Last week got off to a great start as we drained the condenser tank for the first time in two years. This was the second draining of a tank since I arrived at The Mariners’ Museum and I was looking forward to getting back into one of the “big” tanks.

After draining, rinsing, and disassembling the anode rig, it was time for during treatment photographs and a brief condition assessment. The time in electrolysis has been good for the condenser; all of the iron surfaces are black with no active corrosion in sight. Taking the during treatment photos was a bit tricky seeing as we were maneuvering around inside of a steel tank that still had four inches of water in the bottom and a trench along one side.  First rule of using electronics in the tank: whatever you do, don’t drop the equipment. The pictures turned out really well, as you can see in the images below. Keep in mind that the entire assemblage in upside down.

The starboard side of the condenser

The port side of the condenser

The last time the condenser tank was drained, the seawater discharge pipe was removed, but due to time constraints the conservators did not have the opportunity to clean out the valve chambers. So, armed with a hose apiece and wearing gloves that came up to our shoulders, Will and I undertook this next step in the care and treatment of the condenser. The sheer amount of muck, sediment, shells and sea urchin spines inside those chambers was impressive, but the effort was well worth it.  The pictures we got from our RIDGID SeeSnake fiberoptic camera showed interior valves that were visible for the first time in 150 years.

The red arrows indicate where we were reaching into to remove sediment.

Hard to see, but the red arrows point to the interior valves.

During our condition assessment, it was noted that the copper-alloy air flask on the feed pump was starting to separate from the pump and was not held in place by as much surface area as we would have liked. It was decided that the best option would be to remove the air flask. One nut and bolt still held the flanges of the pump and air flask together, and it took only a half-turn with a wrench before the nut could be unscrewed by hand. The threads on the bolt looked like they were made yesterday. The air flask needed only a little wiggling before easily coming away from the pump.

The blue arrow points to the air flask that was removed.

A close up of the air flask prior to removal.

Will loosening a nut by hand.

Bare threads that could have been made yesterday.

A detached air flask with its rubber gasket.

The final highlight of the week was the chance to use a Bruker Tracer III-SD X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device we had on temporary loan inside the condenser tank. The use of this machine gave us a chance to start determining the composition of the copper-alloy parts of the condenser.

Calibrating the XRF before heading into the tank.

We will be in the condenser tank for the next couple of weeks. Check back to the blog for more updates or follow our progress via the web cams!

Hello out there. My name is Kate and I’m the new assistant conservator here at the Monitor Center. I relocated to Newport News from Ottawa, Canada, where I interned at the Canadian Conservation Institute in their Archaeological Conservation Laboratory. I recently graduated from the Master of Art Conservation program at Queen’s University.  Prior to that, I completed an undergraduate degree in archaeology at Wilfrid Laurier University. I am really excited to be working at The Mariners’ Museum. The Monitor Conservation Project is not quite like anything I have previously worked on and I think it will provide great challenges and fascinating work. I look forward to providing you with interesting updates and insights from the lab!

-Grenville Weeks, “Late Surgeon, U.S. Str ‘Monitor’ “

          Letter to Nicklis family. January 11, 1863

In Memoriam….

Officers

Norman Knox Attwater. Acting ensign and acting master’s mate. Last seen while attempting to board the USS Rhode Island.

George Frederickson. Acting ensign. Last seen manning the pumps.

Robinson Woollen Hands. 2nd assistant engineer . Last seen at his post in the engine room.

Samuel Augee Lewis. 3rd assistant engineer. Last seen in his bunk suffering from seasickness.

Crew Members

William Allen. Landsman.

William Bryan. Yeoman.

Robert Cook. 1st Class Boy.

William H. Eagan. Landsman.

James R. Fenwick. Seaman and quarter gunner. Swept overboard while cutting a towline.

Robert H. Howard. Officer’s cook.

Thomas Joice. 1st Class Fireman.

George Littlefield. Coal heaver.

Daniel Moore. Landsman.

Jacob Nicklis. Seaman.

Wells Wentz (alias John Stocking). Boatswain’s mate. Swept overboard while cutting a towline.

Robert Williams. 1st Class Fireman.

On March 8, 151 years to the weekend of the Battle of Hampton Roads, two of our Monitor crew made their final journey. The two unidentified sailors who arrived in the turret at The Mariners’ Museum in August of 2002 have recently been buried with full honors by our colleagues with the US Navy. Many of our staff were present for the day of ceremonies that included a luncheon for descendants, a service at the Fort Myer Chapel, and then final procession and graveside service. Below are some beautiful pictures courtesy of the US Navy.

 Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus

Honor Guard escorting the caskets.

Procession to the grave site.

 Monitor Crew descendants

Beautiful image of the full military honors ceremony.

Her legacy lives on….

The shipwreck of the Monitor is a deep, dark place. But luckily, here in the lab, we can illuminate the world with our findings, and we have so many stories to tell.

We are fortunate to have a part in the greater legacy of the USS Monitor. Our daily lives are connected in such an intimate way to the people who designed this ship. The people who mined the iron and those that melted it down, and the people who rolled the iron plates into shape. The craftsmen who fabricated, cast, and milled mechanical parts. The workers that put it all together.  The families that supported our brave “Monitor Boys”-a mostly volunteer crew.  As well as their descendants and relatives today, with whom we have had such wonderful experiences.

The crew themselves, who occupy our many thoughts.

We wonder who was the last person to look at the surface of an artifact we are deconcreting?  Who left their coat in the turret, maybe in a desperate attempt to escape the ship? Who left the red marks on a piece of paper in a hydrometer?  Who used this comb, this wrench, this spoon last….

I like to think that they are watching our every move, from a place where there are no storms, and perhaps are happy that we are keeping their story very much alive.

As Grenville Weeks also eloquently said:

‘…so long as we remain a people, so long will the work of the Monitor be remembered, and her story told to our children’s children…The “little cheesebox on a raft” has made herself a name which will not soon be forgotten by the American people.’

I wonder if he really knew exactly how true those words would prove to be….

Once again we are draining Monitor‘s revolving gun turret treatment tank! Here’s a picture from our turret tank webcam:

We are draining the tank for the USS Monitor 150th Anniversary Experience on December 30 from noon – 5:00pm. Everybody who pays for a general admission ticket will get to participate in the following activities:

• Behind-the-scenes conservation lab tour and a chance to take photos of Monitor‘s gun turret from inside the lab.
• “The Final Voyage of the USS Monitor” lecture by Dr. Anna Holloway, Vice President of The Mariners’ Museum and Chief Curator, USS Monitor Center at 1:00pm
• Memorial ceremony for the 16 crewmembers who lost their lives on December 31, 1862. The museum will even ring Monitor‘s original engine room gong during the ceremony.

For more information about this exciting event on December 30, please check out the USS Monitor 150th Anniversary Experience webpage:

http://www.marinersmuseum.org/monitor150experience

150 years ago, these men served aboard the ironclad USS Monitor.

10 years ago, NOAA and the U.S. Navy recovered Monitor‘s revolving gun turret and transported it to The Mariners’ Museum for conservation and exhibit.

33 days from now, on December 30, this could be you inside Monitor‘s gun turret:

Want to find out how you can experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity AND also help preserve this piece of our national heritage?  Check out the following links for more info:

http://marinersmuseum.org/monitor150experience

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USS-Monitor-Center-Gun-Turret-Experience-/321029892893

It’s late Monday evening.  The phone rings.  It’s Dave Alberg, Superintendent of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.  “We need some additional crew to take our research vessel, the SRVx, down to Beaufort, NC.  Want to join us?”

I didn’t even need time to think.  “Sure thing, Dave.  What time do we leave?”

“0-dark-30.  The boat is docked at Little Creek in Norfolk.”

5:30am, 5:30pm, it didn’t matter what time he said.  This was an amazing opportunity to learn about the capabilities of NOAA’s 85-foot vessel SRVx (Small Research Vessel), to visit the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Hatteras, and help bring the vessel down to Beaufort for maintenance work.

Boarding the SRVx at Little Creek in Norfolk, VA.

Tina and I met up with Pasquale DeRosa, the captain for this trip, and John Wagner and Joe Hoyt from NOAA.  We loaded supplies, went over the float plan and some safety procedures, and were soon underway.  We left Little Creek and headed east then south past Cape Henry in Virginia Beach.  The water was smooth and flat.  Not quite like a bathtub, but pretty darn close.

Smooth waters off Virginia Beach.

Didn’t take long before we saw the first amazing sight of the day…a humpback whale swimming slowly on the surface about 3 miles off the beach.  It surfaced a few times, flipped its powerful fluke, and even saluted the SRVx a few times with one of its massive white and black pectoral fins.  Tina snapped away with her camera and captured the moment.

Humpback whale breaching off Virginia Beach.

Humpback whale “waving” its pectoral fin at us.

