The US Navy’s first turreted ironclad warship was the famed USS Monitor. This Union ironclad rose to everlasting glory during the March 9, 1862 Battle of Ironclads. This “cheesebox in a raft” became known as the “little ship that saved the nation.” The Battle of Hampton Roads was a drawn engagement. CSS Virginia blocked Union access to the James River during the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign, which delayed US troops from quickly reaching Richmond. Likewise, USS Monitor successfully blocked Virginia’s ability to destroy the rest of the Union wooden fleet in Hampton Roads. This engagement changed naval warfare forever and made Monitor a household name. The Union ironclad was initially called “Ericsson’s Folly” as a rebuke to the vessel’s designer, John Ericsson, and was considered the strangest looking vessel that had ever been seen or simply an “iron coffin.” The ship incorporated two separate hulls. The top (called the upper hull) was in the form of a flat iron raft with a five-inch armor belt. The only features seen above the deck were the turret amidship, with its rounded shape designed to deflect shot, and the small pilothouse near the bow. Ventilators and smoke boxes could be removed before going into combat. The upper hull overhung the lower hull where the engine, boilers, gallery, magazine, toilets, and quarters were located. Monitor was virtually a submarine.
Paixhans’ Gun Design
All ironclads built or under construction in 1861 were fabricated to protect against explosive shells. Explosive shells and shell guns had already been introduced to coastal defense systems; however, naval leaders had not recognized their application to ship-to-ship combat. Accordingly, old techniques of naval warfare ended when French general Henri Paixhans advocated a new system of naval gunnery based on standardization of caliber and use of shell guns. In 1824, Paixhans tested an 80-pounder shell gun against an old ship-of-the-line and destroyed it with only 16 shells. Besides demonstrating the tremendous destructive power of explosive shells, Paixhans argued that the modern warships should be steam-powered, iron plated, and armed with like-caliber shell guns. Obviously, shells were superior to solid-shot in terms of wooden warship combat. Shells were designed to explode in a ship’s side, tearing an irregular hole that could sink a vessel. Sparks from the explosion could ignite fires on the damaged ship. Furthermore, the resulting wooden splinters and shell fragments could decimate a crew. The Paixhans’ gun design was soon accepted by the US Navy in an VIII-inch version. A desire for more powerful guns witnessed shell guns being produced as X-, XII- and XIII-inch varieties. Larger guns, however, were prone to burst. [1]
USS Princeton and the Peacemaker Catastrophe
Swedish inventor John Ericsson was convinced by the well-connected American naval officer Robert Stockton to emigrate to the United States to build the first steam-screw propeller warship for the US Navy. Ericsson was given a contract to design and supervise the construction of a 700-ton corvette, USS Princeton. Not only did Ericsson design the two vibrating-lever engine and the six-bladed screw propeller, but he also created the ship’s collapsible funnel, an improved rangefinder and improved recoil systems for the main battery of forty-two-pounder carronades. Princeton, a novel combination of sail and steam power, also featured the most modern advances in artillery: two twelve-inch pivot shell guns.
His allegiance to Paixhans’ concept was witnessed in Princeton’s main battery composition of twelve 42-pounder carronades. In order to give the ship more effective firepower, he selected a 12-inch shell gun he had already manufactured, known as “The Oregon.” Ericsson’s shell gun was a smoothbore muzzleloader made out of wrought iron bands capable of firing a 225-pound shell using a 50-pound charge. The design followed David Treadwell’s revolutionary concepts, in that it used the “built-up construction” of placing red-hot iron bands around the gun’s breech end. This action pre-tensioned the gun and greatly increased the charge the breach could withstand. He still needed a second pivot gun for Princeton, and Stockton insisted on designing the weapon himself. Stockton designed and supervised the fabrication of Princeton’s second gun, “The Peacemaker.” The gun was fatally flawed since Stockton did not fully comprehend the design of Ericsson’s Oregon. Instead of using Ericsson’s hoop construction, he reinforced the breach by simply making it thicker. As a result, this 12-inch muzzleloader weighed 27,000 pounds. Despite its size, the lack of a reinforced breech made it unable to withstand the pressure of the charge and doomed it to eventually burst. Stockton’s warship was an instant success when the corvette arrived in Washington. A grand event was held on February 29, 1844. It was a trip down the Potomac River with President John Tyler, his cabinet, and more than 200 other guests. The champagne flowed, and Peacemaker was fired several times as entertainment. When the huge gun was fired for a final time, it exploded, killing eight attendees, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer. The explosion also wounded 20 others, including Robert Stockton himself. When the smoke cleared and a Court of Inquiry was held, Stockton was somehow exonerated, while the blame entirely fell on Ericsson. [2]
Dahlgren Guns Take Center Stage
The Princeton affair turned the US Navy away from the production of large shell guns until John A.B. Dahlgren, known as the “Father of Naval Ordinance,” developed a new style of naval shell gun known as the Dahlgren gun. Dahlgren guns were designed with a smooth curved shape, equalizing strain with more weight of metal in the gun breech where the greater propellant gasses needed to be met to keep the gun from bursting. The Dahlgren-designed guns differed from Paixhans’ pattern. Dahlgren noted, “My idea was to have a gun that should generally throw shells far and accurately, with the capacity to fire solid shots when needed.” Known as “soda bottle guns”, the first version was a 32-pounder model. The most popular pre-war Dahlgren shell guns were the VIII- and IX-inch (1,185 made) versions. A X-inch version was made for use as a pivot gun and an XI-inch was also created. [3]
When Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden was named commander of USS Monitor on January 13, 1862, two of his most important tasks were assembling the officers and crew as well as securing two guns for the turret. The original plans submitted to Emperor Louis Napoleon recommended using Ericsson’s hydrostatic guns. These guns were merely a concept and due to time constraints, shell guns were suggested. Ericsson had specified that XIII-inch Dahlgrens be fitted into the 21-foot diameter turret. Unfortunately, this gun design proved to be a failure because of the difficulty of drilling the bore out since the shell guns were casted solid. Dahlgren would eventually develop a hollow casting method where the gun was casted around a metal pipe. This enabled the production of the massive XV-inch shell guns. These were not yet available, so Worden found two XI-inch Dahlgrens on the USS Dacotah and used them for Monitor’s turret.
