My Cart

John V. Quarstein

Director emeritus of the USS Monitor Center

John presents Civil War tours and lectures across the country and is the author of 18 books, with three more on the way. He leads the Museum’s Civil War and Hampton Roads Lecture Series and is now writing blogs and presenting online content via YouTube Live. John’s deep interest in all things related to the Civil War stems from his youth living on Fort Monroe, walking where heroes like Abraham Lincoln and R. E. Lee once stood. An avid collector of decoys, waterfowl/maritime art, and oriental rugs, John lives among them in his home, the 1757 Herbert House on Sunset Creek in Hampton, Virginia. On the National Register of Historic Places, this is the only house to have survived August 7, 1861, burning of Hampton.

Latest from John V. Quarstein

  • The Evolution of Naval Ordnance: 1820-1866

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Shipbuilding
    • Technology

    Major changes to 19th-century seaboard weaponry forced the transition from wooden ships to armored vessels. By the dawn of the 20th century, every major warship would be made of steel – steam-powered and armed with rifled guns – a new way of waging war at sea.

  • Mutiny at Sea: Death and Destruction on USS Somers

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Shipbuilding

    The brig-of-war USS Somers is one of the most ill-fated ships in US naval history. Its story is filled with powerful politicos, mutiny at sea, executions, and famous authors.

  • Hot Times on Monitor: One Steaming Summer On The James

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    The Union flotilla steamed downriver after its repulse at Drewry’s Bluff to City Point, Virginia. Commander John Rodgers, the flotilla’s leader, recognized that his ships, USS Monitor, USS Galena, USS Naugatuck, USS Port Royal, and USS Aroostook, were needed to support Major General George B. McClellan’s operations against Richmond.

  • Zouaves on the Virginia Peninsula

    • Civil War
    • Cultural Heritage
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    Just as the smoke cleared from the scene of the first Confederate victory at Big Bethel, onto the battlefield rapidly marched what would become one of the most colorful, daring, and poorly disciplined units of the Army of the Peninsula: Coppens’ Battalion.

  • The Siege of Fort Pulaski

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    The capture of Fort Pulaski on the mouth of the Savannah River had many significant implications. When the fort surrendered on April 11, 1862, it closed the port of Savannah. Accordingly, cotton exports had to be transported to Charleston or Wilmington to reach European markets

  • Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    Samuel Chapman Armstrong was the founder of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University). A native of Hawaii, he fought with the Union army during the Civil War.

  • Coastal Ironclads Other Than Monitors

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    The American Civil War is often considered the first modern industrial war. Both North and South endeavored to mobilize their resources to wage total war. This experience revolutionized naval warfare, and in doing so, forever changed America’s political, social, and economic fabric.

Scroll to Top