USS Tonawanda was one of four Miantonomoh-class monitors built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865.

The Miantonomoh class was designed by John Lenthall, Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, although the ships varied somewhat in their details.

[3] Tonawanda was powered by four inclined horizontal-return connecting-rod steam engines designed by the Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy, Benjamin F. Isherwood.

[5] Her main battery consisted of four smoothbore, muzzle-loading, 15-inch (381 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the single funnel.

She was reactivated on 23 October 1866 to serve as a training ship at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.