The two XI-inch shell guns were fitted into Ericsson’s specially designed carriage, with brakes tightened by hand cranks to accommodate recoil. Since the big guns were mounted side by side, the crank housings were placed on the outside of the gun carriages so the crew would not have to stand between the guns to make adjustments. This arrangement seemed to imply that the wheels were mirror images, having to be turned in different directions to tighten the brakes, but both were designed with a left-hand screw and were supposed to be turned in the same direction, counterclockwise. During the February 19 test run, Chief Engineer Alban Stimers turned the hand wheel on gun number one as if it were a right-hand screw and then ordered it to be fired. The right-hand turn served to release the friction gear dissipating the gun’s recoil, and the Dahlgren jumped off the carriage, bouncing off the rear wall of the turret. Fortunately, no one was injured. Stimers, believing the second crank wheel should be turned in the opposite direction, again relieved any braking power the gun carriage had and caused the same startling result with gun number two, amazingly again with no injuries. [4]
The Dahlgrens were mounted in the confined space of the turret. Each XI-inch Dahlgren weighed over eight tons, and their massive size left little room in the turret for the gun crews. Solid shot, made by Novelty Iron Works, was stored along the base of the turret beside the guns. The turret was fitted with huge, pendulum port shutters to protect the turret’s interior when the guns were being reloaded. In fact, a special loophole was bored into each shutter to allow the cannon to be sponged, wormed, and reloaded when the shutter was closed. The guns were re-tested on March 4, as Master’s Mate George Frederickson reported: “First of firing blank cartridges, second a stand of grape, third with canister with a full charge of grape.” A 15-pound charge of powder would enable the Dahlgrens to hurl a 187-pound solid shot or a 168-pound explosive shell up to 1,700 yards. Monitor was under orders by naval officials not to use the rated 30-pound powder charge when in action, due to their fear of a gun bursting within the turret. [5]
Shots Fired: The Battle of Hampton Roads
On the morning of March 9, 1862, USS Monitor was the only weapon the US Navy had in Hampton Roads to protect what remained of its wooden fleet. Monitor engaged Virginia at 8:30 a.m., and it soon became apparent that neither ship’s gunnery could do damage to the other vessel. Monitor’s executive officer, Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene noted that his “only view of the world was over the muzzles of the guns.” The white marks noting the turret’s location in the stationary deck below it were quickly covered with powder residue. In addition, Greene reflected that the “effect upon one shut up in a revolving drum is perplexing, and it is not a simple matter to keep the bearings.” Also, the turret’s engine partially failed as it could not be properly stopped so the guns were fired “on the fly.” Only one gun could be fired at a time and the gun commander had such limited visibility. Finally, the turret did not have a full range of fire due to the location of the pilot house and air intakes. Instead of a 360 degree field of fire, it was about 200 degrees. [6]
Despite all of Ericsson’s mechanical genius, the design and machinery failed at a critical time, which lessened Monitor’s combat abilities. The drawback to the position of the pilothouse was soon realized. Worden’s orders, as the speaking tube malfunctioned, had to be transmitted by word of mouth delivered by Captain Clerk Daniel Toffey and Acting Assistant Paymaster William Keeler. [7]
In addition to the communication and vision problems, the XI-inch Dahlgrens lacked the punch to pierce Virginia’s armor. These Dahlgrens could fire a 187-pound solid shot; however, even though an XI-inch Dahlgren was tested to fire using 30 pounds of powder, Monitor was ordered to use only 15 pounds, due to the fear that a gun could burst in the turret. Monitor could fire a shot every six to eight minutes. Loading was accomplished with the guns turned away from the enemy, and then the turret would revolve toward the target. The port stoppers were too heavy to operate. Because of limited vision and the inability to effectively stop the turret, of the 41 shots fired by during the engagement, only 20 struck the Confederate ironclad. William Norris noted that “any three [shots] of them properly aimed would have sunk us, and yet the nearest shot to the waterline was over four feet.” [8]
