USS Monitor

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This article is about the first USS Monitor, a Civil War ironclad. For the World War II vehicle landing ship, see USS Monitor (LSV-5).
USSMonitor1862.2.ws.jpg
USS Monitor, with wooden ships in the background
Career (United States)
Name: USS Monitor
Ordered: 4 October 1861
Builder: Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Cost: $275,000
Laid down: 25 October 1861
Launched: 30 January 1862
Commissioned: 25 February 1862
Fate: Lost at sea, 31 December 1862
Status: Wreck located August 1973, partially salvaged
General characteristics
Type: Monitor
Displacement: 987 long tons (1,003 t)
Tons burthen: 776 tons (bm)
Length: 179 ft (54.6 m)
Beam: 41 ft 6 in (12.6 m)
Draft: 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m)
Installed power: 320 ihp (240 kW)
2 × Horizontal fire-tube boilers
Propulsion: 1 × Propeller
1 × Vibrating-lever steam engine
Speed: 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph)
Complement: 49 officers and enlisted men
Armament: 2 × 11-inch (280 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns
Armor:
USS MONITOR
Nearest city: Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Area: 9.9 acres (4.0 ha)
Built: 1862
Architectural style: Other, Ironclad warship
Governing body: Federal
NRHP Reference#: 74002299[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP: 11 October 1974
Designated NHL: 23 June 1986

USS Monitor, designed by the Swedish-born engineer and inventor John Ericsson, was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.[a] She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on 9 March 1862, where the Monitor fought with the Confederate casemate ironclad CSS Virginia (the former steam frigate USS Merrimack). This was the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads.

After the Confederates were forced to destroy the Virginia in early May, Monitor sailed up the James River to support the Army during the Peninsula Campaign. The ship participated in the Battle of Drewry's Bluff later that month and remained in the area until she was ordered to join the blockaders off North Carolina in December. She foundered while under tow during a storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras on the last day of the year. Her wreck was discovered in 1973 and has been partially salvaged. Monitor's armament, gun turret, engine and other relics are on display at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia

Contents

Development[edit]

Statue of John Ericsson in Battery Park, New York City, holding a model of Monitor in his hand

The urgency of Monitor's rapid development and construction was driven by the concern of what the iron clad Virginia was capable of doing. Many feared she would put to sea and begin bombarding cities like New York while others feared she would ascend the Potomac River and strike at Washington.[2]

After the United States received word of the construction of the Virginia, Congress appropriated $1.5 million on 3 August to build one or more armored steamships. It also ordered the creation of a board to inquire into armored ships. The U.S. Navy advertised for proposals for "iron-clad steam vessels of war"[3] on 7 August and Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, appointed the three Admirals as members of the Ironclad Board the following day. Their task was to "examine plans for the completion of iron-clad vessels" and to consider its costs.[3][4]

Ericsson originally made no submission to the board, but became involved when Cornelius Bushnell, the sponsor of the proposal that became the armored sloop USS Galena, needed to have his design reviewed by a naval constructor. The board required a guarantee from Bushnell that his ship would float despite the weight of its armor[5] and Cornelius H. DeLamater of New York City recommended that Bushnell consult with his friend John Ericsson.[6] The two first met on 9 September and again on the following day, after Ericsson had time to evaluate Galena's design. During this second meeting Ericsson showed Bushnell his own design, the future Monitor. Bushnell got Ericsson's permission to show the model of his design to Welles and the latter told Bushnell to show it to the board. Despite a preliminary rejection, the board accepted Ericsson's proposal after he explained his design in person on 15 September.[7] The Ironclad Board evaluated 17 different designs, but recommended only three on 16 September.[8] The name "Monitor" was proposed by Ericsson and approved by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox.[9]

The three ironclad ships differed substantially in design and degree of risk. The Monitor was the most innovative design by virtue of its low freeboard, shallow-draft iron hull, and total dependence on steam power. The riskiest element of its design was its rotating gun turret,[10] something that had not previously been built or tested by any navy.[b] Ericsson's guarantee of delivery in 100 days proved to be decisive in choosing his design despite the risk involved. The wooden-hulled Galena's most novel feature was her armor of interlocking iron rails. The armored frigate USS New Ironsides was much influenced by the French ironclad Gloire and was the most conservative design of the three, which copied many of the features of the French ship.[10]