DeRosa kept a steady eye at the helm despite the calm conditions on the water.  The guy was dialed in; checking the navigation system and sonar, monitoring speed to keep fuel consumption down.  He said the vessel could push 35 or 36 knots, but he kept it a sane 12 knots.  We traded stories.  He told tall tales of trips on ships up and down the Atlantic and Pacific.  We spun yarns about conserving and exhibiting precious artifacts from the Monitor at The Mariners’ Museum.

As we crossed into North Carolina and out toward the Gulf Stream, we started seeing more signs of life on the water.  Large seat turtles swam into view from time to time, but dipped deeper when they detected the boat.  We saw baitfish formed into tight groups, known as bait balls, likely being pursued by larger fish.  Periodically flying fish popped from the wake cutting off the bow of the SRVx, skimming and gliding above the water of the Gulf Stream.  Unfortunately no pictures of those guys.  They are too quick!

Every few hours a few yellowfin tuna would bust the surface of the water.  Their hydrodynamic torpedo shaped bodies launched through the air then back down into the nearly purple water with just a small splash.  I think we also spotted some skipjacks or bonita.

Tina and Dave at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

Eventually we made it all the way out past the Diamond Shoals light, an old abandoned offshore lighthouse, and into the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, a 1-mile diameter column of water that surrounds the ironclad.  As we drifted 240 feet above the corroded, decaying remains of the USS Monitor, Tina and I tossed sprigs of rosemary overboard from the SRVx in remembrance of the sacrifice made by 16 of the crew on December 31, 1862.

Tina and Dave leaving rosemary for remembrance in the waters of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

Captain Pasquale rocking the shades and John Wagner from NOAA giving his best Chester A. Arthur impersonation.

We then continued on a southwest heading as the sun slowly dipped beneath the waters to our west.  Although we were watching very closely, we never saw the famed green flash.  But it provided a beautiful, colorful show.

Sunset in North Carolina.

After the sun set.

We pulled into Beaufort, NC at approximately 10:30pm and docked the SRVx.  After a quick bite of dinner in town, we slept in the surprisingly comfortable crew berths in the forward portion of the vessel.  We were up and moving a few hours later and cruised through the fog past Radio island and beneath the Arendell Street bridge.  We then pushed through Core Creek and slowly worked our way to the Jarrett Bay Boatworks where the SRVx will undergo some routine maintenance in the coming weeks.

The waterway on the approach to Jarrett Bay Boatworks in Beaufort, NC.

The partnership between NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and The Mariners’ Museum is strong.  And although this trip did not utilize divers or recover artifacts, it allowed both groups to discuss additional ways to combine our strengths and assets to accomplish shared goals.  The SRVx is a solid, capable vessel and should provide the necessary capabilites for NOAA to visit and study the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and other important marine sites on the east and west coast.  Staff from The Mariners’ Museum also hope to use the vessel in support of delivering live educational programs from the sea.

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a very busy summer here in the lab! We are a little behind on our posts, but we promise to catch up soon.

Just wanted to let you all know that we now have a Twitter account for the conservation project!

Please follow us @USSMonitorLab as we plan to try and upload some interesting photos on a regular basis!

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see
the USS Monitor’s gun turret
conservation in action!

June 25 – July 27, 2012

Come observe Mariners’ Museum conservators and NOAA archaeologists as they perform a variety of activities as part of a 20-year plan to stabilize this 120-ton Civil War icon. Museum visitors will have an up-close view of these activities as they occur only a few feet away from the overhead viewing platform.

The 90,000-gallon treatment tank will be drained for a brief period of time this summer before conservation personnel refill the tank with a special chemical solution. Don’t miss this great opportunity to see an amazing piece of American history!

Keep up to date with the conservators regular posting updates and photographs on this blog to keep you informed of their progress, or watch via the live webcam positioned above the turret’s treatment tank to experience conservation in action!

Turret Web Cam

The Mariners’ Museum and NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads in Newport News on March 9-11, 2012. 

Come visit The Mariners’ and participate in a variety of amazing activities, see the unveiling of digital facial reconstructions of human remains recovered from the Monitor, and attend the Civil War Navy Conference.  The conference runs from Friday to Sunday and award-winning authors Harold Holzer and Craig Symonds are the headliners.  Attend dozens of fun and informative lectures about all aspects of the Battle of Hampton Roads and other Civil War Navy topics delivered by national and international experts. 

