Officers and Crew,
USS Onondaga
At 2:10 a.m., Union launch No. 4 and a second tug warned
the Onondaga that Confederate warships had passed
the obstructions.
Having sat out the battle for more than six hours off Aiken's
Landing, with her watch logging the sounds and
signals of the contest, the lone U.S. heavyweight finally got
underway at 3 a.m.—she fled.
After ripping through the Varina pontoon bridge without stopping,
she ran aground.