Battle of Hampton Roads anniversary: They flocked to a Va. museum to look at USS Monitor artifacts and get a good view of its turret, which is normally submerged

Patrons take photos of turret interior (Kyra Duffley/The Mariners' Museum and Park); view of exterior (MMP)

Hundreds of those attending a Battle of Hampton Roads anniversary event at a Virginia museum got a rare glimpse Saturday at the USS Monitor’s battle-marked turret out in the open, rather than awash in conservation solution.

Conservators at The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News in January accessed the turret for the first time in more than five years, following draining of the 90,000-gallon tank that surrounds the remarkable ironclad artifact.

Since then, a treatment solution has been drained and filled weekly as conservators perform maintenance in its interior. Dents from Monitor's 1862 duel with the CSS Virginia are visible today.

Will Hoffman, director of conservation, told the Picket the 20-year conservation process is working.

"What we have seen is the further loosening of corrosion since the last time we were in the tank. This corroborates what our electrochemical monitoring system has shown," he said.

Sabrina Jones, senior director of advancement at the museum, told the Picket in a Monday email an estimated 70 percent of Saturday's 1,000 visitors attended an open house at the “wet lab” that houses the upside-down turret and other Monitor items still undergoing conservation.

Following this weekend, a new treatment solution will be incorporated into the turret tank by the end of the week, Jones said.

"Conservators will not enter the tank again until maintenance is required (likely years) or until we are ready to 'flip' the turret. We do not have a timeline on the flipping as it needs several partners to 'engineer' it and a campaign to fund the materials and work," said Jones.

The tank was drained to allow for the assessment of the desalination process (removing harmful ocean salts), routine maintenance and the removal of nut guards from underneath the turret. The nut guards are the remains of thin armor plating used in part of the turret.

March 8-9 was the anniversary of the clash between the ironclad and Virginia.

Conservators perform maintenance recently inside the artifact (Courtesy Mariners' Museum and Park)

“That turret is the first turret that fought in combat in world history,” Hoffman told TV station WAVY ahead of the weekend. “Every turret on a ship, you know, from gun battleships all the way through now with autonomous Lidar you see on modern ships, all that comes from the turret that’s sitting in that tank behind me.”

The turret was raised off Cape Hatteras, N.C., by U.S. Navy and other divers in 2002 and brought to Newport News. The Mariners’ Museum and Park displays hundreds of Monitor items recovered since its discovery in 1973.

Many artifacts, including two Dahlgren guns, gun carriages and personal effects from sailors were recovered from inside the turret. The finds there included the remains of two men who were unable to escape when USS Monitor sank during a storm on Dec. 31, 1862, as it was being towed south in the Atlantic Ocean.

A child-sized display pool set up Saturday (Kyra Duffley/The Mariners' Museum and Park)

Saturday’s events included lectures, 3D-printed artifacts, a STEM design program and tours of the museum galleries. It was cosponsored by NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. This year's focus was about maritime careers, such as engineering and underwater archaeology.

"This weekend was an absolute home run as the galleries were buzzing all day with new and returning folks," said Jones.

USS Monitor Center director emeritus John Quarstein, who was among the speakers, told the Picket he has been inside the turret numerous times over the years.

Visitors gaze Saturday at the turret and other artifacts in wet lab (Kyra Duffley, Mariners' Museum and Park)

“My amazement is based on several experiences.... when I thought about the shot damage, when I think about the men serving in the turret and what they experienced, when I realize how the turret revolutionized naval warfare, etc. I also think about the many design flaws found when looking at the turret and then think about all of the graft, greed and grift involved in ironclad construction during the War of the Rebellion,” he wrote in an email.

Quarstein has a new book, “From Ironclads to Admiral: John Lorimer Worden and Naval Leadership,” coming out next month. Worden skippered the USS Monitor during the battle and later served on the USS Montauk.   

Retired atmospheric physicist and author Charles McLandress presented a lecture about William F. Keeler, his great-great grandfather. Keeler’s numerous letters home are the basis of a book by McLandress, "Ink, Dirt and Powder Smoke: The Civil War Letters of William F. Keeler, Paymaster on the USS Monitor."

“The main points of my talk were to highlight the importance and beauty of Keeler's Civil War letters and to tell the life story of this complex and fascinating individual (Forty-Niner, dry goods merchant, watch maker, iron founder, inventory, orange grower, newspaper correspondent and more),” McLandress told the Picket. “I interweaved the story of the Monitor with Keeler's impressions of events and people, with focus on the Monitor.”

On Picket first: USS Monitor conservators drain turret tank for first time since 2019, will conduct visual checks and maintenance inside beginning Thursday

The turret and its Dahlgren guns after its 2002 recovery in the Atlantic (The Mariners' Museum and Park)

Conservators later this week will be able to access the turret of the USS Monitor for the first time in more than five years, following Monday’s draining of the 90,000-gallon tank that surrounds the remarkable artifact.

The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., broadcast the four-hour draining – the first since 2019 -- on YouTube and took questions from those curious about the long conservation process.

For the next several weeks, the treatment solution will be drained and filled weekly, and conservators will have access to the turret interior for maintenance. They are expected to enter the turret Thursday.

"On the days the conservators are physically working in the turret tank, they will stop occasionally throughout the day to run the sprinklers in the tank, in order to keep the turret saturated and prevent drying," said Tina Gutshall, The Mariners' grants administrator. "The rest of the year, the tank stays filled."

One benefit will be for museum visitors to see the empty turret on March 8, the anniversary of the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads between the Union ironclad Monitor and CSS Virginia.

Following that, a new treatment solution will be incorporated into the turret tank, The Mariners' said.

The tank was drained to allow for the assessment of the desalination process (removing harmful ocean salts), routine maintenance and the removal of nut guards from underneath the turret. The nut guards are the remains of thin armor plating used in part of the turret.

A live chat during the draining brought a host of questions, including the goal of conservation, other shipwrecks, the sophisticated design of the turret and more. One commenter said an ancestor was a carpenter who worked on USS Monitor’s interior wood components.

Will Hoffman, chief conservator, participated in part of the chat, saying he and his colleagues were excited about getting inside the turret during the next several weeks to assess the treatment and clean the electrolytic reduction system that removes salt.

Cannon damage on USS Monitor after clash with Virginia (Library of Congress)

The turret was raised off Cape Hatteras, N.C., by U.S. Navy and other divers in 2002 and brought to Newport News. It is positioned upside down.

The chat and YouTube presentation asked for donations and support for the long-term project.

The next step is to flip the turret and treat it with dry ice. The conservation of the turret could be complete within 10 years, but officials have no firm timetable.

Crews have worked inside the turret during previous drainings, but most were several years ago. The long-term aim is to put the turret on display at the museum with other Monitor artifacts.

“We are working closely with NOAA to encourage support from industry experts on the technical expertise and to raise the funds to make this next monumental step a reality,” Hoffman said in the chat.

A major point of study is whether it is best to treat the turret as is (a large ring), or to take apart the 198 wrought iron plates, which are in bolted layers of eight, to get at them separately. "We do not plan to take the armor ring apart, but aim to disassemble the roof assembly once the turret has been rotated," conservators said in an email to the Picket.

I asked Jeff Johnston, who was a historian and program specialist with NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, about the significance of Monday’s tank draining.

Erik Farrell uses special drill in Dahlgren bore in early 2020 (Mariners' Museum and Park)

“It allows the conservators a chance to inspect how the conservation is progressing, replace any anodes that need it, and/or reposition anodes for better treatment where necessary,” he said. “They can inspect the turret and clean up any generated sludge. It's also a great opportunity for museum visitors to get a good look at the turret while the maintenance is happening.”

Additionally, Johnston said, conservators have the option of dry ice blasting to help the electrolysis better reach the surface metals and reduce rust. The museum said this week that approach continues to be the plan.

"Full dry-ice cleaning will follow the turret rotation, which is still in the planning phase," conservators said.

The Mariners’ Museum and Park displays hundreds of Monitor items, including the anchor and engine, recovered since 1973.

Turret after draining several years ago (Courtesy of The Mariners' Museum and Park)

Many artifacts, including the two Dahlgren guns, gun carriages and personal effects from sailors were recovered from inside the turret. The finds there included the remains of two men who were unable to escape when USS Monitor sank during a storm on Dec. 31, 1862, while it was being towed.

One commenter wondered how the ironclad’s crew coped with the concussive forces generated when the Virginia’s shells struck the turret.

“​​It is incredible to imagine what it would have been like inside the turret during the Battle of Hampton Roads,” the park replied. “It was hot, the ships were exchanging fire and the turret was spinning continuously.”

USS Monitor Center director emeritus John Quarstein told the Picket several sailors and officers were concussed during the battle, including chief engineer Alban Stimers. “When the first shots from the CSS Virginia struck the turret's side, everyone in the turret then knew that nothing could harm them.”

Quarstein (left), who routinely gives lectures on USS Monitor and other Civil War vessels, says the ironclad was truly a revolutionary warship.

“So many sections of the little ship that saved the nation, especially the turret, reinforce the fact that the Civil War is the first industrial war which changed America forever.”

On March 6, 1862, the new Union ironclad – its radical design dubbed “Ericsson’s folly” by its doubters -- steamed down New York City’s East River for the short journey to Virginia. There were doubts about whether the Monitor could withstand the seas and intense enemy firepower; it fired only two cannons from the revolving turret.

But the small ship quickly challenged the heavily armored CSS Virginia upon arrival and ended the latter’s rampage against Federal ships. The stalemate foreshadowed the end of wooden warships.

Editor's note: I will update this post with photographs from this week when they become available.

Brace yourself as we update you on U.S.S. Monitor mystery maker's mark and explain how two rods stabilized ironclad's remarkable revolving turret

Braces under, near guns in recovered turret (top); rendering of them with crew (MMP, Andy Hall)

The 600-page “Drawings of the U.S.S. Monitor, published in 1985, depicts the venerable Civil War ironclad from practically every angle. Scores of sketches demonstrate the exacting work of the draftsmen – with some components drawn to the inch.

“To the men who had the imagination, knowledge and skill to produce these drawings and the Monitor,” reads the dedication in the volume, written by Ernest W. Peterkin for the North Carolina and federal governments.

I continue to marvel at the design and engineering skills of those who made the vessel that changed naval warfare in a single battle with the CSS Virginia in March 1862. My recent foray into learning a bit more about the vessel’s circular, ingenious turret – and its supporting braces -- put me back in touch with experts on Monitor.

As I further studied the turret after communicating with them – I had an amusing observation.

A drawing (below) at the top of the publication – “transverse section through turret” -- features a cross-section of Monitor, with the turret resting on top of a spindle.

Oh my, I thought. The turret and rod combined look like a child’s spinning top!

Transverse section through turret shows spindle beneath (Drawings of the Monitor)

The revolving turret was no toy, however. It housed two XI-inch Dahlgren guns that could smash both ship and man. But to make the setup work, designer John Ericsson had to overcome challenges with the turret, dubbed a “cheesebox on a raft.”

“It was enormously heavy … (and) was designed to be turned by machinery rather than by hand,” Civil War naval expert Andy Hall told me in a recent email.

“To improve this efficiency, Ericsson recognized that it was necessary to relieve part of the weight of the turret on the rollers around its perimeter by ‘jacking up’ the turret a bit, temporarily placing much of its weight on its central vertical spindle. To prevent the turret structure from sagging, Ericsson included diagonal braces from the central roof beam to the base forward, aft and on either side of the turret that could be adjusted using enormous turnbuckles.”

Aft diagonal brace with ULSTER, highlighted at right, click to enlarge (Courtesy Mariners' Museum and Park)

Maker's mark 'Ulster' leaves questions

The two diagonal support braces (forward and aft) inside the turret have been of interest to me following the 2017 announcement by The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., that Monitor conservators removing corrosion from the aft brace uncovered the word “ULSTER.” It’s the first time a maker’s mark was found in the turret.

Officials theorized the two wrought-iron braces – which have undergone conservation since 2016 -- were produced by Ulster Iron Works in Saugerties and added to the turret interior. The scenic city along the Hudson River is about 100 miles north of New York City, where Monitor was assembled in late 1861 and early 1862.

The company, which operated from 1827 to 1888 and took advantage of iron deposits in the area, was a Navy contractor.

Cannon damage on USS Monitor after clash with Virginia (Library of Congress)

“While this firm was never mentioned as a supplier during the Monitor’s construction at Continental Iron Works, it is now believed that Ulster provided materials for modifications to the ship while it was undergoing sea trials at the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” says the museum, which houses the USS Monitor Center, home to artifacts and items still being conserved after they were recovered off Cape Hatteras, N.C., more than two decades ago.

I have been mesmerized since the announcement by the mystery of the Ulster mark.

I reached out last month to Will Hoffman, Monitor project manager, to see whether conservators have since confirmed any link between the vessel and Ulster Iron Works.

The short answer: No.

Hoffman has cited papers from Ulster Iron Works in the collection of William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

A summary of the collection includes this line: “Among the factors that contributed to the success of the Ulster Iron Works was the ability of the owners of the corporation to arrange for government contracts, especially contracts with the Navy, for providing iron products for use in rockets, ships, and other materials.” (At left, the forward and aft braces, courtesy of Mariners' Museum and Park.)

I reached out to the library to ask whether Ulster Iron Works records make specific mention of Monitor.

Terese Murphy, head of reader services, says a bound volume has entries through 1863 – a year after Monitor was lost in a storm.

Murphy wasn’t able to find mention of Monitor, but kindly sent me photos of the pages that would have mentioned the ironclad. I wasn’t able to make all the writing, but I, too, didn’t see the Monitor in the notes – many descriptions of technology and project summaries. It is possible that the names of the vessels for projects were not inscribed. The descriptions are very technical.

The manufacturer, which drew workers from as far away as England and Wales, was known for using European technology. A process called “double puddling” could produce appreciable amounts of high-grade bar iron.

1862 page from volume on Ulster Iron Works (Courtesy Clements Library, U. of Michigan)

Hoffman says, despite some research by his staff, he has not learned much more.

“It kind of went dead after that,” he says of the search for the Ulster connection. “We know these braces are additions.” They are not shown in original blueprints.

I reached back out to Audrey Klinkenberg, Saugerties town historian, about whether anyone there have come across any mention of the USS Monitor and Ulster Iron Works since the 2017 news. She said no.

A delicate balancing act during battle

With the Ulster mystery still out there, I asked Hoffman and Hall, who writes the Dead Confederates blog, about the six braces that reinforced the turret. (BTW, it’s possible the forward diagonal supporting brace also had an ULSTER mark and it was eaten by corrosion or is still covered.)

The diagonal braces were installed near the two guns in a claustrophobic space manned by an executive officer and 16 sailors. Like Hall, Hoffman says the 160-ton turret had a revolutionary design for the time.

 Braces highlighted, “U.S.S. Monitor: The Ship that Launched a Modern Navy” by Edward Miller

“The turret is like a suspension bridge,” with the diagonal braces providing balance to “keep it from tipping while firing the gun,” the lead conservator told me. One crew fired a Dahlgren while the other reloaded the second.

Hall says turnbuckles on the braces were a particular benefit at close quarters, as in the Monitor-Virginia battle in Hampton Roads.

“The crew in the turret adopted the practice of firing as the gun muzzles rotated past the target, rather than trying to rotate the turret, lock it in place, and then fire,” he says.

“With both ships maneuvering for advantage, almost at point-blank range, keeping Monitor’s turret moving during the action was essential. The officer commanding in Monitor’s turret, Samuel Dana Greene, described this as the turret’s ‘whirligig motion.’”

In a post on Dead Confederates, Hall describes the turret as “a very crowded and chaotic place.”

Clevis used in aft diagonal support brace (Courtesy The Mariners' Museum and Park)

The “Ulster” brace and its mate have undergone extensive conservation.

