droopy " . This gun is now on display on Deer Point .