Design and description[edit]

Described by critics as a "cheesebox on a raft,"[12][13] as the Monitor's most prominent feature was a large cylindrical gun turret mounted amidships above the low-freeboard upper hull, also called the "raft". This extended well past the sides of the lower, more traditionally shaped hull. A small, armored pilot house, was fitted on the upper deck towards the bow. One of Ericsson's prime goals in designing the ship was to present the smallest possible target to enemy gunfire.[14]

The ship was 179 feet (54.6 m) long overall, had a beam of 41 feet 6 inches (12.6 m) and had a maximum draft of 10 feet 6 inches (3.2 m). The Monitor had a tonnage of 776 tons burthen and displaced 987 long tons (1,003 t). Her crew consisted of 49 officers and enlisted men.[15]

USS Monitor - Transverse hull section through the turret.jpg

The Monitor was powered by a single-cylinder horizontal vibrating-lever steam engine,[16] which drove a 9-foot (2.7 m) propeller.[14] The engine used steam generated by two horizontal fire-tube boilers[17] at a maximum pressure of 40 psi (276 kPa; 3 kgf/cm2).[18] The 320-indicated-horsepower (240 kW) engine was designed to give the ship a top speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph), but the Monitor was 1–2 knots (1.9–3.7 km/h; 1.2–2.3 mph) slower in service.[16] The engine had a bore of 36 inches (914 mm) and a stroke of 22 inches (559 mm).[15] The ship carried 100 long tons (100 t) of coal.[16] Ventilation in the Monitor was supplied by two centrifugal blowers near the stern, each of which was powered by 6-horsepower (4.5 kW) steam engine. One fan circulated air throughout the ship, but the other one forced air through the boilers, which depended on this forced draught. Leather belts connected the blowers to their engines and they would stretch when wet, often disabling the fans and boilers. The ship's pumps were steam operated and water would accumulate in the ship if the pumps could not get enough steam to work.[14]

The top of the armored deck was only about 18 inches (460 mm) above the waterline. It was protected by two layers of 1⁄2-inch (13 mm) wrought iron armor. The sides of the "raft" consisted of three to five layers of 1-inch (25 mm) iron plates, backed by about 30 inches (762 mm) of pine and oak. Three of the plates extended the full 60 inches (1,524 mm) height of the side, but the two innermost plates did not extend all the way down. Ericsson originally intended to use either six 1-inch plates or a single outer 4-inch (100 mm) plate backed by three 3⁄4-inch (19 mm) plates, but the thicker plate required too much time to roll.[19] Glass portholes in the deck provided natural light for the interior of the ship; in action these were covered by iron plates.[14]

A computer model of the Monitor

Ericsson initially planned to use four-inch iron plates, backed by several thinner plates, for the turret, but the inability to get such thick plates in a timely manner forced him to switch to eight layers of one-inch plate. The two innermost plates were riveted together while the outer plates were bolted to the inner ones. A ninth plate, only 3⁄4 inches (19 mm) thick and 15 inches (381 mm) wide, was bolted over the butt joints of the innermost layer of armor. The entire weight of the turret rested on an iron spindle that had to be jacked up using a wedge before the turret could rotate. When not in use, the turret rested on a brass ring that was intended to form a watertight seal. In service, however, this proved to leak heavily, despite caulking by the crew.[20] In all, Ericsson's ship design employed forty seven patented devices.[21]

Monitor's turret was intended to mount a pair of 15-inch (380 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns, but they were not ready in time and 11-inch (280 mm) guns were substituted.[22] Each gun weighed approximately 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg). They could fire a 136-pound (61.7 kg) shell up to a range of 3,650 yards (3,340 m) at an elevation of +15°.[23]

Construction and service[edit]

