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Introduction
On March 9, 1862, the Civil War battle of Hampton Roads between the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) heralded the beginning of a new era in naval warfare. Though indecisive, the battle marked the change from wood and sail to iron and steam.
Today, the remains of the Monitor rest on the ocean floor off North Carolina's Outer Banks, where the ship sank in a storm on December 31, 1862. Discovered in 1973, the Monitor wreck site was designated the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The purpose of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is to preserve the historic record of this significant vessel and to interpret her role in shaping US naval history. Over the past several years NOAA has made extensive surveys of the wreck site and recovered a number of artifacts from the Monitor.
In 1987, The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, was designated the Principal Museum for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The Museum works with sanctuary personnel to conserve artifacts recovered from the Monitor and to develop exhibits, educational activities, and interpretive programs related to history and legacy of the ironclad.
This site offers an overview of the development and career of the USS Monitor from her conception by John Ericsson, through her short career as a warship of the United States Navy, her loss off Cape Hatteras in December 1862, the discovery of her wreck site, and current efforts to conserve the wreck and interpret the history and legacy of the Monitor.
The story of the Monitor contained in this site has been reconstructed from the archives of The Mariners' Museum and the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Where possible, efforts have been made to allow the story of the Monitor to be told through the use of archival material to allow the men who knew the Monitor to tell their own story. Also included in the site is a condensed Student/Teacher Resource Guide designed to help classroom teachers and their students gain a better understanding of the role the Monitor played in the history of the United States.
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