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The Battle of Hampton Roads.
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1862 |
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January 11
Lieutenant John L. Worden is appointed to command the new ironclad.
January 12
The original deadline for completing the battery comes and goes. |
January 20
In a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox, Ericsson proposes "to name the new battery Monitor."
January 30
The USS Monitor is launched at Greenpoint, New York.
February 19
Final adjustments and alterations are made to the steam engines and ventilation systems.
February 25
The Monitor is commissioned into the United States Navy as a 3rd-rate steamer and transferred to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
February 28
Under way in the East River, the Monitor is found to steer "like a drunken man on a side walk."
March 3
Ericsson completes repairs to the Monitor's rudder. The ship performs "in all respects satisfactory." But the ironclad does not make the 9 knots that Ericsson had claimed she would. The contract requires the ship to be capable of reaching 8 knots, but her best speed is 7 knots.
March 4
Heavy seas prevent the Monitor from leaving New York.
March 6
The Monitor leaves the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 4:00 P.M. in a snowstorm. Worden has orders to proceed to Hampton Roads. To ensure maximum speed, the ship is towed by the navy tug Seth Low.
March 7
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Just after dawn, the Monitor faces her first trial at sea. Stormy seas begin to roll over the Monitor's deck and pour in under the turret, flooding the interior of the ship. Many of the crew, including Worden, suffer from serious bouts of seasickness and are already unfit for duty. As waves crash over the Monitor's 6-foot smokestacks, the leather belts that drive the ventilation system stretch and begin slipping.The blowers fail and with no draft, the fires "burned with a sickly blaze." Toxic gases soon fill the engine room, threatening all inside with suffocation. Those who are overcome by the fumes are helped up to the top |
of the turret to be revived in the fresh air. Water continues to rush into the ship and, with the engines waning, the pumps also fail. Hand pumps are then put to work. Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene, the Monitor's executive officer, signals the Seth Low to pull the ironclad toward land, where the seas will be calmer. After struggling for five hours, the tug and the Monitor finally reach safer waters. At about 3:00 A.M. the seas begin to calm, and the Monitor, having barely survived her first voyage, continues south.
March 8
Just after 3:00 P.M., the Monitor nears the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry. The crew hear the sounds of cannon fire off toward Fort Monroe. As the Monitor rounds the Cape, flashes of light and thick smoke are visible on the horizon. Unknown to the crew of the Monitor, the CSS Virginia is in the process of mauling the Union blockading fleet at Hampton Roads. It is almost dark when a pilot comes aboard to take the ship into the shallows. He tells Worden of the terrific battle raging in Hampton Roads. The Monitor is met by a host of sailing and steamships fleeing Hampton Roads.
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Worden orders the decks cleared for action and the turret "keyed up." The crew quickly removes the turret awning, stanchions, and iron smoke and ventilator boxes, leaving only the turret and the pilot house on the flat deck. A red glow greets the ironclad as she nears Fort Monroe. The crews can see the mast and spars of a warship engulfed in flames. A soldier in one of the Union |
batteries notes the arrival of a "Yankee water schooner." At 9:00 P.M., the Monitor anchors next to the steam frigate USS Roanoke. Squadron Commander John Marston informs Worden about what has taken place that day. Knowing that the Confederate ironclad will return the next day, Marston orders the Monitor to go to the assistance of the USS Minnesota. The burning wreck of the USS Congress is a somber beacon, showing Worden the way.
