Prepared Remarks of SECNAV Mabus; Video Links Posted

USS Monitor Interment Ceremony

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus

Remarks as Prepared

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the family members who made a special trip to join us.    As the families of USS Monitor’s crew you know, as all Sailors know, that the crew of a warship is a lot like an extended family.  We thank you for being with us today to help us honor the two Sailors we inter today, and the 14 others who perished so long ago aboard the Monitor.

But in a larger sense, this ceremony also honors every individual who ever put to sea in defense of our country.  From the Marblehead men who rowed Washington across the Delaware, to these brave souls, to those who serve today in nuclear-powered carriers and submarines, Sailors have always been the same; they are at heart risk-takers—willing, even eager, to brave the unknown to peer past distant horizons.

It is fitting that we hold this ceremony today on the 151st anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads, where the Monitor engaged the Virginia for control of the James River and Southern Chesapeake Bay. Though the outcome that day was a draw, the battle enshrined each ship in naval immortality.  As our guest James McPherson wrote in his book War on the Waters, “Naval warfare would never again be the same after history’s first battle between ironclads.”

Nine months later, Monitor ended her short, storied career.  South of Cape Hatteras, in the area known as the graveyard of the Atlantic, Monitor and USS Rhode Island were swept up in a perilous winter gale.  As the night of December 30, 1862, progressed and the storm worsened, Monitor began to take on water.  As her pumps failed the 62-man crew decided it was time to abandon ship.  William Keeler, one of the 46 survivors, wrote to his wife once safely ashore saying, “The heavy seas rolled over our bow, dashing against the pilot house, and, surging aft, [and] would strike the solid turret with a force that would make it tremble . . . Words cannot depict the agony of those moments as our little company gathered on top of the turret . . . with a mass of sinking iron beneath us.”  Crews from Rhode Island ventured into the storm in their lifeboats to save the men of Monitor, Sailors struggling to save other Sailors.  At one o’clock in the morning, in the pouring rain and pitch black darkness, Monitor slipped below the raging seas.  Sixteen men went with her.

Naval tradition holds that the site of a sunken vessel is a sacred burial ground, and that Sailors who go down with their ships belong together.  But eleven years ago, when a team from the U.S. Navy, NOAA, and the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News raised the turret of USS Monitor from the depths, they were surprised to the remains of two crew members.  We began the process to try and identify these men, but too much time had passed to match these two Sailors to their names. 

However, having raised their remains, we brought them here, to the national military cemetery founded during the same great conflict for which they gave, in President Lincoln’s words, their “last full measure of devotion,” to provide these two Sailors with a final resting place.

This may well be the last time we bury Navy personnel who fought in the Civil War at Arlington. But we do not hesitate to keep faith and to honor this tradition, even more than 150 years after the promise was made.  Our nation honors our fallen Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen because we do not want their sacrifice, however distant, to be unremembered.  We are joined, as Lincoln again reminded us, by “the mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone.”

In a coincidence of history, today also marks the 124th anniversary of the death of Monitor’s designer, Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson.  The Monitor was a brand new type of ship, all steel construction; with heavy armor, heavy guns in a rotating turret, a deck barely above the waterline and screw propeller.  Ericsson’s design was yet another example of American naval innovation, from Joshua Humphrey’s Fast Frigates, to the Monitor, to the ships of today, the most complex platforms the world has ever known.  As it was in Ericsson’s time, so has it always been in the Navy: pioneering new materials, revolutionary weapons, innovative means of propulsion, creating a technological edge we maintain to this day.

On, above, and below the sea, our United States Sailors have always braved great danger.  In times of peace, as in times of war, it is a dangerous profession.  Today is a tribute to all the men and women of the sea, but especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, and an opportunity to once again pay our respects and offer our somber and deeply held gratitude for that sacrifice.

Thank you.

VIDEO LINKS:

For those of you who were unable to attend the ceremony, CHINFO has released a short video of the Chapel Ceremony.  You can view it on Youtube or stream it here on this blog:



 Interview with Lee Duckworth, HRNM Director of Education:

 

 A special thanks to LT Lauryn Dempsey and CHINFO for coordinating the news media/PR for this event.

USS Monitor Sailors Laid to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery

30308-N-AC887-002 ARLINGTON (March 8, 2013) One of two Sailors recovered from the ironclad USS Monitor is escorted by Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Nathaniel Crow, a member of the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, during a funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery. Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C., in 1862. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers/Released)

"O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea."
       - Naval Hymn "Eternal Father"

The weather was cold and dreary, but spirits were high.  Amidst the machine-gun snapping of photographers, two of the "Monitor Boys" were laid to rest yesterday.  Family members of Monitor sailors sat solemnly in front of the caskets as the burial detail gave the men full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.  It was a fitting conclusion to a story heard by countless people around the world.  Staff members of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum/Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial and the Naval History and Heritage Command were in Arlington yesterday to take part in the events surrounding the burial of these brave men who went down with their ship over 150 years ago.

My day began when I left for Arlington at 8:30am.  Hoping for little traffic ahead of me, I put on Titus Andronicus' album, "The Monitor," to get in the mood for the day's events.  If the coffee didn't wake me up, Titus Andronicus front man Patrick Stickles' lo-fi growls did.  I thought about what the sailors of CSS Virginia and USS Cumberland/Congress/Minnesota thought when the early morning sun filled their eyes 151 years ago.  What did those eyes see when the day ended?  That clear day in March would become the worst naval disaster the U.S. Navy would see until the attack at Pearl Harbor.  With such a staggering loss of life, the U.S. Navy needed something to stand up to the Confederate leviathan.  Luckily, the next day brought USS Monitor and the dawn of modern naval warfare.

