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Chronology of the USS Monitor
From Inception to Sinking
1854
September
Swedish inventor John Ericsson submits
plans to French Emperor Napoleon III for an "impregnable
battery" that includes a revolving cupola.
1861
August 3
The United States Navy Department advertises
for proposals for ironclad warships.
August 29
In a letter to Abraham Lincoln, John
Ericsson offers to construct a "vessel for the destruction
of the rebel fleet at Norfolk."
September 11
Cornelius Bushnell presents a pasteboard
model of Ericsson's "battery" to the navy's Ironclad
Board and President Lincoln. After reviewing the model, the
Ironclad Board invites Ericsson to come to Washington to answer
additional questions about his design.
September 14
After meeting with the Board, Ericsson
is instructed by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to "go
ahead at once!" Ericsson has one hundred days to complete
the vessel.
September 21
Ericsson is officially notified that
his plan for an ironclad has been accepted.
September 27
Ericsson and his associates C.S. Bushnell,
John Griswold, and John Winslow sign a formal contract stipulating
that all four share equally in the profits or losses of the
project. The keel plates for the battery begin being rolled
at Continental Iron Works even though the government contract
has not yet been drawn up.
October
Ericsson begins seeking qualified foundries
and iron works to manufacture materials needed to construct
his battery.
October 4
Ericsson and his "Battery Associates"
sign a contract with the United States government for the construction
of the battery for the sum of $275,000. The money is to be paid
in five installments of $50,000 and one of $25,000. The Navy
Department stipulates that 25 percent of each payment will be
held back to ensure the timely completion of the vessel.
October 25
Ericsson signs a contract with shipbuilder
Thomas Fitch Rowland of Continental Iron Works. Rowland agrees
to build Ericsson's iron hull for 7 _ cents per pound. The plates
previously rolled for the keel are laid at Continental Iron
Works.
November
The primary work for iron plate, castings,
fittings, etc., is contracted out to three New York mills. Holdane
& Co. contracts for 125 tons of plate, and Albany Ironworks
and Rensselaer Ironworks manufacture hundreds of additional
tons of plate and castings. H. Abbott & Sons of Baltimore
rolls the 1-inch-thick iron plates for the turret to be shipped
to Novelty Ironworks in New York for assembly into Ericsson's
"shotproof" tower. Delmater Ironworks and the Clute
Brothers Foundry cast and assemble most of the components of
the ship's machinery. Throughout the month, work on the iron
battery proceeds at a "feverish pace." Materials from
the foundries are assembled as soon as they arrive at Continental
Iron Works. A ship-house 180 feet long is constructed over the
ways to allow work to continue in bad weather and throughout
the night.
November 16
Most of the iron frames of the hull
are in place and deck beams are being installed.
December 5
Ericsson receives a letter from Commodore
Joseph Smith informing him that he has been made aware of serious
delays in material production. "I beg of you to push up
the work. I shall demand heavy forfeiture for delay over the
stipulated time of completion. You have only thirty-nine days
left."
December 17
The boilers and auxiliary machinery
arrive at Continental Iron Works.
December 30
Boiler fires are lit and the steam machinery
tested.
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