Monitor's hull was designed by John Ericsson and built at the Continental Iron Works in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York. Her keel was laid on 25 October 1861, and the ship was launched there on 30 January 1862. On 6 March she departed New York and set course for Fort Monroe.[24] The innovative vibrating lever, or half-trunk, steam engines, designed by John Ericsson, and machinery were constructed at the DeLamater Iron Works in Manhattan.[25]

Battle of Hampton Roads[edit]

Main article: Battle of Hampton Roads
USS Monitor in action with CSS Virginia, 9 March 1862

On 8 March 1862, CSS Virginia attacked the Union blockading squadron in Hampton Roads, Virginia, destroying the sail frigates USS Cumberland and USS Congress.[24] Early in the battle, the steam frigate USSMinnesota ran aground while attempting to engage the Virginia, and remained stranded throughout the battle. Virginia, however, was unable to attack the Minnesota before daylight faded.

That night, Monitor — under command of Lieutenant John L. Worden — arrived from Brooklyn after a harrowing trip under tow. When Virginia returned the next day to finish off Minnesota and the rest of the blockaders, Monitor moved out to stop her. The ironclads fought at close range for about four hours, neither one sinking or seriously damaging the other. At one point, Virginia attempted to ram, but she only struck Monitor with a glancing blow that did no damage. It did, however, aggravate the damage done to Virginia's bow from when she had previously rammed the Cumberland. Monitor was also unable to do significant damage to Virginia, possibly due to the fact that her guns were firing with reduced charges as ordered by Commander John Dahlgren, the gun's designer.[25]

Towards the end of the engagement, Virginia was able to hit Monitor's pilothouse. Lt. Worden, blinded by shell fragments and gunpowder residue from the explosion, ordered Monitor to sheer off into shallow water. Command passed to the executive officer, Samuel Greene, who assessed the damage and ordered Monitor to turn around back into the battle.

Virginia, seeing Monitor turn away, had turned her attention back to Minnesota. The falling tide, however, prevented her from getting close to the stranded warship. After an informal war council with his officers, Virginia's captain decided to return to Norfolk for repairs. Monitor arrived back on the scene as Virginia was leaving. Greene, under orders to protect Minnesota, did not pursue.[26]

Tactically, the battle between these two ships was a draw, though it could be argued that Virginia did slightly more damage to Monitor than Monitor to Virginia. Monitor did successfully defend Minnesota and the rest of the U.S. blockading force, while Virginia was unable to complete the destruction she started the previous day. Strategically, nothing had immediately changed: the Federals still controlled Hampton Roads and the Confederates still held several rivers and Norfolk,[27] making it a strategic victory for the North. The battle of the iron clads let to what was referred to as "Monitor fever" in the North. During the course of the war other and improved monitor designs emerged with a total of 60 iron clads built.[26]

Events after the battle[edit]

Both Union and Confederates came up with plans for defeating the other’s ironclad. Oddly, these did not depend on their own ironclads. The Union Navy chartered a large ship (the sidewheeler Vanderbilt) as a naval ram, provided Virginia steamed far enough out into Hampton Roads. The Confederate Navy made plans to swarm aboard and capture Monitor using the four gunboats of the James River Squadron. On 11 April, Virginia steamed out to Sewell’s Point at the southeast edge of Hampton Roads in a challenge to Monitor.

The Monitor on the James River, Virginia, in 1862, after the Battle of Hampton Roads. Note the dents in the armor on the turret.

In an attempt to lure Monitor closer to where she could be boarded, Virginia stood out into the Roads and almost over to Newport News. However, Monitor stayed near Fort Monroe, ready to fight if Virginia came to attack the Federal force which had congregated there. Furthermore, Vanderbilt would be in a position to ram Virginia if she approached the fort. Virginia did not take the bait. In a further attempt to entice Monitor closer to the Confederate side so she could be boarded, the James River Squadron moved in and captured three merchant ships, the brigs Marcus and Sabout, and the schooner Catherine T. Dix. These had been grounded and abandoned when they sighted Virginia entering the Roads. Their flags were then hoisted "Union-side down" to taunt Monitor into a fight as they were towed back to Norfolk. In the end both sides had failed to lure the other out for a fight on their terms.