During the trek up to Washington, I received several emails from the Command PAO about an opportunity for HRNM staff to participate in the U.S. Navy's first ever Google+ Hangout.  Naturally, I accepted.  Looking at my car's clock just outside of Richmond, it was 10:30am.  I could make it.   Let the traffic gods be merciful on me today, even if it I was heading towards the "lion's den" of vehicular congestion.

Google+ Hangout Session at Fort Myer 

I arrived at Fort Myer at 12:30pm, just in time to meet with CHINFO at the Community Center for the broadcast.  At 2:00 pm we went live.  The +Hangout included staff members and representatives from HRNM, Naval History and Heritage Command, JPAC, Arlington National Cemetery, and NOAAThe Google+ Hangout lasted for 52 Minutes.   Topics ranged from the history of the ship to the efforts to identify the two unknown sailors buried inside the turret.  There were several interesting viewer questions during the session, which I am grateful for.  It is always a magical thing to see the memory of the Monitor alive and thriving 151 years later.  For the full Google+ Hangout Session, go HERE.

A very special thanks to Sandy Gall at CHINFO and Junior at Google for making the event possible.

Ceremony Invitation and Program

The chapel service began at 4:00pm.  Over 200 were in attendance for the ceremony, including members of the U.S. Navy and the descendants of Monitor sailors.  Special guest speakers at the ceremony included Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Kathryn Sullivan, and award-winning author James McPherson.


The ceremony was both somber and reflective.  Church organs bellowed "Amazing Grace" and the Naval Hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save."  In the corner of my eye, I could see some family members wiping tears from their eyes.  It was a funeral service after all, even if those being interred died more than a century ago.  To the family members present, the two men just feet in front of them could be the missing branch on their family tree.  Even with the help of modern scientific technology, it is too early to tell who exactly these men were.

SECNAV Mabus speaks at the Chapel Ceremony (U.S. Navy photo) 

Guest speakers spoke for approximately five minutes.  Each reflected on the loss of Monitor and its legacy in the annals of naval history.  SECNAV Mabus opened the talks, highlighting the history and heritage of these men:

"From the Marblehead men who rowed Washington across the Delaware, to these brave souls, to those who serve today in nuclear-powered carriers and submarines, Sailors have always been the same; they are at heart risk-takers, willing -- even eager -- to brave the unknown to peer past distant horizons." - The Honorable Ray Mabus

As the ceremony concluded, guests filed behind the funeral cassions to make the quarter mile trek from the chapel to their final resting place, nestled between the mast of the Maine and the memorial to the space shuttles Columbia and Challenger.

Unfortunately, I could not get a clear view of the proceedings of the burial.  The wind was blowing quite hard at this point.  The Chaplain's words flickered in and out of earshot.  What was heard were words of peace and hope. Words of love and devotion to one's country; concepts not lost on today's modern Navy.

Standing around me were many of the men and women who helped make this event possible.  A "who's who" of naval history and maritime archaeology flanked my periphery.  I could see a calmness and intensity in their eyes as the sailors eloquently folded the United States flag to a hushed crowd of hundreds.  As soon as it came, the ceremony was over.    

Mariners' Museum VP of Museum Collections Anna Holloway was one such individual who played a huge role in bringing those men to Arlington.  Looking away from the ceremony, Holloway smiled with satisfaction.  "We did it," she said, smiling with delight.  Her words likely reflected the sentiment of many there standing in our nation's most hallowed ground.  For our good friends at the Mariners' Museum and USS Monitor Marine Sanctuary, yesterday marks a triumphant end to over a decade of hard work.

It was not only the Battle OF Hampton Roads, it was also a Battle FOR Hampton Roads.  For the security of our nation.  For the preservation of the Union and the thousands of men who gave the ultimate price to protect it.  The Monitor stands as a symbol of honor, courage, and commitment resonating still today.  Their final measure of devotion was honored gloriously.  

I was happy to be there and take part in the event.  It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.

As Chaplin Glore stated in the closing remarks of the chapel ceremony, the event gives "new energy to the past and present" history of Monitor and the men that fought beneath her iron decks and rotating turret.

Rest easy, Monitor Boys.  Your voyage is finally over.

Relevant Links to Yesterday's Ceremony:
Navy.mil News Story
SECNAV Photos
CBS News Story on USS Monitor
Washington Post (Excellent Photo Gallery)
Baltimore Sun
NOAA
NPR
USS Monitor Twitter Stream

NHHC Documents on the Battle of Hampton Roads

Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding at HRNM

Participants from last year's LEGO Event building the USS Monitor. 

Calling all ship builders!  Bring your LEGO ships to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum on Saturday, February 2, 2013.  The Hampton Roads Naval Museum, in partnership with the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial, HARDLUG, and Bricks 4 Kidz, is holding a FREE program about building ships with LEGOs on Saturday, February 2, from 10am to 5pm.  

Several staff of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum/Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial have been getting emails about the event.  To clear the air, here is a breakdown of what you can expect in February. 

What is the same about the event from last year?

• First and foremost, it is FREE and open to the public.  No registration or sign up necessary!  If you must though, you can HERE.
• Bring your creativity!  Free play area to build ship designs for fun or to enter our shipbuilding contest.
• Local Hampton Roads LEGO user group HARDLUG will return with a display of LEGO ships (kit-built and original designs).
• Instructions for ship designs in the shipbuilding gallery will be available - follow the guidelines and build each ship from the keel on up!

What is new?

