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  • An Uplifting Story: Recovering Monitor’s Artifacts

    • Civil War
    • Conservation
    • USS Monitor

    On December 31, 1862, USS Monitor was caught in a storm and sank 16 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in more than 230 feet of water. It is believed the vessel went down stern first, turning over so that its revolutionary 120-ton revolving gun turret separated and became pinned under the ship on the seafloor.

  • USS Monitor Wellington Boot Re-Treatment

    • Conservation
    • USS Monitor

    This treatment is a “re-treatment.” Occasionally, we’ll have an object that needs to be re-treated for various reasons. In this case, the Wellington boot was on display in our Monitor Center gallery. It is one of two boots from USS Monitor excavated from the turret and is the most complete of the pair.

  • Spring (Dry Ice) Cleaning

    • Conservation
    • USS Monitor

    The Monitor crew is busy with spring cleaning. Dry ice cleaning, that is. Last month we tackled Monitor‘s skeg assembly.

  • Lifting and flipping USS Monitor’s Condenser 🏗️💦

    For the first time in 160 years, USS Monitor's condenser bed is right-side up! In this video series, you can watch our Conservation team separating the condenser and its support bed, flipping the bed, and lifting both elements into their new treatment tank.

  • USS Monitor Skeg Elements Move

    Watch our Conservation team move USS Monitor's skeg elements out of their treatment tanks and over to our tank farm where they will undergo dry-ice cleaning.

  • USS Monitor: Oil Reservoirs

    • Conservation
    • Technology
    • USS Monitor

    Oil reservoirs are a tool commonly found on USS Monitor‘s engine. Also known as an oil cup or lubricating cup, they were used on steam engines to keep valves and levers constantly lubricated.

  • Boring USS Monitor’s Dahlgren Guns

    Monitor’s guns are the largest guns to ever be bored, giving this significant conservation step its own mark in history. The removal of the marine material was the final mechanical cleaning step before the guns can be dried and put on display.

  • Dahlgren Gun Tools: an In-Depth Look at Treatment, Part III

    • Conservation
    • USS Monitor

    In this blog post we’ll continue the discussion about one of USS Monitor’s gun cleaning tools, and the conservation treatment it has undergone.

  • Tied up in rope conservation and more! 

    • Conservation
    • Science
    • USS Monitor

    Something we seldom mention here is the time we spend doing maintenance on large tanks in the Wet Lab as well as in the “Tank Farm”. This summer, we took care of three large tanks located outside and two large tanks inside the Wet Lab.

  • Dahlgren Gun Tools: an In-Depth Look at Treatment, Part II

    • Conservation
    • Science
    • Technology
    • USS Monitor

    In this blog post we’ll continue the discussion about one of USS Monitor’s gun cleaning tools, and the conservation treatment it has undergone.

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