Ship Modelers Association

The U.S.S. MONITOR was 179 feet long, with a 41.5 foot beam and a depth of only
10.5 feet. She displaced 987 tons and had a complement of 49 men. She carried only two (2)
11” guns. She was the first one designed by John Ericsson and was built at the Continental Iron
Works at Green Point in New York in 1862. This ship was an innovative and radically new
design for the period as a result of the intelligence obtained by U.S. Naval Secretary Gideon
Welles that the Confederacy was raising the hull of the old U.S.S. MERRIMAC and converting
her to an ironclad vessel. The initial effort involved three vessels that were designed by
different builders, the U.S.S. NEW IRONSIDES and the U.S.S. GALENA, two broadside
ironclads, and the revolving turret ship U.S.S. MONITOR.

The finished product, the U.S.S. MONITOR, was for the time revolutionary in the extreme. The iron vessel was actually composed of two parts, a hull (122 feet by 34 feet) upon which rested an iron “raft” (172 feet by 41 feet.) This dual function was to protect the hull from ramming and to provide the vessel with stability in a seaway. Within the hull were living spaces for 41 crew, an engine room (where the temperature reportedly reached 178 degrees Fahrenheit), and storage spaces for coal and ammunition. Visually and technologically, U.S.S. MONITOR’S most distinguishing feature was the rotating turret, built up of eight layers of one inch iron plate and measuring 20 feet in diameter and 9 feet high. Mounted on a steam powered spindle, the circular turret mounted two – 7 ton Dahlgren smoothbore guns. Also protruding from the deck were two ventilation pipes and two funnels aft, and forward a pilot house with 9-inch armor. She was the very first warship built without rigging or sails.

Laid down on October 25, 1861, and launched January 30, 1862, U.S.S. MONITOR
was commissioned on February 25 under Lieutenant John L. Worden. It was originally
intended would join Flag Officer David G. Farragut’s West Gulf Blockading Squadron at New
Orleans, but Farragut sailed before she was ready. Instead, she was sent to Washington, D.C.,
leaving New York on March 6 towed by the screw steamer SETH LOW. Two days later she
entered Chesapeake Bay just as C.S.S. VIRGINIA – The former U.S.S. MERRIMAC – was
attacking the wooden U.S.S. CONGRESS and CUMBERLAND in Hampton Roads. That night,
Captain Morston, the senior officer at Hampton Roads, ordered the U.S.S. MONITOR to assist
the beleaguered U.S.S. MINNESOTA.

On the morning of May 9, as C.S.S. VIRGINIA approached to finish off the grounded
frigate, U.S.S. MONITOR slipped out of the shadow of the larger ship to challenge the
Confederate ironclad. There then ensued a four hour battle between the two ships with the
result that neither was able to inflict serious damage on the other. Worden ship proved to be
superior in maneuverability, which he used to avoid as much as possible the shelling by his
adversary, but even so the turret was hit twenty-four times. During the battle, the C.S.S.
VIRGINIA was actually hard aground for about one hour but still the U.S. ships could not
penetrate her armor. The only real damage done was when, at about 1130, fragments from
one of VIRGINIA’S shot flew through the eye slit on MONITOR’S pilot house, partially blinding
the commander, Lieutenant Worden. MONITOR was ordered into shallow waters due to this
event, but VIRGINIA also broke off the engagement at about the same time. The main result of
this battle was to spell the end of the age of the wooden fighting ship.

The MONITOR stayed in the Hampton Roads area as a deterrent to the VIRGINIA until
the Confederates were forced to destroy their ship due to the capture of Norfolk by General
George McClellan’s forces. The MONITOR then proceeded up the James River with U.S.S.
GALENA and NAUGATUCK to Drury’s Bluff, about eight miles below the Confederate capital.
Their way was stopped by obstructions in the water and heavy Confederate artillery. The
monitors withdrew, but MONITOR stayed in the Hampton Roads area on blockade duty
through to the end of the year.

On December 29, U.S.S. RHODE ISLAND towed MONITOR out of Hampton Roads
bound for the blockade off Wilmington, North Carolina. At about 0130 on December 31,
1862, MONITOR foundered in a storm off Cape Hatteras, taking with her four officers and
twelve crew. Her exact location remained unknown until scientists aboard the research ship
EASTWARD located her remains on August 27, 1973.

A considerable amount of salvage work has been done on the vessel since then, and
large parts of the U.S.S. MONITOR have been raised from the seabed and are now on display at the Mariners’ Museum, which is planning a large USS MONITOR CENTER and
exhibit wing to be added to the existing museum which will include a full-scale sculptural replica of the MONITOR. But this is an entirely new story, sooo.

The model of the U.S.S. MONITOR by Bluejacket is available, accurate, and a fun little
project to build for those who may be interested. It is a unique vessel of the Civil War.