• For those of you who enter the shipbuilding contest, we have upped the ante this year!  More age groups = better prizes.  Win your own set o the ships debuted at this event, which include  the Monitor and Virginia!   
• LEGO Group Bricks 4 Kidz will be int he back of the museum with a fun demo of their programs.  
• We have all new ship designs to build this year.  This year, you will be able to build a miniature version of the CSS Virginia!  Other new designs include: LST-342, LCVP "Higgins" Boat, USS Norfolk, and USS Ranger.  
• Two SPECIAL EDITION sets for prize winners (USS Wisconsin and USS Connecticut)

All ship designs are based on real models or images of ships included in the HRNM Gallery.  Come and see if you can find them all!

This year's prize packages, which include the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (bottom of image)

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum encourages all those interested to come and check it out.  Last year, over 800 people attended the event.  If you can't make it, please let us know what Civil War ships you would like to see built this upcoming year by commenting on the CWN 150 or HRNM Facebook pages/Twitter (@hrnm/@civilwarnavy)

Want to get started early? Building Instructions for USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.  All instructions are available on the HRNM website to download for FREE. 

For all questions and inquiries, please contact Laura Orr at laura.l.orr@navy.mil or 757-322-3108, or visit HRNM’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HRNavalMuseum.  A similar blog post on the LEGO event can be found on the HRNM Blog HERE.

CSS Virginia LEGO Ship Instructions Available for Download

Click on the above image to download the instructions (.pdf)

The wait is finally over!  As part of the new "Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding" initiative at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum/Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial, we have created FREE downloadable instructions to famous naval ships in American naval history.

Arguably one of the most famous ships during the American Civil War was the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia.  In her honor, we have created a model of that ship for you to build!  All you need to do is supply your own bricks, and start building.

This is just a taste of what will be offered both online and in the HRNM Gallery at next year's LEGO Shipbuilding Program.  We are firming up the date at the moment, but look to early next year for a day of fun, education, and naval history!  Make sure to come out to the event, as we will be offering QR codes of LEGO models not offered online.

The instruction will also be available on the HRNM website soon under: Resources --> Educational Resources --> LEGO Shipbuilding Instructions.

If you do build it, or want to modify it, send us the pictures via email at matthew.t.eng@navy.mil.  We will post them on the blog and on the CWN 150 Facebook Page.  Any questions about next year's Lego Shipbuilding Program?  Contact Laura Orr at laura.l.orr@navy.mil.  Enjoy and happy building!  Stay tuned for more info and more ships.  Can you guess the next CWN 150 LEGO ship we offer?  Hint: It is in the HRNM Gallery!

- CWN 150

Setting Up a Navy Yard in Charlotte, 1862



1877 map of Charlotte, "Carolina Central R.R.,"
"R.M. Oates," and Hutchison were the location 
of the Charlotte Navy Yard from 1862-1865

If you happen to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, be sure to stop by and read North Carolina's Historical Marker "L-56/Confederate Navy Yard."  The sign is near the Charlotte Transportation Center/Arena Station on Front Street.   Other than the sign, there is nothing left to indicate that one of the more important pieces of Confederate Navy infrastructure used to stand there.  At first glance, one would think that Charlotte would be an odd place to set up a navy yard.  After all, navy yards are supposed to be linked to water.  Ideally, yes.  But, as with many aspects of the Confederate States Navy, a combination of necessity and shortages birthed innovation. 


The idea to set up shop in southwest North Carolina  came from H. Ashton Ramsey, chief engineer of the late CSS Virginia.  With Union ground and naval forces moving in on Gosport Navy Yard, Ramsey had his men pack up as many industrial tools and machines they could carry and load them onto rail cars.  Working with ordnance expert John Brooke, the two men identified an abandoned machine shop located on the main line of the North Carolina Central railroad.  Most important to Ramsey, it was safe from interference of both Union ground and naval forces.

 After convincing the property owner to sell on a promise to pay when the war ended, workers from Gosport immediately started unloading several pieces of heavy industrial equipment.  The workers’ families arrived a short time later.  Many of the families settled down permanently in Charlotte after the war. 

For the rest of the war, Ramsey’s men manufactured and assembled several shafts, propellers, ordnance, and torpedoes for use by the Confederate Navy.   Most of the parts were used in building mid to late war ironclads such as CSS Virginia II, CSS Albemarle, CSS Georgia, and CSS Tennessee.  Read more about the operations of the yard here.

CSS Albemarle, one of several ironclads whose parts were assembled by the Charlotte Navy Yard

CSS Virginia's Firestorm

After many unsuccessful attempts to bring Monitor to battle in April 1862, Commodore Josiah Tattnall and CSS Virginia faced a major crisis during the first week of May.   As Union ground forces landed at Ocean View and began to march towards downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth, Confederate ground forces evacuated.  The only problem was that no one in the Confederate Army told Tattnall of the evacuation plan.  His junior officers reported that both the Gosport Navy Yard and the batteries at Sewells Point had been abandoned, and the fort at Craney Island was in the process of being abandoned. 

No stranger to a hard fight (see the "Blood is Thicker Than Water" incident), Tattnall was prepared to make a last stand, but instead elected to move the ironclad up the James River.  He solicited the advice of two local harbor pilots.  Both stated that if Virginia's draft was lightened to draw only 18 feet of water (as opposite to her normal 22 feet), the ironclad could make it to safety near City Point.  The commodore went with the plan and had all the guns and stores removed.  On May 10, 1862, Tattnall was ready to make the attempt.  The pilots, however, changed their mind and informed Tattnall that the attempt could not be made.   John Taylor Wood would later remark "Moral: All officers should learn to do their own piloting."

Knowing the Union forces were closing in, and with great reluctance, Tattnall ordered Virginia to be put to the torch.  Virginia's executive officer, ap Roger Jones, did the honors and set the ship on fire.  The ship's company marched to Suffolk and boarded a train for Richmond where they would live to fight another day.

The veteran flag officer knew the move would be controversial and fully expected to be grilled by his superiors, but not second-guessed.  Three of the Confederate Navy's senior officers and Tattnall's personal colleagues, French Forrest, Duncan Ingraham, and William Lynch, blasted the commodore for incompetence and accused him of being "panic-stricken."  Many officers came to Tattnall's defense and counter-accused the Board for speaking about things they knew nothing about.  Tattnall demanded and received a formal court marital to clear up his name. 

Two months later, a board of twelve officers including Franklin Buchanan, Syndey Lee, and Mathew Murray heard three charges against Tattnall.  After listening to Tattnall's account of the scuttling and the dire situation in Hampton Roads, the court unanimously cleared the commodore of incompetence.  Tattnall was allowed to continue his new command in Georgia. 

A more complete record of both hearings can be found here in a biography of Tattnall (chapter 15). 

Let me count the ways (of sinking CSS Virginia)

CSS Virginia in its attack on USS Cumberland. (United States Navy image)

This past weekend's observance of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News was a delight.  The presentations and discussions were enlightening and entertaining.

To me David Gerleman's '"Sink the Merrimac!': Northern Plans, Scheme, and Inventions to Destroy the Rebel Ram" encapsulated the best of that during the two-day event.  He described with illustrations 13 categories of suggestions to President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, and Navy Secretary Gideon Welles from inventors, maritime experts, explosive tinkerers, concerned citizens, and kooks on the best way to rid Hampton Roads of that Confederate scourge.

Almost all involved the transfer of large sums of cash and many were "too secret" to commit to paper, thus requiring a meeting in Washington with an appropriate executive branch official, at least at the secretariat level == if the president was too busy.   

Gerleman, assistant editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln at the National Archives, outlined how obstructions could keep the ironclad from either leaving her haven on the Elizabeth River or, failing that, blocking her return. If that did not work, a commando raid (using what to destroy the vessel and number of men needed were undefined) should do the trick.

There was also the "Swarm and Sink" theory, using Hudson River steamers and ramming tugs, or using Cornelius Vanderbilt's speedy and special yacht to sail circles around CSS Virginia and chase down commerce raiders on the high seas after the "Virginia menace" was brought to heel.

Of course, there were suggestions of the usefulness of "underwater cannon (not invented yet);" "self-attached mines;" "flying torpedoes (also not invented yet);" "propeller fouling nets" (requiring at least two "inconspicuous" tugs in the narrow confines of Hampton Roads waiting to snag the unsuspecting ironclad sailing between them) or grappling hooks to hold it in place for boarders; "submarines," "The Alligator;" spraying naptha, coal oil, ;or spirits of turpentine on the vessel to set it ablaze or firing live steam through the gunports to immobilize the crew; and "cradling" to rock it to the bottom or dumping heavy cannon on its top cover to sink it.

If this could be made into interactive presentation for high school students, in particular, -- maybe through the National Archives or the Library of Congress, the Civil War would come alive -- truly enlightening and truly entertaining -- for a new generation in thousands of classrooms across the country.

I hope it is not my pipedream -- without the particulars of the patriots who wrote Lincoln, Cameron and Welles with their "good ideas at the time."

Battle of Hampton Roads Day 2 - Seaman Rob's Report

The second day of the BOHR event dawned with some frost on the ground, which is totally unheard of in March for a Floridian!! I attended the morning free lecture by Dr. John Quarstein on “The Men of the CSS Virginia”. Dr. Quarstein’s talk was an animated overview of the design and building of the CSS Virginia from the hulk of the USS Merrimack and the effort to find a crew to man her. Along the way he offered history and observations on the officers and men who crewed this revolutionary warship and he made the very interesting point that many of the men who served on the Virginia went on to serve in many important positions in the Confederate Navy, even after the ship was destroyed. I purchased a copy of Dr. Quarstein’s book “The Monitor Boys” and was fortunate to get him to sign it with a hearty “Huzzah” to Seaman Rob!! In addition, I met fellow CWN150 Guest Bloggers Sarah Adler and Andrew Duppstadt and I was “drafted” as an unofficial Hampton Roads Naval Museum volunteer to man the HRNM Booth while staffers Matt Eng, Laura Orr, and Gordon Calhoun were in a panel presentation at the Naval History Conference. Because I was not an attendee at the Conference, I am going to depend upon all of them to give an update on the content of their presentations and assessment of how it went. I enjoyed meeting many CW re-enactors (army, navy and marine) from the Virginia area and found them very friendly, informative, and I learned a lot from them. Thanks guys (and gals)!! All-in-all, this was an incredible weekend and I felt it was worth the drive up from Florida.


Images are from the Naval History and Heritage Command web site. Top photo is Adm. Franklin Buchanan, the first commander of the CSS Virginia, and the bottom photo is Catesby ap Roger Jones, the XO of the Virginia.

More News for the Monitor Faces (and one for Virginia)

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! 

We are endeavoring to bring to you the latest and greatest news about the recent release of the two unidentified Monitor sailors as it comes in.  Here are some of the latest links for your reading pleasure.  Stay tuned to hear more about this interesting saga in American naval history as it unfolds here at the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial. 

Could These Be the Faces of the Monitor?
Daily Press Article online HERE.

Lost At Sea: Do You Know These Civil War Sailors?
Vermont Public Radio broadcast HERE. 

UPS Delivers History to U.S. Navy Memorial
Atlanta Business Chronicle article HERE.

Names and Faces Suggested for Monitor Sailors
National Geographic Article HERE.

Faces of Civil War Sailors to Aid in Search for Their Identities
WBDJ7 Article HERE.

Facial Reconstruction Brings Drowned Civil War Sailors to Life
LiveScience article HERE.

//---------------------------
...and one for the CSS Virginia

The Battle of Hampton Roads: Constructing CSS Virginia
Daily Press Article HERE.

 

 

USS Minnesota and the Fate of Andromeda

When Virginia made her ascent of the Elizabeth River and appeared in Hampton Roads on March 8, 1862, the New York Times and many others described her as a “mysterious marine monster.” The print makers Currier & Ives titled their print of Virginia’s scuttling on Craney Island a few weeks later as “The Destruction of the Rebel Monster.” Thus it is quite clear how the Northern public viewed the Confederate ironclad. Under this view, Minnesota played the part of the beautiful maiden Andromeda. In the Greek myth, King Cepheus chained his daughter Andromeda to a rock so that she would be eaten by a monster sent by the god Poseidon and satisfy the ocean god’s wrath.

In the Battle of Hampton Roads, the “monster” had already slain two of the Navy’s old heroes, USS Cumberland and Congress, and now was moving in for his prize. But just as in the Greek myth (and played out in two different versions of the movie Clash of the Titans), the hero Peruses rides into the battle on the back of the winged horse Pegasus, whose part was played by USS Monitor, to save the maiden from being ripped to pieces.

Poet and playwright George Henry Boker’s 1864 epic poem “The Cruise of the Monitor” provided readers with a synthesis of the myth and modern history:

Out of its den [Virginia] burst anew
When the gray mist the sun broke through
Steaming to where in clinging sands
The frigate Minnesota stands
A sturdy foe to overthrow
But in a woeful plight to receive a blow.


But see!
Beneath her bow appears!
A champion no danger fears
A pigmy craft that seems to be
To this new lord who rules the sea
Like David of old to Goliath bold
Youth and giant by Scripture told

Playing the part of Andromeda was an unfortunate and unexpected position Minnesota found herself on that famous day. For years, the ship had been center of national and international attention. The steam frigate was one of the most well designed warships in the world and was a sight to behold. When the Navy commissioned her and her sister frigates of the Merrimack-class in the 1850s, European navies felt threatened by American warships for the first time since USS Constitution scored her legendary victories during the War of 1812. The Navy recognized Minnesota’s prowess and looks by designating her to be the diplomatic vessel for America's early ambassador to China. The Navy then made her the flag ship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron early on in the Civil War. But, in the Greek myths, the gods were a fickle bunch, who regularly changed their minds and enjoyed abusing their subjects. Likewise, in a period of 48 hours, Minnesota went from Poseidon’s personal champion to Poseidon’s lunch.

Monitor Mania!

LSU Faces Laboratory/AP

This upcoming week will mark one of the most excited periods of events for the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.  For commemorations focusing on the navies, it is perhaps the most important.

Faces of 2 USS Monitor crewmembers reconstructed

As many readers know, we are in the process of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads.  Over the past few weeks, several articles around the country posted news and information on the upcoming anniversary.  The most interesting piece of information coming out this past week was the latest and greatest from the LSU FACES laboratory.  According to the AP writer STEVE SZKOTAK, the latest forensic technology helped to reconstruct the two unidentified faces of the sailors left inside the famous turret when it sank in December 1862.  Unfortunately, DNA testing done from bone samples did not render any living descendants of the two sailors' families.

Perhaps that is all that we will know.

According to an interview with James Delgado, director of NOAA's Maritime Heritage Program, "the faces are really the last opportunity we have, unless somebody pops up out of nowhere and says, 'Hey, I am a descendant.'"  Read the full AP article HERE.

Here are some of the other recent articles on USS Monitor around the internet:

Experts Rebuild Faces of Civil War Sailors - Newser

The Monitor Still Captivates - Washington Post

Clash of the Ironclads - Daily Press

All in all, it is shaping up to be a huge week for the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial.  If you haven't already, make sure to check out the Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend at the Mariners' Museum.  The CWN 150 will be there.  Will you?

Protecting CSS Virginia -- At All Costs

Harper's Weekly sketch of submarine attack on USS Minnesota in Hampton Roads in fall of 1861. (Library of Congress)


Acting Master William Cheeney was extremely anxious March 12, 1862, as he began writing a letter to Commander John Mercer Brooke in Richmond.  The arrival of the Union Monitor had dramatically altered the naval situation in Hampton. The blockade remained in place and a feared buildup of Union forces around Fortress Monroe seemed imminent. But if the underwater explosives engineer could get the support of  Brooke, the inventor of a revolutionary deep sea sounding device, a powerful Navy cannon, and one of the fathers of the ironclad CSS Virginia, Cheeney believed he had the means in hand to dispose of the wooden Union Navy's radically-designed defender.

Cheeney had already approached Commodore French Forrest, commander of Confederate naval forces in Hampton Roads, about securing a "little sheet iron cigar boat" about 12-feet long and 2 1/2- feet wide to do the job.

"When  done, I shall make the first trial on the Monitor which is the only enemy our noble Virginia has to fear.  I believe I shall succeed."

Asking for Brooke's patience if the project ran into a delay, Cheeney, who was born in New York and had served in the United States Navy, assured him that unlike the ironclads and Matthew Fontaine Maury's gunboats, "It will cost very little and will require about one week to complete it."

Why would Cheeney seem so assured that he could succeed and he would receive Brooke's support? He had done it before. Since the earliest days of the war, he had worked with submersibles and had built a "sub-marine boat" then in Richmond.  But speed was necessary now. It "would take too long" to  ready the submarine and send it to Norfolk for an attack on Monitor. He had won Brooke's support in the past to build the submarine, and he had every reason to believe he would have it now when the stakes were so high.

The Union Navy also had every reason to believe that such an attack by a submersible or a "sub-marine boat" was possible in Hampton Roads. In the fall of 1861, Cheeney had probably launched at least one attack against USS Minnesota, now aground following the Battle of the Ironclads. Shortly after that, the commander of USS Congress, now sunk, had positioned A-frame defenses around his ship to protect it from torpedoes (mines) or rip apart the floats of spar-tipped submerged Confederate attackers.

A female spy had tipped the Union Navy and Union Army off.  Allan Pinkerton, head of the Secret Service, had taken "Mrs. E.H. Baker," one of his Chicago operatives with connections in Richmond, directly to Major General George B. McClellan and Navy Secretary Gideon Welles when she arrived in Washington in November 1861.  There, she handed over her notes of a demonstration of the submarine's power that she had witnessed as the guest of a Confederate Army officer and a sketch of work being done on a much larger submarine at the Tredegar Iron Works that she made after touring the facility the next day.

Through field glasses, Mrs. Baker watched the "float," a green device atop the model submarine allowing air into the vessel, approach a scow.  As the Army officer explained to her, two or three men operate the boat.  They are "provided with submarine diving, armor, which enables them to work under the water and attach the magazine to the ship intended to be blown up."

For a few moments, the "float " stopped "within a few rods of the scow" before moving away.  For a few more moments, nothing happened.  She believed the experiment had failed.

"Without any previous warning, there was a terrific explosion, and the scow seemed lifted bodily out of the water and thrown into the air.  Her destruction was complete."

The officer then told her that the plan nearing fruition was to have the larger submarine being fitted out at Tredegar taken to Norfolk and paired up with Patrick Henry and Yorktown, both converted steamers, in a coordinated attack on the water and below upon the Union fleet.

Pinkerton's memoirs can be troublesome when it comes to facts vs. hyperbole concerning himself and his agents and even dates.

On Oct. 12, more than a month before Mrs. Baker is said to have reported to Washington, the New York Herald published an account of a foiled attack on Minnesota, possibly using a submarine. Harper's Weekly reprinted the account with a sketch of the two vessels. Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough, commander of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, reported to Welles several days earlier that "an attempt, no doubt, was made by the insurgents to get an infernal machine among our shipping" in Hampton Roads, but whether he was referring to a submarine or floating mines is unclear.

What is known is that Lieutenant Robert Minor failed in an attack on Congress off Newport News Point on the day Goldsborough wrote Welles, but he used floating mines.

Yet Pinkerton wrote, "One of the vessels of the blockading fleet ... had discovered the float, and putting out her drag-rope, had caught the air-tubes and thus effectually disabled the vessel from doing any harm, and no doubt drowning all who were on board." He didn't name the vessel saved the Federal fleet from destruction.

There also are no known surviving records of Cheeney's "sub-marine boat" engaged in combat in Hampton Roads either in 1861 or 1862. Torpedo boats, cigar boats, "Davids," CSS Hunley, and other similar vessels appear in a number of other accounts of later engagements at New Orleans, Mobile, and Charleston.

What Cheeney's letter clearly shows is the Confederate Navy's heightened interest in devising new technologies and techniques to frustrate the Union Navy's wealth and numbers. Often its grasp exceeded its reach.

But with Monitor on station and other ironclads on the way, the massive Army and Navy buildup for the Peninsula campaign was safely under way.

As matters turned out, there is no record of Cheeney's cigar boat attacking Monitor, either. In fact by the fall of 1862, he switched sides again -- rejoining the Union Navy where his work remains shrouded in secrecy.

Sources:

ORN, Ser. 1 Vol. 6, pp. 363,  392-393
"A Rebel Infernal Machine," Harper's Weekly, Nov. 2, 1861
Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellion, G.W. Dillingham Co., New York, Google e-Book, pp. 396-403
John M. Coski, Capital Navy, Savas Woodbury Publishers, Campbell, Calif., 1996. pp. 116-121

Welles considers torpedo attack on CSS Virginia

As the Union Army commanders dithered over attacking Confederate-held Norfolk and Portsmouth, the Union Navy reeled under the attack of CSS Virginia. 

What were steady rumors flowing across Hampton Roads about the Confederates building a new kind of warship out of Merrimack became published fact when a New York Herald reporter, Bradley Sillick Osbon with extensive service in the Navy, rowed “a Hellgate pilotboat” with muffled oars from Fortress Monroe to the naval shipyard.

Drawing close  to the vessel on a foggy night, “I fixed her outlines and proportions in my mind and returning undiscovered wrote a description of her for the Herald, and made a sketch for Harper's Weekly.”   Osbon reported his findings to the aged Major General John Wool, commander of the fortress and a veteran of the War of 1812, and offered to lead a boarding party to sink the ship before it could leave the yard.  Like Army officers before and after in Hampton Roads, Wool demurred. Sinking ships, even attacking warships, were what navies did.

Osbon, dismissing Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough, the senior Union Navy officer, as overly cautious, did not pursue the matter with him.  If he had probed, Osbon would have learned that  the blockade commander had warned Washington that “she will, in all probability, prove to exceedingly formidable,” especially if accompanied by fast-moving shallow-draft gunboats.

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In the winter of 1861-1862, more and more naval officers in Hampton Roads wanted the Army to destroy Merrimack before it could  threaten the Union’s tenuous control of Hampton Roads by re-taking Southside Hampton Roads.  McClellan, now commanding the Army of the Potomac, eventually received the Navy’s proposal to attack the port of Norfolk and the Gosport shipyard in Portsmouth, but, like Wool on the scene, did nothing with it.