After almost two hours of combat, Worden ordered his ship to break off action and steam onto a shoal, away from the Confederate ironclad. The supply of shot in Monitor’s turret was exhausted and had to be resupplied from storage bins on the berth deck. To accomplish this, the turret had to be stationary so that the 187-pound solid shot could be hoisted up through the two scuttle holes, one in the deck and the other in the floor of the turret. It was an extremely difficult and time-consuming task. Worden ordered Keeler to provide the powder division with a ration of spirits. One crewman, Moses M. Stearns, received a strain that caused “a hernia of the left side,” and he was excused from duty. First-class Fireman George Geer was then relieved of his “duty in the fire room and went to my station hoisting up shot and shell to the tower guns.” [9]
The fight between the two ironclads ended when a conical shell fired by Virginia’s stern Brooke rifle struck Monitor’s pilot house, wounding the Union ironclad’s commander John L. Worden, and causing Monitor to temporarily break off action. As the tide was receding, CSS Virginia returned to its base. The two experimental ironclads would never fight again; yet they were models for future ironclad production. Monitor was deemed a grand success and the design was improved in various future classes. The Passaic-class featured greatly improved fight control and hitting power. Ships like USS Montauk had a pilot house situated atop the turret. The XV-inch shell gun was proven to cause significant damage to the Confederate casemate ironclad design.
Monitor’s Final Months
When Norfolk fell, Virginia was scuttled by its crew leaving the James River apparently open all the way to Richmond. Monitor joined a squadron consisting of the ironclads USS Galena and Naugatuck as well as the wooden double-ender gunboats Port Royal and Aroostock. The squadron was blocked by Confederate fortifications atop Drewey’s Bluff, partially manned by crew members of CSS Virginia. During the May 15, 1862 engagement Galena was damaged by Rebel plunging shot and shell. Monitor then moved abreast of Galena in an effort to draw Confederate gunfire away from the larger ironclad. Monitor’s new position and the dimensions of the turret’s gun ports did not allow the ironclad to elevate its two XI-inch Dahlgren’s enough to hit the Confederate batteries. Therefore, the turreted ironclad played a minor role in the battle.
After supporting Major General George McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, Monitor was detailed to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs. The hull was cleaned, a new blower system was installed, and the engines revitalized. George Geer was very impressed by the engine overhaul, noting that “it works first-rate now.” In turn, Keeler was most impressed with how the Dahlgrens were engraved with large letters:
MONITOR & MERRIMAC WORDEN
MONITOR & MERRIMAC ERICSSON
After repairs at the Washington Navy Yard, Monitor was ordered back to Hampton Roads. On December 25, 1862, the ironclad was ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina to participate in a planned attack on Wilmington, North Carolina. Monitor left Hampton Roads on December 29 undertow by USS Rhode Island. The warship was struck by a heavy gale on the afternoon of December 30. The heavy seas overwhelmed the little ironclad and it began to sink. A bailing party was organized to help staunch the flow of water. Francis Butts was in the turret to pass bails up and down through the hatch of the turret. Butts claimed that he became so annoyed by the wailing of a cat that he placed the feline into a barrel of one of the XI-inch Dahlgren’s and stuffed a wad in after it. Unfortunately, this action did not stop the cat’s mournful howling. Monitor sank in the early morning of December 31, 1862; however, an effort was undertaken by NOAA, the US Navy, and The Mariners’ Museum to recover parts of the ironclad from its grave off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The turret, including the two XI-inch Dahlgren’s, was brought to The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, in 2002 and is now under conservation.
ENDNOTES
- John V. Quarstein, The Monitor Boys, Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011, pp. 17-18.
- Spencer C. Tucker, Handbook of 19th Century Naval Warfare, Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000, pp. 88-89.
- IBID., pp.. 82-85.
- Quarstein, The Monitor Boys, pp. 47-48.
- Monitor Log
- Samuel Dana Greene, “In the Monitor’s Turret,” In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. 1, edited by Robert Underwood and Clarence Clough Buel. New York: Century Co., 1887.
- IBID.
- William Norris, “{The Story of the Confederate States Ship ’Virginia’’(once Merrimac): Her Victory Over the Monitor, Born March 7th, Died May 10th, 1862.”Southern Historical Society Papers 41 (September 1916): pp. 204-33.
- William Marvel, ed., The Monitor Chronicles, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 33 and . Alban C. Stimers, “An Engineer Aboard the Monitor, Civil War Times Illustrated, April 1970, p. 35.