A second meeting occurred on 8 May, when Virginia came out while Monitor and four other Federal ships bombarded Confederate batteries at Sewell’s Point. The Federal ships retired slowly to Fort Monroe, hoping to lure Virginia into the Roads. She did not follow, however, and after firing a gun to windward as a sign of contempt, anchored off Sewell’s Point. However, she was forced to scuttle when Confederate forces abandoned Norfolk three days later.

After the destruction of Virginia, Monitor was free to assist McClellan's campaign against Richmond. On 15 May 1862, the ironclad and four other gunboats steamed up the James River and engaged Confederate batteries at Drewry's Bluff. Monitor's guns, however, could not elevate sufficiently to engage the batteries at close range, and the other gunboats were unable to overcome the fortifications on their own. The engagement ended when the Union fleet retired after four hours of bombardment.[25]

Loss at sea[edit]

Engraving of Monitor sinking

While the design of Monitor was well-suited for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters. This feature probably led to the early loss of the ship, which foundered during a heavy storm. She sank on 31 December 1862 off Cape Hatteras; sixteen of her 62-member crew were either lost overboard or went down with the ironclad, while many others were saved by boats sent from Rhode Island.

Rediscovery[edit]

In 1951, retired Rear Admiral Edward Ellsberg proposed using external pontoons to raise the Monitor, the same method of marine salvage he had used on the sunken submarine S-51. Ellsberg estimated the project would cost $250,000.[28] No action was taken on the proposal. In August 1973, the wreck of the ironclad Monitor was located on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean about 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The wreck site was designated as the first U.S. marine sanctuary.[29] The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is the only one of the thirteen national marine sanctuaries created to protect a cultural resource, rather than a natural resource.

In 1986, Monitor was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is one of only five accessible monitor vessels in the world, the others being the Australian vessel HMVS Cerberus, the wreck of the Norwegian Thor, which lies at about 25 ft (7.6 m) off Verdens Ende in Vestfold county, Norway, and the British vessel Hellman. The SMS Leitha is now a museum ship in Budapest.

Greenpoint Monitor Monument

The U.S. Navy interest in raising the entire ship ended in 1978 when Willard F. Searle, Jr. calculated the cost and possible damage expected from the operation: $20 million to stabilize the vessel in place, or as much as $50 million to bring all of it to the surface.[30] However in 1998 the warship's propeller was raised to the surface.[30] On 16 July 2001, divers from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the US Navy brought to the surface the 30-metric-ton (30-long-ton) steam engine. Due to the depth of the wreck, the divers utilized surface supplied diving techniques while breathing heliox.[31] In August 2002, after 41 days of work, the revolutionary revolving gun turret was recovered by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a team of U.S. Navy divers. Before removing the turret, divers discovered the remains of two trapped crewmen. The remains of these sailors,[32] who died while on duty, were temporarily stored at the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, awaiting positive identification. Among the most promising of the 16 candidates are crew members Jacob Nicklis, Robert Williams and William Bryan.[33][34][35][36] A decade passed without their identities being known. On 8 March 2013, their remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.[37]

The site is now under the supervision of NOAA. Many artifacts from Monitor, including her turret, cannon, propeller, anchor, engine and some personal effects of the crew, have been conserved and are on display at the Mariners' Museum of Newport News, Virginia.[38] Artifact recovery from the site has become paramount, as the wreck has become unstable and will decay over the next several decades; this fate also awaits many other well known wrecks of iron and steel ships, such as Titanic and Lusitania.

The Greenpoint Monitor Monument in Brooklyn depicts a sailor from the Monitor.[39] In 1996 a Greenpoint Monitor Museum was chartered, hoping to display the ship near her launch site.[40]

Northrop Grumman in Newport News constructed a full-scale non-seaworthy static land-bound replica of USS Monitor. The replica was laid down in February 2005 and completed just two months later.[41]

Later burials[edit]

The first skeletal remains of two men were discovered in the turret of the wreckage on 26 July 2002, during underwater excavation work being conducted inside of the Monitor's gun turret. Dr. Eric Emery, CILHI, supervised the partial excavation of the skeletal remains. [42] The remains of the two sailors were buried on March 8, 2013 in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.[43]

Campaign to honor Monitor[edit]

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable is mounting a grassroots campaign to persuade the United States Congress and the navy to name a Virginia-class submarine after Monitor. Despite the enduring fame of the original, there has not been a Monitor listed in the Naval Vessel Register since the landing ship was placed in reserve in 1961.

Later monitors[edit]

See also: Monitor (warship)

Monitor became the prototype for a new warship type dubbed "monitor" after the original. Many more were built, including river monitors and deep-sea monitors, and they played key roles in Civil War battles on the Mississippi and James Rivers. Some had two or even three turrets, and later monitors had improved seaworthiness. Many designs had a rounded deck so fragmentation from enemy fire would ricochet, rather than penetrate.

Just three months after the famous Battle of Hampton Roads, the design was offered to Sweden.

The last original American monitor, USS Wyoming (BM-10), was stricken from the Navy List in 1937.

References in popular culture[edit]

In 2010 Titus Andronicus released the album The Monitor which included the song "The Battle of Hampton Roads."

The film Hearts in Bondage (Republic Pictures, 1936), directed by Lew Ayres, tells the story of the building of the USS Monitor and the following Battle of Hampton Roads.

See also[edit]

Portal icon American Civil War portal

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States was the City-class ironclad USS Carondelet commissioned on 15 January 1862. While manned by Navy officers and enlisted personnel, the construction of the Western Gunboat Flotilla was funded by the War Department, and at her commissioning the Carondelet was Army (rather than Navy) property.
  2. ^ British trials of a turret designed by Cowper Coles on board the floating battery HMS Trusty did not begin until the following month.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. 
  2. ^ Roberts, 1999, p.8
  3. ^ a b Roberts, 1999, p. 5
  4. ^ Bushnell, Ericsson, Welles, 1899, p.29
  5. ^ Roberts, 1999, p.7
  6. ^ Baxter, 1933, p.253
  7. ^ Thompson, 1990, p. 224
  8. ^ Roberts, 1999, pp. 7, 16
  9. ^ "The Naming of the Monitor". The Mariner's Museum. Retrieved June 16, 2013. 
  10. ^ a b Roberts, 1999, pp. 7–11
  11. ^ Brown, pp. 41–43
  12. ^ Bushnell, Ericsson, Welles, 1899, pp.17, 41
  13. ^ Axelrod, 2003
  14. ^ a b c d Thompson, p. 228
  15. ^ a b Silverstone, p.4
  16. ^ a b c Chesneau & Kolesnik, 1979,p. 119
  17. ^ Canney, p. 30
  18. ^ Thompson, p. 227
  19. ^ Canney, p. 29
  20. ^ Thompson, pp. 224–25
  21. ^ Ward, Burns and Burns, 1990, p.99
  22. ^ Thompson, p. 225
  23. ^ Olmsted, et al, p. 90
  24. ^ a b Rhodes, 1917 p.112
  25. ^ a b c Nelson, 2005 p.467
  26. ^ a b Wagner, 2002, p.553
  27. ^ Davis, William C. (1975). Duel Between the First Ironclads. Doubleday & Company, NY. pp. 136f. 
  28. ^ "'USS Monitor Can Be Raised,' Says Top Underwater Salvaging Expert". The Harvard Crimson. 16 April 1951. Retrieved 19 January 1951. 
  29. ^ Dinsmore, David A; Broadwater, John D (1999). "1998 NOAA Research Expedition to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.". In: Hamilton RW, Pence DF, Kesling DE, eds. Assessment and Feasibility of Technical Diving Operations for Scientific Exploration. (American Academy of Underwater Sciences). Retrieved 2011-01-08. 
  30. ^ a b Erickson, Mark St. John (1998). "Sands of time: Part 5 of 5". Newport News, Va., Daily Press. Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
  31. ^ Southerland DG; Davidson DL (29 October 2002). "Electronic diving data collection during Monitor expedition 2001". Oceans '02 (MTS/IEEE) 2: 908–912. doi:10.1109/OCEANS.2002.1192089. ISBN 0-7803-7534-3. Retrieved 2009-03-01. 
  32. ^ Smolenyak Smolenyak, Megan (2012). "USS Monitor: Iron Coffin". Retrieved 2012-03-06. 
  33. ^ Megan Smolenyak (28 December 2012). 150th Anniversary of the USS Monitor: Meet Civil War Naval Heroes Robert Williams and William Bryan. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2013. 
  34. ^ Megan Smolenyak (26 December 2012). Crew of the USS Monitor: Could Sailor Jacob Nicklis Be One of the Mystery Skeletons?. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2013. 
  35. ^ Megan Smolenyak (13 May 2012). Crew Members of the USS Monitor: Solving the Mystery of the Skeletons in the Turret 150 Years Later. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2013. 
  36. ^ Megan Smolenyak (9 November 2011). USS Monitor: Could William Bryan Be One of the Skeletons in the Turret?. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2013. 
  37. ^ Ruane, Michael E. "USS Monitor Remains to Be Buried Next Month at Arlington Cemetery." Washington Post. February 12, 2013. Accessed 2013-02-12.
  38. ^ Harold Holzer "The Monitor Makes Port," American Heritage, April/May 2007.
  39. ^ Vandal covers B'klyn Civil War statue in white paint, by Rich Calder, New York Post, 7 January 2013
  40. ^ Greenpoint Monitor Museum
  41. ^ Northrop Grumman Newport News. "Northrop Grumman Employees Reconstruct History with USS Monitor Replica". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-21 
  42. ^ "Discovery of Monitor Sailors' Remains". Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-03-15. 
  43. ^ "Civil War sailors laid to rest 150 years later". CNN. Retrieved 8 March 2013. 

