USS Monitor Gun Carriage Rotation Scheduled For Nov. 9 and 10

For Immediate Release

USS Monitor Gun Carriage Rotation Scheduled For Nov. 9 and 10

Newport News, Va. (November 2009) -- On the mornings of November 9 and 10, conservators at The Mariners’ Museum’s Batten Conservation Facility in the USS Monitor Center will rotate the Civil War ironclad’s unique gun carriages to their original upright position.

USS Monitor’s two custom-built gun carriages have been upside down since the ironclad sank on December 31, 1862. The gun carriages were discovered by archaeologists during excavations of the turret in 2002. The carriages were still secured to the 8-ton Dahlgren guns they supported during the Battle of Hampton Roads. Conservators and archaeologists carefully removed both carriages from the turret in 2004. Almost 147 years after the sinking, conservators are preparing to return these complex artifacts to their original upright position.

The carriages, designed by John Ericsson, were built to allow safe use of the guns within the tight confines of the revolving gun turret. These carriages moved on massive iron gun rails bolted to the turret floor.

The typical recoil of these XI-inch Dahlgrens was 26 feet, while the diameter of the turret was only 21 feet. Thus, Ericsson designed a new kind of braking mechanism to check the recoil. Members of the gun crew turned the carriage’s hand wheel and tightly clamped five wrought iron fins around four large wooden beams in the turret floor. The resulting friction slowed the recoiling guns.

Conservators have been actively treating the gun carriages since their removal from the turret. The carriages are extremely difficult to treat because they are composite artifacts. Composite artifacts are made from many different materials types that require individual and sometimes incompatible treatment needs. Monitor’s carriages are made of wrought iron, various copper alloys, and thick structural wooden frames wrapped in iron. The conservation department will disassemble the gun carriages into their component structures and materials for individual treatment.

Conservators must rotate the gun carriages to their original upright position in order to gain access to the complex braking mechanism and facilitate continued treatment. Artifact handler and 10-year Monitor project veteran Gary Paden and other conservators spent weeks designing and custom-fabricating epoxy-coated steel lifting and rotation rigs that allow the conservation staff to rotate the carriages without placing undue physical strain on their fragile surfaces. Conservators will attach these special rigs to the underside (current top) of each carriage and remove the carriages from the treatment tanks. A 5-ton crane hoist will then lift each carriage in the air, and conservators will attach the carriage and frame assembly to a steel A-frame with a pivot mount. The crane will then lift the carriage and pivot the entire assembly until the carriage reaches its original upright position, much like a door pivoting on a hinge. The rig will then be removed from the carriage, and the carriage will be returned safely to its treatment tank.

One carriage will be rotated upright on Monday morning, and the other carriage will be rotated on Tuesday morning. Conservators hope to complete each lift by midday. Later in the week conservators will begin cleaning and treating the upright portion of each gun carriage. These milestone activities will be visible by visitors at the museum, as well as online at www.marinersmuseum.org.

In 1987, The Mariners' Museum was designated by NOAA, on behalf of the federal government, as the repository for artifacts and archives from the USS Monitor. Working jointly with NOAA and the U.S. Navy, the Museum has received more than 1,200 artifacts from the Monitor, including the steam engine, propeller and revolving gun turret, all now permanently housed in the state-of-the-art USS Monitor Center.

The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, which manages Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, seeks to increase the public awareness of America's marine resources and maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument that together encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

For more information:
Contact: Cindy Mackey
(757) 754-4553
E-mail: pr@MarinersMuseum.org

or

Jeff Johnston
(757) 591-7351
jeff.johnston@noaa.gov

The Mariners' Museum, an educational, non-profit institution accredited by the American Association of Museums, preserves and interprets maritime history through an international collection of ship models, figureheads, paintings and other maritime artifacts. The museum is open from 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 to 5 P.M. Sunday. It will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For information, visit www.marinersmuseum.org, call (757) 596-2222 or (800) 581-7245, or write to The Mariners' Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606.

The Mariners' Museum and The South Street Seaport Museum of New York City are partners in America's National Maritime Museum, an innovative alliance recognized by an act of Congress in June 1998 to share collections, exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and other endeavors.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit: http://www.noaa.gov.

Battle of the Atlantic 2009:
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic2/

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov