Amphitrite-class monitor
USS Monadnock, a monitor of the Amphitrite class, crossing the Pacific Ocean during the Spanish–American War.
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| Class overview | |
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| Builders: |
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| Operators: |
 United States Navy
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| Succeeded by: | Puritan class |
| In commission: | 1891–1919 |
| Planned: | 5 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Scrapped: | 4 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Monitor |
| Displacement: | 3,990 long tons (4,050 t) (designed) |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 55 ft 6 in (16.92 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | |
| Range: | 1,370 nmi (2,540 km; 1,580 mi) @ 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 19 officers and 164 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: | |
The Amphitrite-class monitors were a class of four U.S. Navy monitors ordered in the aftermath of the Virginius affair with Spain in 1873. The four ships of the class included Amphitrite, Miantonomoh, Monadnock and Terror. A fifth ship originally of the same design, Puritan, was later fitted with extra armor and designated as a unique class.
Puritan and the Amphitrite class were to remain under construction for an extraordinarily long period due both to design changes and to the reluctance of the US Congress to appropriate funds for their completion. Most of the vessels were only commissioned in the mid-1890s—more than twenty years after the commencement of construction. They were eventually to see active service in the Spanish–American War.
On 1 October 1873, the American-flagged merchant ship Virginius was intercepted by the Spanish Navy on suspicion of supplying provisions and personnel to a Cuban insurgency. A few days later, 53 crew and passengers of Virginius were summarily executed by the Spanish, including several Americans and Britons, creating a serious diplomatic crisis. While war was apparently imminent, a Spanish ironclad was coincidentally berthed in New York Harbor, drawing attention to the fact that the U.S. Navy had not a single ironclad in serviceable condition for the defence of America's ports.
The Amphitrite-class monitors were designed with a displacement of 3,990 long tons (4,050 t) but at trials Miantonomoh only had a displacement of 3,815 long tons (3,876 t). They had an overall length of 262 ft (80 m) and a length at the waterline of 259 ft (79 m). They measured 55 ft 6 in (16.92 m) at the beam with a 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) draft. They were manned by a total crew of 19 officers and 164 enlisted men.
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