Summer on the USS Monitor

Presented by John V. Quarstein, Director Emeritus, USS Monitor Center

Lecture begins at 2:30 PM

Civil War lectures are free with Museum admission, but reserving a seat is suggested as seating is limited. Reserve seats below.

In support of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, the ironclad USS Monitor spent that extremely hot and humid summer on the James River. The vessel was guarding against any possible excursion by the ironclad CSS Richmond. Monitor‘s crew suffered terribly from the heat. Crew member George Geer noted temperatures throughout the ship “were just intolerable: 110 degrees in the storeroom, 127 degrees in the engine room, 155 degrees in the galley, and 85 degrees on the berth deck.” The ventilation system was inadequate to bring sufficient fresh air into the iron vessel. The officers and crew suffered beyond compare in their floating Hades on the James.

Read more about our Civil War lectures here…