If an intellectual conference isn’t your idea of fun, we’ve partnered with some amazing organizations including NOAA, Museum of the Confederacy, American Studies Department of Christopher Newport University, and Hampton Roads Naval Museum in order to put on a wide variety of events.  These events are a Student Living History Day on Friday, an interactive spy game called Ironclad BattleQuest, Union and Confederate encampents and re-enactment demonstratiosn, vignettes and other programs.

But we’re not done yet!  NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary staff will be releasing facial reconstructions of both Monitor crewmembers whose remains were discovered inside the revolving gun turret in 2002.  These 3-dimensional digital facial reconstructions are being unveiled at The Mariners’ Museum for the first time!  NOAA has been working diligently with partners to hopefully one day identify both sets of human remains.   This work is still ongoing.  Sanctuary Superintendant Dave Alberg will present this information during Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend.

The Civil War 150 HistoryMobile will be at The Mariners’ Museum.  It is an interactive “Museum on Wheels” housed in a 53-foot expandable tractor-trailer.  The HistoryMobile is sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

The Mariners’ will also host a motorcoach tour of significant sites on the Virginia Peninsula.  Join John Quarstein and J. Michael Moore as they stop at Fortress Monroe, Lee Hall Plantation, Endview Plantation, and Gloucester Point.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of riding with John and J. Michael, you are missing out!

We know you will have worked up a serious appetite after all these activities.  Don’t worry, our 2nd Annual Battle of the Ironclad Chefs has you covered!  Watch as two culinary experts utilize two very unique cooking styles, that of a plantation cook and that of a Union cook on the deck of the USS Monitor, to demonstrate their cooking prowess.  They will give you a true taste of the Civil War.

I almost forgot to mention the daily behind-the-scenes tours of the USS Monitor Conservation laboratory at The Mariners’ Museum.  Conservation experts will guide you through the lab and show you the most recently conserved artifacts and ongoing lab projects.  And during this special weekend, you will have the opportunity to see USS Monitor‘s steam engine.  Conservators will drain the engine treatment tank to allow lab visitors to take photos while standing just a few feet away from John Ericsson’s 20-ton steam engine! 

This event is made possible due to generous sponsorships from Bank of America, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Southern Structural Steel, and Holiday Inn & Suites.

For more information about all these events, please check out the following link:

http://www.battleofhamptonroads.com/

Apologies followers; we have not been really present on the blog lately.

We have been really busy though, and not only because of the Holidays!

Eric is now spending half of each year in Cardiff where he is bravely starting a PhD (about… chlorides in iron!). As a result, he is only part time with us now, which… renders the lab a little emptier and the load of work higher here… but he’ll be back before we know it!

Since December, we have been juggling several activities, all related to tidying things up for the famous, the fabulous, sesquicentennial of the Battle of Hampton Roads. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Museum’s program yet, check it out there (and save the date!!):

 http://marinersmuseum.org/calendar/special-event/150th-anniversary-battle-hampton-roads-weekend

We started the New Year by draining the starboard XI-inch Dahlgren gun tank to perform general cleaning of the cast iron beauty and maintenance of its anodes and electrodes. We also explored the bore with a fiberoptic SeeSnake donated by RIDGID Tools to assess the inside condition and discuss and test possible cleaning techniques. There is still about 2 inches of concretion inside the gun refraining chlorides from being released.   

The engraving made in the Washington Navy Yard during the fall of 1862 during Monitor’s overhaul is looking really good now:

And here is an overall picture of the gun: 

This maintenance session also allowed the removal of more copper alloy elements of the gun. The sight bar and its support as well as the starboard trunnion cap were safely taken apart. Below the trunnion cap, the engraving “1859”, date of the gun manufacture, was intact. No pictures were taken because there is not enough room between the tank and the trunnion to take photos.

Before working on the port Dahlgren we have been finishing the cleaning and coating of a 10-foot section of Monitor’s propeller shaft. This tree-looking piece of wrought iron will be a new introduction in the galleries for the weekend of the Battle of Hampton Roads!  The shaft weights 1,900 pounds and is approximately 9” in diameter. The first picture is the propeller shaft after cleaning and the second shot is Will applying a protection layer while defying gravity.

At last, other smaller objects are also seeing the light at the end of the conservation tunnel. The wooden rammer is in the freeze-dryer, the PEG solution of the sponge is increasing in concentration, and an apothecary glass jar (with unidentified white content) will eventually be displayed at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, NC.

Stay tuned, we should be working on the port Dahlgren gun in a couple weeks (check out our live cameras).