The USS Camanche was a Passaic-class monitor constructed in Jersey City, New Jersey, by Donahue, Ryan, and Secor at a cost of approximately $613,165. (equivalent to about $9.45 million today). The vessel was built in a prefabricated form, disassembled, and shipped around Cape Horn aboard the sailing ship Aquila to San Francisco. Unfortunately, Aquila sank at her wharf shortly after arriving in November 1863, due to storm damage and a collision, resulting in the salvage of Camanche’s parts. The monitor was subsequently launched on November 14, 1864, and commissioned in May 1865 under Lieutenant Commander Charles J. McDougal. Camanche’s service history was relatively uneventful. Commissioned just after the Civil War’s conclusion, she became the sole U.S. ironclad on the Pacific coast for over a year until the larger monitor Monadnock arrived. She, along with one other monitor, maintained a presence in the region for nearly 25 years. Throughout her career, Camanche was primarily stationed at Mare Island Navy Yard, in northern San Francisco Bay, and was maintained in decommissioned status for much of her life. She served as the California Naval Militia’s training ship in 1896–97 and was briefly reactivated in 1898 during the Spanish–American War for coastal defense. In 1899, Camanche was sold for $6,582. her machinery, weapons, and armor were removed by Union Iron Works, and she was converted into a collier, beginning her new role hauling coal. Her first voyage as a collier was on November 19, 1899. Photographic evidence and local records show she remained in the San Francisco area, serving as a coal carrier for nearly four decades. By 1937, she was reported to have been bought by a local coal concern and converted into a coal barge, lying at the east end of the Bethlehem shipyard as a forgotten hulk, having been replaced by oil and gas transportation. The USS Camanche’s transformation reflects the typical post-war fate of many Civil War-era ironclads, transitioning from military service to commercial utility, and ultimately becoming a maritime relic.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.