USS Saugus. 1860s photograph of the US Civil War ironclad the USS Saugus in Trent's Reach, James River, Virginia, USA. At right is a torpedo finder (net) at the bow. On the shores of the river are a battery (lower left) and an lookout post (background) known as 'Butlers Crow's Nest'. The USS Saugus was part of the Union forces, participating in the blockade to contain Confederate forces based in Richmond, Virginia. This photograph dates from the period 1861 to 1865.