Congress and sloop Cumberland paid the price for these months of dithering.  They were the first ships sunk by Merrimack, now christened CSS Virginia,  in the Battle of Hampton Roads in March, 1862. Commander William Smith, who had turned over command to Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith a few days earlier,  was still on board when Merrimack attacked.  Congress was only able to fire two of its stern guns in its defense. It didn’t slow the ironclad down. When Lieutenant Smith was killed in the fighting, Commander Smith ordered Congress’ colors struck at 4 p.m. The frigate had been engaged with CSS Virginia for about 30 minutes.

The threat that Smith had been forced to ignore to defend against mine attacks remained a menacing force even after John Ericsson’s Monitor battled the Confederate ironclad to a draw. The Union Navy in Hampton Roads and in Washington were now frantically searching for any way to rid themselves of this enemy. It did not appear likely that Monitor was capable of sinking Virginia; and as long as it was able to fight the wooden ships of the Union Navy in Tidewater Virginia were in great danger.

A little more than a month after the battle and as the Union Army was descending on Tidewater in preparation for the Peninsula campaign, lawyer and self-described patriot, H.K. Lawrence offered Welles his ideas on how to sink the Confederate ironclad and two other Confederate vessels, Jamestown and Yorktown, at the naval shipyard.  With those three vessels out of action, the Union Navy would control Hampton. Roads.  At first he put the prize money he wanted for sinking the ironclad at $500,000 and the two smaller steamers at $100,000 each.

Although the price was high, Welles was interested.

If the Confederates could use submarine explosives to destroy ships so could the Union, Lawrence wrote.  He first proposed receiving 2,000 pounds of gunpowder, later reduced to 1,500 pounds, to build “four submarine armors” at the Washington Arsenal at a cost not to exceed $1,800 and in unspecified ways to ship those “armors” to Fortress Monroe and from there to destroy CSS Virginia by May 9. The attacks on Jamestown and Yorktown were dropped in later correspondence, and Lawrence reduced the suggested prize for sinking the ironclad to $100,000. 

Still unanswered in the correspondence were any details of how the attack was to be carried out.  He likely either intended to float the mines toward Virginia and have them explode on contact or draw close enough to it to place the explosives under the ironclad to detonate them electronically.

Welles was considering Lawrence’s plan out of desperation. He knew his wooden ships were no match for the Confederate ironclad, and the Monitor was doing all it could to protect the troop build-up.  Yet even knowing all that, Union Army commanders ignored the threat Virginia posed to all their operations in Hampton Roads.

Finally, at President Abraham Lincoln’s personal insistence after he surveyed the Confederates’ hold on Southside Hampton Roads from the water, the Union Army moved on Norfolk and Portsmouth May 10.

Reeling from the long-delayed attack, the Confederates scuttled Virginia and Confederate States (one of the Navy’s six original frigates) off Craney Island because they had  too deep a draught to go up the James River to safety in Richmond and burned Germantown, Plymouth, Jesup, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and William Seddon.

From July, 1861 through May, 1862, Union Navy officers had been pre-occupied with defending themselves against a mine attack or how to use mines to destroy the Confederacy’s great warship with mines before it could strike again.  Within weeks, they were confronting new mine threats past the Curle in the James River, just below Richmond. The mine ranges set in the water close by large gun emplacements on Drury’s Bluff and the south bank and Chaffin’s Farm on the north were effective and deadly.  Unlike New Orleans, the Union Navy even with its attack gunboats never succeeded in taking Richmond from the river.

Lawrence’s scheme to sink Virginia as bold as it seemed in letters and as desperate as it would have been in practice had been overcome by old-fashioned events.

CSS Virginia LEGO Model Finished

If you saw last week's post on an amazing LEGO Monitor ship built by some HRNM Summer Intern Samuel Nelson, we are happy to inform you that both Sam and fellow intern Jordan Hock have recently completed the famed counterpart to the Union ironclad.  CSS Virginia.  Here is a picture of the completed CSS Virginia positioned as she was during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

 As a special "Civil War Navy" section to the upcoming STEM-based program at HRNM (Brick-by-Brick: The LEGO Shipbuilding Program), we will offer step-by-step designs for all you LEGO enthusiasts out there in upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned! 

"The First of Iron-Clads," John Taylor Wood

 Currier & Ives Illustration

Today marks the 149th anniversary of the storied engagement between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.  The following is an excerpt from an account of the Monitor and Virginia (Titled "The First of Iron-Clads") from John Taylor Wood, CSA. No changes have been made to the original text to keep with the historical integrity of the document. 

Excerpt from "The First of Iron-Clads"

But at daybreak we discovered, lying between us and the Minnesota, a strange-looking craft, which we knew at once to be Ericson's Monitor, which had long been expected in Hampton Roads, and of which, from different sources, we had a good idea. She could not possibly have made her appearance at a more inopportune time for us, changing our plans, which were to destroy the Minnesota, and then the remainder of the fleet below Fort Monroe. She appeared but a pigmy compared with the lofty frigate which she guarded. But in her size was one great element of her success. I will not attempt a description of the Monitor; her build and peculiarities are well known.

