USS Lehigh (1863)

The USS Lehigh during the Spanish–American War
History
Name:	USS Lehigh
Builder:	Reaney, Son & Archbold
Launched:	17 January 1863
Commissioned:	15 April 1863
Decommissioned:	8 September 1898
Fate:	sold, 14 April 1904
General characteristics
Class and type:	Passaic-class monitor
Displacement:	1,335 long tons (1,356 t)
Length:	200 ft (61 m) overall
Beam:	46 ft (14 m)
Draft:	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion:	2 Martin boilers, 1-shaft Ericsson vibrating lever engine, 320 ihp (235 kW)
Speed:	7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph)
Complement:	88
Armament:	1 × 15 in (381 mm) smoothbore 1 × 8 in (203  mm) Parrott rifle
Armor:	Iron Side: 5 – 3 in (12.7 – 7.6 cm) Turret: 11 in (27.9  cm) Pilothouse: 8 in (20.3  cm) Deck: 1 in (2.5  cm)

The first USS Lehigh was a Passaic-class monitor launched 17 January 1863 by Reaney, Son & Archbold, Chester, Penn., under a subcontract from John Ericsson; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 15 April 1863, Commander John Guest in command.

A week later, the new monitor joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Newport News, VA. She performed blockade duty in the Hampton Roads-Virginia Capes area, and on the night of 10 June joined a flotilla under Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee in an expedition up the James River to assist Army troops. Returning to Newport News two days later, she resumed blockade duty until sent back up the James with seven other Union warships to threaten Richmond, Va., the Confederate capital. In the wake of the Battle of Gettysburg, the movement was designed to divert Confederate strength from General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia which had invaded the North and imperiled Washington. The expedition caused the South to evacuate Fort Powhatan, leaving no defenses on the James below Chaffin's or Drewry's Bluffs, some 8 miles (13 km) from Richmond. The situation relaxed as the southern army retreated across the Potomac River, and the Union warships dropped down river to Hampton Roads. On the morning of 23 July, Lehigh, towed by Circassian, got underway north and arrived New York City two days later for repairs.