In early March of 1862, the ironclad ships of both the Confederacy and the Union finally encountered one another and engaged in a naval battle that would forever change naval technology. Even at the time, back in 1862, many people understood that this one encounter was a monumental event. Amazingly enough, one of the perks [...]

240 feet below the swells of the Atlantic Ocean, 16 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras in an area known as the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic,’ the wreck of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor waited.  Buffeted by the clashing of the Gulf Stream and Labrador Current, she who had fought an epic battle [...]

Last week I posted about a Scientific American article that called out the US Navy and government for their “stupidity” in regards to not building enough ironclad warships.  Ironically, exactly one week later, in what would have been the very next issue of Scientific American there was an article published on a new ironclad ship [...]

March 2 found the Monitor still undergoing preparations at the New York Navy Yard (commonly known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard). The sea trails of a few days before had not gone extremely well – Paymaster William Keeler recalled that on February 27 the Monitor had careened “first to the New York side, then to the Brooklyn [...]

Last week I traveled from the birthplace of the Monitor to the point of land closest to her final resting place, passing over the scene of her March 9 debut in the process. What struck me was this: her story is not for one place – it is a story that touches so many places, and [...]

When we last left John Worden, he had just taken command of a partially-built vessel that had no guns.  Each time guns designated for the Monitor would arrive, they would be commandeered by a vessel that was ready to fight, and so Worden waited.  By January 24, 1862, the guns were still not on board and Worden [...]

In 2001, US Navy divers and NOAA archaeologists recovered the USS Monitor‘s 20-ton steam engine. Attached to the face of the engine was this brass gauge. It is the engine register, and it consists of a round metal container which houses six numbered brass wheels that would rotate as the propeller shaft turned. The numbered [...]

I have never been particularly good at math – but Commodore Joseph Smith apparently was. He had been counting to 100 since October 4, 1861, and by his calculations, January 12, 1862 would be the 100th day since the contract for Ericsson’s Battery had been signed.  Which, of course, meant that the strange little ironclad [...]

          In the December 21st, 1861 issue of Harper’s Weekly, the following article appeared on page 806, with images to accompany it. Despite the fact that anyone who has ever fired a large gun could tell you that the particular layout shown in the left-hand image would be…problematic, if you will…the [...]

another blast from the past from our old friend Josh Graml – originally posted here on December 7, 2006:   I believe it was noted hippie songstress Joni Mitchell who noted that we never know what we’ve got ‘til it’s gone. Now, don’t get worried; I’m not here to lament the paving of paradise or [...]