Wheel

This large cast iron ship's wheel was given to the Museum in 1951 by the Tredegar Company in Richmond, Virginia. Company tradition indicated that the wheel was purportedly used on board the C.S.S. Virginia. Many questions exist regarding the wheel's history and provenance. Was the wheel originally used on board the U.S.S. Merrimack dating the piece around 1856 and the fabrication location somewhere in Massachusetts? If so, was the wheel salvaged from the burned out hulk of the Merrimack and reused on the Virginia or in 1862, did Tredegar Iron Works fabricate an entirely new wheel for the vessel?

How did Tredegar acquire the wheel? Was it recovered during salvage operations following the sinking of the Virginia? Unfortunately, to the distress of the Museum's curators the answers to these questions and many more may never be known.

For more information, e-mail collections@MarinersMuseum.org.