USS Catawba was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed shortly after the end of the war, Catawba was laid up until sold to her builders in 1868, and then resold to the Peruvian Navy. Renamed BAP Atahualpa, the ship participated in the defense of main port of Peru, Callao, during the War of the Pacific. When the city of Lima was taken by Chilean troops in 1881, she was scuttled to prevent her capture. Atahualpa was later refloated and used as a storage hulk until scrapped in the early 20th century.
A lithograph of the monitor during her time in the Peruvian Navy as Atahualpa.
The Canonicus-class monitor was a class of nine monitors built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. They saw service in the Civil War and the Spanish–American War, although two of them were never commissioned.
Mahopac on the Appomattox River, 1864