                        After an early-breakfast, we got under way and steamed out toward the enemy, opening fire from our bow pivot, and closing in to deliver our starboard at short range, which was returned promptly from her 11-inch guns. Both vessels then turned and passed again still closer. The Monitor was firing every seven or eight minutes, and nearly shot struck. Our ship was working worse and worse, and after the loss of the smoke-stack, Mr.Ramsey, chief engineer, reported that the draught was so poor that it was with great difficulty he could keep up steam. Once or twice the ship was on the bottom. Drawing 22 feet of water, we were confined to a narrow channel, while the Monitor, with only 12 feet immersion, could take any position, and always have us in range of her guns. Orders were given to concentrate our fire on the pilot-house, and with good result, as we afterward learned. More than two hours had passed, and we had made no impression on the enemy so far as we could discover, while our wounds were slight. Several times the Monitor ceased firing, and we were in hopes she was disabled, but the revolution again of her turret and the heavy blows of her 11-inch shot on our sides soon undeceived us.
                        Coming down from the spar-deck, and observing a division standing "at ease," Lieutenant Jones inquired:
                        "Why are you not firing, Mr.Eggleston?"
                        "Why, our powder is very precious," replied the lieutenant; "and after two hours' incessant firing I find that I can do her about as much damage by snapping my thumb at her every two minutes and a half."
                        Lieutenant Jones now determined to run her down or board her. For nearly an hour we maneuvered for a position. Now "Go ahead!" now "Stop!" now "Astern!" The ship was unwieldy as Noah's ark. At last an opportunity offered. "Go ahead, full speed!" But before the ship gathered headway, the Monitor turned, and our disabled ram only gave a glancing blow, effecting nothing. Again she came up on our quarter, her bow against our side, and at this distance fired twice. Both shots struck about half-way up the shield, abreast of the after pivot, and the impact forced the side in bodily two or three inches. All the crews of the after guns were knocked over by the concussion, and bled from the nose or ears. Another shot at the same place would have penetrated. While alongside, boarders were called away; but she dropped astern before they could get on board. And so, for six or more hours, the struggle was kept up. At length, the Monitor withdrew over the middle ground where we could not follow, but always maintaining a position to protect the Minnesota. To have run our ships ashore on a falling tide would have been ruin. We awaited her return for an hour; and at 2 o'clock p.m. steamed to Sewell's Point, and thence to the dockyard at Norfolk, our crew thoroughly worn out from the two days' fight. Although there is no doubt that the Monitor first retired,- for Captain Van Brunt, commanding the Minnesota, so states in his official report,-the battle was a drawn one, so far as the two vessels engaged were concerned. But in its general results the advantage was with the Monitor. Our casualties in the second day's fight were only a few wounded.
                        This action demonstrated for the first time the power and efficiency of the ram as a means of offense. The side of the Cumberland was crushed like an egg-shell. The Congress, even with our disabled bow, would have shared the same fate but that we could not reach them on account of our great draught.
                        It also showed the power of resistance of two iron-clads, widely differing in construction, model, and armament, under a fire which in a short time would have sunk any other vessel then afloat.
                        The Monitor was well handled, and saved the Minnesota and the remainder of the fleet at Fort Monroe. But her gunnery was poor. Not a single shot struck us at the water-line, where the ship was utterly unprotected and where one would have been fatal. Or had the fire been concentrated on any one spot, the shield would have been pierced; or had larger charges been used, the result would have been the same. Most of her shot struck us obliquely, breaking the iron of both courses, but not injuring the wood backing. When struck at right angles, the backing would be broken, but not penetrated. We had no solid projectiles, except a few of large windage, to be used as hot shot, and, of course, made no impression on the turret. But in all this it should be borne in mind that both vessels were on their trial trip, both were experimental, and both were receiving their baptism of fire.
                        On our arrival at Norfolk, Commodore Buchanan sent for me. I found him at the Naval Hospital, badly wounded and suffering greatly. He dictated a short dispatch to Mr.Mollory, Secretary of the Navy, stating the return of the ship and the result of the two days' fight, and directed me to proceed to Richmond with it and the flag of the Congress, and make a verbal report of the action, condition of the Virginia, etc.
I took the first train for Petersburg and the capital. The news had preceded me, at every station I was warmly received, and to listening crowds was forced to repeat the story of the fight. Arriving at Richmond, I drove to Mr. Mallory's office and with him went to President Davis's, where we met Mr.Benjamin, who, a few days afterward, became Secretary of State, Mr.Seddon, afterward Secretary of War, General Cooper, Adjutant-General, and a number of others. I told at length what had occurred on the previous two days, and what changes and repairs were necessary to the Virginia. As to the future, I said that in the Monitor we had met our equal, and that the result of another engagement would be very doubtful.
Mr. Davis made many inquiries as regarded the ship's draught, speed, and capabilities, and urged the completion of the repairs at as early as a day as possible. The conversation lasted until near midnight. During the evening the flag of the Congress, which was a very large one, was brought in, and to our surprise, in unfolding it, we found it in some places saturated with blood. On this discovery it was quickly rolled up and sent to the Navy Department, where it remained during the war; it doubtless burned with that building when Richmond was evacuated.
                        The news of our victory was received everywhere in the South with the most enthusiastic rejoicing. Coming, as it did, after a number of disasters in the south and west, it was particularly grateful. Then again, under the circumstances, so little was expected from the navy that this success was entirely unlooked for. So, from one extreme to the other, the most extravagant anticipation's were formed of what the ship could do. For instance: the blockade could be raised, Washington leveled to the ground, New York laid under contribution, and so on. At the North, equally groundless alarm was felt. As an example of this, Secretary Welles relates what took place at a Cabinet meeting called by Mr. Lincoln on the receipt of the news. "The Merrimac,' said Stanton,`will change the whole character of the war; she will destroy, seritim, every naval vessel; she will lay all the cities on the seaboard under contribution. I shall immediately recall Burnside; Port Royal must be abandoned. I will notify the governors and municipal authorities in the North to take instant measures to protect their harbors.' He had no doubt, he said, that the monster was at this moment on her way to Washington; and, looking out the window, which commanded a view of the Potomac for many miles, `Not unlikely, we shall have a shell  or cannon-ball from one of her guns in the White House before we leave this room.' Mr.Seward, usually buoyant and self-reliant, overwhelmed with the intelligence, listened, in responsive sympathy to Stanton, and was greatly depressed, as indeed, were all the members."