How much do you know about the USS Monitor? The USS Monitor was the first operational weapons platform which had a rotatable gun turret which was used in combat. Sometime we take for granted in the days of naval vessels and armored vehicles which have computer controlled gun and missile rotation capabilities. Consisting of a revolving turret mounted on a low armored deck, the design was likened to a "cheese box on a raft." Pictures: viewing the turret with cannon ball dents visible; Monitor Officers sitting; Monitor crew; historic battle with CSS Virginia [~138758:COL Mikel Burroughs] [~67210:LTC Stephen Curlee] [~124935:LTC Thomas Tennant] [~527810:MAJ Ken Landgren] [~780368:MAJ Stephen Conway] [~308468:SGM David W.F. 'Dave' aka "Auto" Carr LOM DMSM former MP SGT] [~362072:SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas] [~106303:SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL] [~287024:SSgt Robert Marx] [~620665:SSG Leo Bell] [~76036: SSG Ed Mikus] [~786700:SGT John McConnell] [~334546:SFC William Farrell] [~768589:SP5 Mark Kuzinski] [~271566:PO3 Steven Sherrill] [~673920:SGT Forrest Stewart] [~182753:SGT Robert Hawks] [~378759:SrA Christopher Wright] [~215692:CPO Tim Dickey]

Posted on Mar 30, 2016

How much do you know about the USS Monitor?

LTC Stephen F.

6.59K

The USS Monitor was the first operational weapons platform which had a rotatable gun turret which was used in combat. Sometime we take for granted in the days of naval vessels and armored vehicles which have computer controlled gun and missile rotation capabilities.
Consisting of a revolving turret mounted on a low armored deck, the design was likened to a "cheese box on a raft."
Pictures: viewing the turret with cannon ball dents visible; Monitor Officers sitting; Monitor crew; historic battle with CSS Virginia

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Civil War

Naval/Maritime History

Edited >1 y ago

Posted >1 y ago

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Monitor-class ironclad had a displacement of 987 tons; length: 172 ft.; beam: 41 ft. 6 in.; Draft: 10 ft. 6 in.; Officer and Crew complement: 59; speed: 8 knots

Monitor armament consisted of 2 x XI-inch Dahlgren smoothbores in a 120 ton, 20-foot diameter revolving turret mounted on a low armored deck. A small Donkey engine enabled the turret to rotate 360 degrees in 24 seconds

Monitor builder was Continental Iron Works, Brooklyn, NY; the vessel was laid down in October 186; launched on January 30, 1862 and commissioned: February 25, 1862 and was lost at sea, December 31, 1862

The NY Times called the Monitor Ericson’s Folly but the unique design proved to be exactly what was needed to end the terror of the CCS Virginia in the historic confrontation at the Battle of Hampton Roads on Sunday 9 March 1862

All of the Above; if other please explain

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SP5 Mark Kuzinski

Posted >1 y ago

Awesome Post LTC Stephen F.

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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth

Posted >1 y ago

One bad mother for its day.

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Alan K.

Edited >1 y ago

Posted >1 y ago

Not enough, thanks for the lesson BTW

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LTC Stephen F.

>1 y

Hopefully the information being discussed here will help you learn more about the USS Monitor Alan K..

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Alan K.

>1 y

This site with you few guys posting history every day is better than watching the History Channel.............Just a BTW, I would cruise around the Lake in that, Marine Patrol would leave you alone to fish!

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SFC William Farrell

Posted >1 y ago

It was an amazing craft for its day LTC Stephen F., thank you for sharing. In the one photo, that looks like chow cooking on the deck. My kind of ship!

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PO3 Steven Sherrill

Posted >1 y ago

They are missing that both CSS Virginia and USS Monitor failed to sink its opponent, and that both ships met an ignominious end one in a storm, the other by running aground. The battle between the two ushered in the day of the steamship navy. They proved the concept of armored ships. Additionally USS Monitor was commissioned to be started and finished in an unreasonable amount of time by ship building standards such was the Union leadership's fear of the CSS Virginia.

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LTC Stephen F.

>1 y

PO3 Steven Sherrill - The western theater saw Ironclad and tinclad vessels for offensive capabilities as well as troop transports in the Arkansas River campaign and in the Yazoo River and other operations of the Vicksburg campaign.
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/are-you-familiar-with-the-tinclad-vessels-which-were-used-by-the-union-navy-in-the-civil-war

Are you familiar with the tinclad vessels which were used by the Union Navy in the Civil War? |...

Tinclads were altered river vessels employed by Union forces to move and protect supplies on the western rivers, especially the Red, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. Tinclads were lightly armored, with wooden bulwarks and casemates that were largely proof against small arms fire. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=30331 [~138758:COL Mikel Burroughs] [~67210:LTC Stephen Curlee] [~124935:LTC Thomas Tennant]...

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PO3 Steven Sherrill

>1 y

Dawn of modern naval warfare

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MAJ (Join to see)

>1 y

PO3 Steven Sherrill- I think you would be more accurate to say Battle of the first two Ironclads. By Navy LT buddy over in Rescue, Va worked to raise the Turret and guns. They are preserved and displayed at the national Maritime Museum, Newport News VA. I have a 1903 book that is title The first Modern Naval Battle. John B.

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PO3 Steven Sherrill

>1 y

MAJ (Join to see) - One of the only good things about being stationed on a ship homeported out of Norfolk is all of the awesome Revolutionary War, and Civil War history in the area. Of course the USS Wisconsin museum was not ready when I was there so I have to make a return trip. When I went, the one thing that I took away was a feeling that it would have been very claustrophobic in one of those ironclads.

On a side note Nauticus, the museum that houses USS Wisconsin was a great place to visit even without Wisconsin. I can only see it getting better with the addition.

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PO2 Mark Saffell

Posted >1 y ago

I remember when they found the wreck off the coast of NC I believe. Havent seen much about it for years. Did they ever raise the ship?

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LTC Stephen F.

>1 y

PO2 Mark Saffell the area where it sank with the loss of 16 sailors is a marine sanctuary now. According to NOAA much of the ship has been raised including the turret section by section. NOAA was working on identifying the remains of the sailors found on board.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130308_monitorsailors.html

Remains of USS Monitor sailors interred at Arlington National Cemetery

By giving us your feedback, you can help improve your www.NOAA.gov experience. This short, anonymous survey only takes just a few minutes to complete 11 questions. Thank you for your input!

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CW4 Guy Butler

>1 y

All the raised components are in Newport News USS Monitor Center and are undergoing preservation and restoration treatment.

The turret shows dents from cannonballs fired by the CSS Virginia; there's also hull reconstructed sections for both ships.

http://www.monitorcenter.org