Abbreviated Histories of Vessels

R/V Alcoa Seaprobe
This research and survey vessel of the Alcoa Marine Corporation was built in 1971 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. In 1974, researchers on board the Seaprobe were able to confirm the identity of the Monitor from data gathered from a follow-up expedition.

USNS Apache
The Apache (T-ATF 172) is a fleet ocean tug, with a 10-ton crane, of the Powhatan class operated by the Military Sealift Command. This tug served as the work platform for the 1987 Monitor expedition.

R/V Calypso
Divers from the Cousteau Society's internationally recognized research vessel filmed the Monitor in the spring of 1979 despite unfavorable surface conditions and poor visibility at the site. This wooden-hull vessel was originally a British Royal Navy minesweeper built in Seattle, Washington.

R/V Cape Henlopen
This University of Delaware survey vessel served as a research platform for some of the early research conducted at the Monitor site. The Cape Henlopen was built in Morgan City, Louisiana, was 120 feet long, and was based in Lewes, Delaware, when used for Monitor research.

USS Congress
In 1841, this frigate was launched at the navy yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On September 6, 1861, the Congress was assigned to duty in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On March 8, 1862, while on duty in Hampton Roads, she dueled with the CSS Virginia and her Confederate escorts. After sustaining heavy loss of life and serious damage, the Congress struck her colors. Set afire by hot shot from the Virginia, the Congress exploded later that night as the fire reached the magazine.

USS Cumberland
In 1842, the sloop-of-war was launched at the Boston Navy Yard. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On March 8, 1862, while the Cumberland was on duty in Hampton Roads, she was rammed and sunk by the Virginia.

R/V Eastward
Scientists aboard this Duke University research and survey vessel located the wreck of the Monitor in August 1973. The Eastward was just over 100 feet long and was built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. At the time of the Monitor's discovery the Eastward was based in Beaufort, North Carolina.

USS Edenton
This United States Navy salvage and rescue vessel (ATS 1), under the command of John Paul Johnston, provided divers in an unsuccessful attempt to recover the Monitor's propeller during the summer and fall of 1995.

R/V Johnson (ex - Yorktown)
The Johnson was a research vessel belonging to the Harbor Branch Foundation (now Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Inc.) of Fort Pierce, Florida, and the operations platform for the Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles. She served as the research platform for NOAA research in 1977, 1979, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993.

USS Merrimack
Launched in 1855 at Boston Navy Yard, this sailing/screw frigate was the flagship of the Pacific Squadron before heading to the East Coast for repairs and decommissioning. While the ship was in ordinary at the Norfolk (Gosport) Navy Yard near Portsmouth, Virginia, the yard's commandant decided to scuttle the ship when it appeared that Virginia militia forces were going to storm the facility. The Confederacy later assumed control of the area after the Union evacuation, raised the frigate, and converted the vessel as the ironclad Virginia (see entry).

USS Minnesota
In 1855, this sailing/steam frigate was launched at the Washington Navy Yard and commissioned eighteen months later. At the outbreak of the Civil War, after a two- year period as a decommissioned ship, the Minnesota was placed back into service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. During the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the frigate ran aground. In two days of action the ship sustained considerable damage and casualties. On the second day of the battle, the Monitor came to the assistance of the stranded frigate by attacking the Virginia. On the morning of March 10, tugs freed the Minnesota. The flagship served with distinction throughout the remainder of the war.

USS Monitor
Designed by John Ericsson and launched on January 30, 1862, at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, she was the first of a class of low-freeboard, turreted warships. The Monitor was approximately 172 feet long, constructed almost entirely of iron, and carried two XI-inch Dahlgren guns in the revolving turret. Following sea trials, the Monitor was ordered to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she met the CSS Virginia in the first battle of steam-powered ironclad vessels. The battle ended in a draw. Except for a brief stay at the Washington Navy Yard in the fall of 1862, the Monitor spent her brief career in the Hampton Roads area. On December 31, 1862, while under tow by the USS Rhode Island to Beaufort, North Carolina, the Monitor encountered a storm off Cape Hatteras and sank. Four officers and twelve crewmen were lost. The wreck of the Monitor was located in 1973 by an interdisciplinary team of scientists aboard the Duke University Research Vessel Eastward. On January 30, 1975, the Secretary of Commerce designated the Monitor the nation's first marine sanctuary in recognition of her significance in American history. The sanctuary is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

CSS Patrick Henry (ex-SS Yorktown)
This was one of two converted Confederate gunboats that served as principal escorts for the Virginia during the ironclad's brief career. The Patrick Henry later served as the training vessel for the Confederate Naval Academy at Drewry's Bluff. The Confederates burned the ship upon the evacuation of Richmond in 1865. This vessel is often referred to by her former name.

USS Rhode Island (ex-John P. King, later ex-Eagle)
Launched in the fall of 1860 as a civilian paddle wheel steamer, this vessel was purchased, renamed, and commissioned by the U.S. Navy as a supply ship under the command of Commander Stephen D. Trenchard less than a year later. On the evening of December 31, 1862, the Rhode Island was towing the Monitor in rough seas off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. When the Monitor began to founder, the Rhode Island's crew launched small boats to rescue the Monitor's crew. All but sixteen of the crewmen were rescued.

SS Seth Low
Built in 1861 at Keyport, New Jersey, for John B. Coffin to serve New York harbor, this wooden paddle wheel tug undertook the most important task of her career when she towed the Monitor from New York to Hampton Roads in rough seas. On March 8, 1862, the Seth Low, her charge, and her escorts arrived safely at the mouth of the James River. In 1881 the tug was sold to a new owner in Florida to work on the Indian River. Seven years later, sparks from a nearby steamer's funnel ignited the Seth Low and the tug was destroyed by fire.

CSS Thomas Jefferson (ex-SS Jamestown)
This was one of two converted Confederate gunboats that served as principal escorts for the Virginia during the ironclad's brief career. This vessel is often referred to by her former name.

CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack [see entry])
The Virginia was commissioned on February 17, 1862, as a Confederate States Navy ironclad ram at the Norfolk (Gosport) Navy Yard near Portsmouth, Virginia. The Virginia had an armored casemate and carried ten guns, eight mounted broadside and one each at the bow and stern. During her sea trials on March 8 the Virginia rammed and sank the Cumberland and set the Congress afire in Hampton Roads. On March 9, 1862, the Virginia engaged the Monitor in the world's first battle between steam- powered ironclad warships. The battle ended in a draw. Two months later, when Confederate authorities decided to evacuate Norfolk and Portsmouth, the Virginia was unable to negotiate up the James River and was destroyed by her crew near Craney Island.