Skeleton found in Civil War ironclad

AP ^ | August 3, 2002 | AP

[USA21]

HATTERAS, North Carolina (AP) -- Navy divers preparing to raise the 160-ton gun turret of the ironclad USS Monitor from the bottom of the Atlantic have found what is believed to be the skeleton of one of the Civil War ship's doomed sailors.

[jumpstartme]

Bookmarked.

[Whey]

I thought the battle was between the Merrimack and the Monitor?

[jumpstartme]

It sank after the battle. You knew that, right?

ps- It was the CSS Virginia, not the Merrimack.

[jumpstartme]

...not as a result of the battle. The battle was considered a draw. This was later...

[Morgan's Raider]

Nice to see an AP article refer to the Virginia by her correct name.

[Whey]

Sorry, I was not clear. Yes I know that the Monitor sank while being towed..and not during a battle. But I always thought the battle of the ironclads was between the Merrimack and the Monitor.

[Morgan's Raider]

The Virginia was scuttled a few weeks after the engagement to prevent capture by McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign; the Monitor, a very unseaworthy craft, was being towed to Charleston when it capsized, as the story says, in a storm on Dec. 31, 1862.

[Whey]

Okay...I will just go search the internet. Looks like I am not going to get my explaination here. Must be secret...

[Morgan's Raider]

The Merrimack was a Union frigate that was scuttled at the dock in Norfolk early in the war to prevent capture. However, she only burned to the waterline, and the Confederates raised the hull, built the barn-like iron clad superstructure on top of it, and re-christened her the CSS Virginia.

[Whey]

Okay...bingo. Now I get it. She was recommissioned as the Virginia. Cool. I never knew that! Thanks Raider.

[mykdsmom]

NC Monitor Bump!

MKM

[Arkinsaw]

The military funeral for this sailor will be an event I look forward to. I hope that he is given great honors.

[Morgan's Raider]

Every once in a while we old unreconstructed Rebel farts can impart some useful information :-)

[P8riot]

This is extremely cool. We used to live on Chesapeake Avenue in Hampton, VA, which gave an unobstruted view of Hampton Roads harbor. From our front porch you could look out over the spot where the battle supposedly took place. Every photo or drawing of the battle location I've ever seen has it taking place about a 1/2 mile from our old home.

[lizma]

Thank you for clearing that up.

Truth in history takes alot of work.

I'm still wondering did Richard III actually kill his nephews?

[P8riot]

Some of the iron, and equipment from the CSS Virginia was stored at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA (called Gosport in the 1860's) until the 1950's. There are various reports as to it's final disposition, but all indications are that most of it was sold for scrap. Some of the timbers were made into souvenir canes, and other items. The remainder of the ship was scuttled and lies under Craney Island in Hampton Roads. Some relics can be seeh at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA.

[Jonathon Spectre]

/salute a brave man long dead.

[jumpstartme]

I knew about the Virginia's fate, but, to be honest I never knew what had happened to this Ironclad.

[jumpstartme]

Sorry, I posted quickly and misunderstood your question.

There's a ton of info online about the Virginia including some awesome early photos on the Navy web.