March 9
The Monitor anchors next to the Minnesota at about 1:00 A.M. Lieutenant Greene notes, "An atmosphere of gloom pervaded the fleet, and the pygmy aspect of the newcomer did not inspire confidence among those who had witnessed the day before." "Between 1 and 2 AM the Congress blew up." "Near us too, at the bottom of the river, lay the CumberlandSwhose colors were still flying at the peak." While the men on board the Minnesota are throwing tons of stores overboard in an effort to lighten their ship, the Monitor's crew begin preparing their ship for the coming day's action. At about 8:00 A.M., Worden is advised that the Virginia is approaching. The Monitor moves to intercept the Confederate ship and at about 8:45 A.M., the two ironclads begin exchanging fire at long range. A shot from the Confederate ironclad slams into the Monitor's turret. When asked if the shot came through, Lt. Greene replies, "It didn't come through, but it made a big dent." The two ironclads continue circling and firing at ranges varying from 100 yards to a matter of feet. After the two ships have been fighting for about four hours, Worden attempts to ram the Virginia's stern in an effort to damage the rudder or propeller. A well-placed shot from the Virginia's stern pivot gun explodes on the Monitor's pilot house. The explosion blinds Worden, and Lt. Greene assumes command. Uncertain about Worden's wound and whether the Monitor's steering has been damaged, he orders the ship into shallow water. Seeing the Union ship withdraw, the officers on the Virginia assume they have done the Monitor serious injury. The Confederate ironclad again turns toward the Minnesota but is again unable to approach within a mile of the frigate due to the tide, which is receding again. After firing a few shells, the Virginia returns to the Gosport Navy Yard for a damage assessment. After surveying the pilot house, Lt. Greene turns the Monitor around and prepares to resume the battle. He sees the Virginia steaming for the Elizabeth River and assumes that the Virginia has sustained serious damage. His orders from Worden had been to save the Minnesota, so instead of pursuing the Virginia, he takes the Monitor back to the stranded frigate.
March 10
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Lieutenant Thomas O. Selfridge is placed in command of the Monitor.
March 13
Lieutenant William N. Jeffers assumes command of the Monitor. The work of repairing the pilot house begins. |
March 25
An artist from Harper's Weekly spends the day sketching the interior and exterior of the ship.
March 31
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin visits the Monitor.
1862
March and April
Much of March and April is spent awaiting the reappearance of the Virginia and speculating about how severely the Confederate ironclad was damaged during the battle. On March 10, 1862, Lincoln issues an order that the "Monitor be not too much exposed." Although unpopular with the ironclad's crew, the order is intended to ensure that the Monitor does not unnecessarily risk serious damage in an engagement. Lincoln feels that, as long as the Monitor guards the mouth of Hampton Roads, the Confederate ship cannot slip out and attack at other points along the coast. On two occasions, the Virginia steams into Hampton Roads and circles, inviting the Monitor to venture back to their old battle ground. In obedience to Lincoln's directive not to expose the Monitor unnecessarily, the challenges go unanswered.
April 11
The crew of the Monitor watch as the Virginia and her consorts enter Hampton Roads. The Confederate ironclad moves as far north as Newport News Point. Unable to entice the Monitor into a fight, the Virginia fires a few shots toward Fort Monroe and returns to Craney Island with three Union schooners captured by the CSS Jamestown.
April 16
The Monitor is visited by Captain W.N.W. Hewitt of HMS Rinaldo.
May 8
The Monitor and other Union ships move across Hampton Roads to "test" the Confederate batteries at Sewell's Point. The Virginia steams out to attack and just when another battle between the iron ships seems imminent, the signal to "resume moorings" is hoisted from the Federal flagship and the entire Union squadron returns to Fort Monroe.
May 9
President Lincoln visits the Monitor to meet with Lt. Jeffers and inspect the ship.
May 11
Confederate forces evacuate the Norfolk area and withdraw toward Richmond. Since the ship draws too much water to ascend the James River, the CSS Virginia is destroyed by her own crew. The Monitor visits the abandoned batteries along the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, and the Gosport Navy Yard. |
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May 13
The Monitor receives orders to proceed up the James River to take part in the "On to Richmond" expedition. The Monitor will be joined by the navy's second ironclad, the USS Galena, under Commander John Rodgers.