Bibliography[edit]

  • Brown, David K. (2003). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905 (reprint of the 1997 ed.). London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-529-2. 
  • Canney, Donald L. (1993). The Old Steam Navy. 2: The Ironclads, 1842–1885. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-586-8. 
  • Carrico, John M. (2007). Vietnam Ironclads; A Pictorial History of US Navy River Assault Craft, 1966–1970. Brown Water Enterprises. ISBN 978-0-9794231-0-9. 
  • Clancy, Paul (2006). Ironclad; The Epic Battle, Calamitous Loss, and Historic Recovery of the USS Monitor. International Marine, McGraw Hill. 
  • Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. 
  • Davis, William C. (1975). Duel Between the First Ironclads. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 201. ISBN 9781566197939. 
  • Fuller, Howard J (2008). Clad in Iron – The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-297-3. , [1]
  • Marvel, William, ed. (2000). The Monitor Chronicles: One Sailor's Account: Today's Campaign to Recover the Civil War Wreck. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-86997-7. 
  • Olmstead, Edwin; Stark, Wayne E.; Tucker, Spencer C. (1997). The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, New York: Museum Restoration Service. ISBN 0-88855-012-X. 
  • —— (2002). Civil War Ironclads: The U.S. Navy and Industrial Mobilization. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 284. ISBN 978-0-8018-8751-2. ,
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1989). Warships of the Civil War Navies. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-783-6. 
  • Thompson, Stephen C. (1990). "The Design and Construction of the USS Monitor". Warship International (Toledo, Ohio: International Naval Research Organization). XXVII (3): 222–42. ISSN 0043-0374. 
  • Wagner, Margaret E.; Gallagher, Gary W.; Finkelman, Paul (2002). The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 949. ISBN 0-684-86350-2. 
  • Ward, Geoffrey; Burns, Ric; Burns, Ken (1990). The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 426. ISBN 0-394-56285-2. 
  • Wilson, H. W. (1896). Ironclads in Action: A Sketch of Naval Warfare From 1855 to 1895 1. Boston: Little, Brown. 

Primary sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Gott, Kendall D. (2003). Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry—Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862. Stackpole books. ISBN 0-8117-0049-6. 

External links[edit]

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