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Chronology of the USS Monitor
From Inception to Sinking
1862
July 1
The Battle of Malvern Hill stops the
Confederate Army from pushing McClellan into the James River.
While other gunboats in the squadron assist the army, the Monitor
is given orders to remain and protect the transports.
July 4
While patrolling the James River around
Turkey Island, the USS Maratanza and the Monitor
come upon the Confederate gunboat CSS Teaser. One shot from
the Maratanza bursts the gunboat's boiler. Severely outgunned,
the Teaser is abandoned by her crew and is towed to Harrison's
Landing as a Union prize.
July 9
President Lincoln, Assistant Secretary
of War Franklin Blair, and Squadron Commander Louis M. Goldsborough
visit the Monitor while the ship is stationed off Harrison's
Landing. James F. Gibson, a photographer following McClellan's
army, comes aboard and makes a series of stereographic photographs
of the officers, crew, and ship.
July - August
Blockading duty on the James River proves
to be difficult for the crew of the Monitor. In addition
to boredom, swarms of insects, and the constant threat of enemy
bullets, the men have to cope with the Southern heat. Daytime
temperatures inside the ironclad soar. One log entry states
that, while the ship was riding at anchor with the steam machinery
secured, galley temperatures reached 150 degrees. It was 125
degrees on the berth deck, and the temperature in the water
closet was 131 degrees. Six months of service has also taken
its toll on the ship. Aside from inadequate ventilation, the
steam machinery needs overhauling and by the end of August,
the bottom is so fouled with marine growth that the ship can
make barely three knots.
August 15
Captain Thomas H. Stevens of the Maratanza
is ordered to assume command of the Monitor.
August 30
The Monitor receives orders to
return to Hampton Roads. Upon arriving, she takes up anchorage
off Newport News Point between the wrecks of the Cumberland
and the Congress.
September 8
Commander John P. Bankhead replaces
Stevens as commander of the Monitor. Throughout September,
the Monitor remains on blockade duty in Hampton Roads.
September 30
The Monitor is ordered to the
Washington Navy Yard to undergo repairs and modifications.
October
The Monitor arrives at the Washington
Navy Yard under tow on October 3. Many of the officers and crew
are allowed to go on extended furloughs. Several weeks are spent
repainting, repairing, and modifying the vessel. A telescoping
smoke stack and taller ventilator boxes are added; davits and
cranes are installed for hoisting the ship's new boats. Battle
damage is repaired with iron patches, and each scar is labeled
according to its origin: "Merrimac," "Minnesota,"
"Ft. Darling," "Merrimac's Prow." The Monitor's
two 11-inch Dahlgren cannon are engraved on their breeches in
tribute to the two men who made the Monitor famous:
MONITOR
& MERRIMAC
WORDEN |
MONITOR
& MERRIMAC
ERICSSON |
Below decks, the berth fittings are
painted and stained. A new oil-cloth floor is put down, and
all of the rooms are painted white, making things, according
to Monitor paymaster William Keeler, "as bright
and cheerful as could be desired."
November - December
The Monitor returns to blockading
duty in Hampton Roads. A rifle screen has been added to the
top of the turret. Made of 1-inch-thick boiler plate, it affords
those on top of the turret protection from musket fire. Orders
are issued December 24, 1862, for the Monitor to proceed
to Beaufort, North Carolina. Bad weather delays the departure
until December 29; on that day the Monitor leaves Hampton
Roads at 2:30 P.M. under tow by the USS Rhode Island.
December 31
The Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina, in a severe storm with the loss of four officers
and sixteen crewmen.
Go to Main Category:
The Revolutionary Union Ironclad Monitor
Go to other documents in this category:
John Ericsson: Life Before the
Monitor
Report on Ironclad Vessels
Development of the Monitor
Description of the USS Monitor -
S.E.E. Edmonds
Naming of the Monitor
What Circumstances Dictated the
Monitor's Size and Peculiar Construction?
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