May 15
The ironclads Monitor and Galena and three wooden gunboats begin moving up the James River to try the approaches to Richmond. |
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| Unable to pass obstructions placed in the river by the Confederates, the ships engage in a four-hour duel with Confederate battery at Drewry's Bluff. Commander Rodgers had been ordered to give the Galena a "fair trial." Determined to do so, he anchors his ship in the river below the fort and begins shelling the Confederate fort. The Monitor, unable to elevate her guns enough to reach the top of the 90-foot bluff, circles in an effort to draw cannon fire away from the Galena, which has sustained heavy damage. By the time Rodgers |
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| Four-dual at Drewry's Bluff. |
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withdraws, his ship has been hit more than 40 times. Thirteen shots came completely through the armored dull and the gun deck is strewn with dead and wounded sailors. Rodgers later grimly comments, "She is not shot proof." Unknown to Rodgers or the crew of the Monitor, the Confederate guns on Drewry's Bluff are manned by a familiar enemy. In addition to soldiers from Colonel Augustus Drewry's Artillery Company, the Confederate defenders include sailors from the Confederate Navy's James River Squadron and crewmen from the CSS Virginia who had been transferred there after destroying their ship at Hampton Roads. |
May - June
After Drewry's Bluff, the Monitor and the other ships from Rodgers's squadron remain stationed around City Point. During the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond, General McClellan's Union army is beaten back. He orders his transports and supply ships transferred from the York River to Harrison's Landing on the James River. The Monitor and the other vessels in Rodgers's squadron are kept in the vicinity to protect the transports. With the exception of a failed expedition up the Appomattox River to destroy a railroad bridge, there is little or no action involving the Monitor.
1862
July 1
The Battle of Malvern Hill stops the Confederate Army from pushing McClellan into the James River. While other gunboats in the squadron assist the army, the Monitor is given orders to remain and protect the transports.
July 4
While patrolling the James River around Turkey Island, the USS Maratanza and the Monitor come upon the Confederate gunboat CSS Teaser. One shot from the Maratanza bursts the gunboat's boiler. Severely outgunned, the Teaser is abandoned by her crew and is towed to Harrison's Landing as a Union prize.
July 9
President Lincoln, Assistant Secretary of War Franklin Blair, and Squadron Commander Louis M. Goldsborough visit the Monitor while the ship is stationed off Harrison's Landing. James F. Gibson, a photographer following McClellan's army, comes aboard and makes a series of stereographic photographs of the officers, crew, and ship.
July - August
August 15
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Crew of the USS Monitor,
July 1862. |
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Captain Thomas H. Stevens of the Maratanza is ordered to assume command of the Monitor. |
August 30
The Monitor receives orders to return to Hampton Roads. Upon arriving, she takes up anchorage off Newport News Point between the wrecks of the Cumberland and the Congress.
September 8
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Commander John P. Bankhead replaces Stevens as commander of the Monitor. Throughout September, the Monitor remains on blockade duty in Hampton Roads.
September 30
The Monitor is ordered to the Washington Navy Yard to undergo repairs and modifications.
October
The Monitor arrives at the Washington Navy Yard under tow on October 3. Many of the officers and crew are allowed to go on extended furloughs. Several weeks are spent repainting, repairing, and modifying the vessel. |
| A telescoping smoke stack and taller ventilator boxes are added; davits and cranes are installed for hoisting the ship's new boats. Battle damage is repaired with iron patches, and each scar is labeled according to its origin: "Merrimac," "Minnesota," "Ft. Darling," "Merrimac's Prow." The Monitor's two 11-inch Dahlgren cannon are engraved on their breeches in tribute to the two men who made the Monitor famous: |
MONITOR & MERRIMAC WORDEN
MONITOR & MERRIMAC ERICSSON
Below decks, the berth fittings are painted and stained. A new oil-cloth floor is put down, and all of the rooms are painted white, making things, according to Monitor paymaster William Keeler, "as bright and cheerful as could be desired."
November - December
The Monitor returns to blockading duty in Hampton Roads. A rifle screen has been added to the top of the turret. Made of 1-inch-thick boiler plate, it affords those on top of the turret protection from musket fire. Orders are issued December 24, 1862, for the Monitor to proceed to Beaufort, North Carolina. Bad weather delays the departure until December 29; on that day the Monitor leaves Hampton Roads at 2:30 P.M. under tow by the USS Rhode Island.
December 31
The Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in a severe storm with the loss of four officers and sixteen crewmen.
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