Special Report: The Monitor Mission

Virginian Pilot ^ | July 2002 | Paul Clancy, Steve Early (photos)

[csvset]

Special report: The Monitor Mission
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 21, 2002

This month, off North Carolina, archaeologists and Navy divers plan to recover the most revered artifact of the ironclad Monitor. The first revolving gun turret, ridiculed by Confederates as ''a cheese box on a raft,'' is coming back to Hampton Roads 140 years after a storm sent it to the ocean floor.

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Part 1: "Raise the cheese box!"
Descending 240 feet below the ocean's surface to the ancient remains of the Monitor is like visiting the great-great-grandmother of modern warships.
Full story / Slide show

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Part 2: Divers are on a sacred quest
An elite corps feels privileged to explore the ironclad Monitor's resting place as members prepare to salvage the Civil War ship's historic turret.
Full story / Slide show

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Part 3: Closing in on the prize
The last major piece of the Monitor, the newly exposed turret, is ready to rise from the ocean floor. With it may come more artifacts of the Civil War sailors.
Full story / Slide show

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Slide show: Historical images of the Monitor

Timeline of key dates
The ship was built for $275,000 in 1861.

Stories by Paul Clancy; photos by Steve Earley

[csvset]

Good series on efforts to raise the USS Monitor's guns. Lots of pics at the links.

[csvset]

I thought you would enjoy this.

[Diogenesis]

========== TECHNOLOGY and HISTORY ===========

Off Hatteras, NC, the turret of the Civil War ironclad Monitor
in 240 feet of water.

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Off Hatteras, NC, at the Monitor project, on July 14-17, 2002,
the barge Wotan is above the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.
GOAL: Navy heroes and take time off to retrieve the iron gun turret
from the 140-year-old shipwreck using saturation and surface techniques.

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Off Hatteras, NC, at the Monitor project, on July 17, 2002,
Navy Divers works the 'spider' arms.

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[csvset]

US Navy divers, hard at work.

[Poohbah]

Coolness. Good training for the divers, and it recovers a piece of history as well.

[Carolina]

In our backyard ping!!!

[blam]

Thanks for the ping. (I've been following the story)

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Very cool. Thanks for pinging this.

[ppaul]

Cool link:

The Monitor in action.

[LibKill]

Thanks, guys. I love history.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Good training for the divers, and it recovers a piece of history as well.

Good that someone else saw both points.

Our combat engineers (Red Horse) used to do volunteer work fixing up homes for seniors and folks that couldn't afford or were physically unable to do it themselves.

[MinuteGal]

I love history, also, LibKill! What a thrill that in my life time the Monitor is being raised. Hope some day I can see it cleaned up, mounted and displayed in a place of honor.

Leni

[Poohbah]

Our combat engineers (Red Horse) used to do volunteer work fixing up homes for seniors and folks that couldn't afford or were physically unable to do it themselves.

God bless 'em.

[Shooter 2.5]

It looks like the first picture is the paddle wheel instead of the turret.
On post #9 that doesn't look like the work of the monitor. I don't think the monitor ever sank any ships.
By the time the design was proven, there were "monitors" that had two turrets.

[hc87]

It looks like the first picture is the paddle wheel instead of the turret. On post #9 that doesn't look like the work of the monitor. I don't think the monitor ever sank any ships. By the time the design was proven, there were "monitors" that had two turrets.

The first picture is the bottom of the turret. When Monitor sank, she flipped over and landed on the turret.

#9 is a representation of Monitor's arrival on the night of the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads. The burning ship in the background is Congress, which was set afire by C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac) on the first day of the battle.

Monitor did not sink any ships. She was lost under tow shortly after the Battle of Hampton Roads.

[Shooter 2.5]

When I was proof reading that, I thought that I hadn't posted. I did a search of the propulsion of the Monitor and they mentioned a propeller. I still can't quite figure out the long piece that's covering the turret. I know they mentioned the hull but it looks too long and skinny.
I just found my "Arms and Equipment of the Civil War" book. Inside diameter of the turret is 20 feet, 9 feet high, 8 layers of inch iron plate bolted together. two 11 inch smoothbores shooting 180 pound solid shot. The deck iron was 1 inch thick and the side iron was 5 inches thick.

[Shooter 2.5]

I don't want to embarrass myself but I don't have a clue what that thing is that's on top of the turret. The book said that the "Beam" is 41 feet. I think that's the width. What that long skinny piece is, I don't have a clue.

[Snow Bunny]

Thank you so much for the thread and the ping. This is fascinating !!!!

[Snow Bunny]

BUMP

[GATOR NAVY]

Nice pics. Thanks for the ping.