USS Miami Images

USS 'Miami' Gun Crew,

Often Misidentified As Being Aboard

USS 'Mendota.'

by Terry Foenander.

An image of a ship's gun crew doing their paces for the benefit of the photographer has often been misidentified as being taken aboard the USS Mendota, when in fact it was actually taken on the USS Miami. Some publications, and at least two Internet web sites (one uploaded as recently as this year, 2001) have repeated the error in identification. The error is noted particularly in the Naval volume of Miller's Photographic History of the Civil War. Fortunately the Naval Historical Center has placed a notice at their site on the images of the USS Miami to indicate this constantly repeated error.
Several structural features in this particular view, shown below, when compared with another view of a group of officers shown aboard the USS Miami (see the image further down this page, compared with the gun crew image) prove beyond all doubt, that it was indeed taken on the Miami, from about the same camera position.

Gun Crew at their paces aboard the USS Miami.
Note the wheel and other structures in the left foreground
(Courtesy of the Naval Historical Center)

The Miami was a slightly smaller class of vessel than the Mendota (which belonged in the Sassacus class of double ended gunboats), and her complement was about a third less.

The two images, placed side by side, show separate views that were taken from about the same camera position, and possibly within moments of each other. Compare the protective netting in the right background, as well as the other structures shown in the left, foreground. Note also that the position of the smoothbore gun has been moved from facing right, in the view at left, to facing ahead (at far left), in the view at right.

(Both images used through the kind courtesy of the Naval Historical Center)

There are a number of other photographs of both the USS Miami and the USS Mendota, as well as some other vessels, mainly double enders, which are still being studied by this author for additional details and structural design, in the hope of further positive identification.

April, 2001.