Hoffman says in 2016 both got their first round of dry-ice cleaning, followed by another round in 2018, and the aft “Ulster” braces was disassembled. Conservation of its aft clevis (fastener) was completed in 2019. Last year, the forward brace and remaining after-brace components received additional cleaning.

Unroll the turret for cleaning, or leave as is?

The turret currently rests on a lower support pad in a giant Mariners’ Museum and Park tank where it has undergone conservation for two decades.

The guns and braces have been treated in separate areas.

More than 50 maker’s marks associated with Monitor have been noticed over the years, says Hoffman. Roman numerals were spotted on the turret armor plates (the roof is upside down in the tank) and there are Roman numerals on sockets of the canopy stanchion.

The next big thing will be the full cleaning of the turret – but that is still a couple years off. (At right, dry-ice cleaning. Courtesy of Mariners' Museum and Park)

 And there are two considerations:

1. Should the turret be left in its current ring configuration for cleaning? While unrolling the plating might allow conservators to get into its curved layers, replacing rivets afterward may be impossible. Hoffman says the decision was to keep it as is.

2. The team has studied ways to treat wrought iron, which is forged and several inches deep. The turret is too big to clean by hand, so the likely scenario is dry ice, going from solid to gas. The whole idea is to remove ocean salt (chlorides) from the metal, to stem further corrosion.

The lab is working on a plan for the turret treatment, which could take up to eight months.

The turret will be turned right-side up, and the roof taken apart. “There are potentially artifacts still to be found” in the roof because some may be captured in concretion, according to Hoffman. (The remains of two sailors and numerous artifacts were found in the turret.)

Using scaffolding, conservators will clean the ring.

Turret bracing goes down in history, literally

Monitor and Virginia fought to a tactical draw at the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads.

Hall, author of “Civil War Blockade Running on the Texas Coast,” says Monitor earned the strategic victory because the Confederate ironclad never ventured out again to attack the U.S. fleet.

“The U.S. Navy immediately contracted for new monitors, with several classes of the type entering service before the war ended in 1865. Each new class of monitor was built on the hard-won lessons of those before, with incremental technical improvements in armament, machinery and armor,” he says. (At left, part of the aft diagonal brace assembly. Courtesy of Mariners' Museum and Park)

Monitor sank in the Atlantic storm on Dec. 31, 1862, with the loss of 16 lives.

“The value of Ericsson’s bracing to keep the iron cylinder of the turret rigid proved to be beneficial to history as well, as it ensured that when Monitor capsized and sank in December 1862 after only a few months’ service, the turret fell off the ship but remained intact on the sea floor, from where it would be recovered in one piece in 2002,” says Hall.

Replaced Civil War marker in Smithfield, Va., recalls a ham-fisted Federal foray in 1864 that was all sizzle, but no steak

If you’re a believer in the adage “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong,” look no farther for an example than a Civil War skirmish that occurred in Smithfield, Va., best known for its famous hams.

But this debacle has nothing to do with pork. Rather, it was a foray of Union troops trying to stop Confederate harassment of naval ships. The brief mission failed, resulting in the capture of about 100 men, the loss of a Federal gunboat and the taking of a war trophy that rubbed salt in the wound.

Visitors to the Isle of Wight County Museum can learn about the Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 1864, clash. Just outside is a new Civil War Trails sign replacing a marker damaged several years ago by a truck.

The text was revised for the new sign (above, courtesy of Isle of Wight County Museum), officials told the Picket.

“Relocated from its former spot on Church Street, this sign brings more attention to the events which happened right here on Main Street in 1864,” museum director Jennifer England said in a press release.

The museum displays a model of the doomed Federal army gunboat Smith Briggs and a distinguished gilded eagle wrested from the vessel after capture and before its destruction.

Guilded eagle plundered from the Smith Briggs (Isle of Wight County Museum)

For months, federal transports and war vessels had been operating with impunity in the James and Nansemond  rivers despite Rebel harassment. The Yanks wanted to put an end to the firing on shipping and decided to land troops in Smithfield and have a separate detachment join the attack from Chuckatuck (Suffolk), to the southeast.

On Jan. 31, 1864, about 90 troops from the 99^th New York Infantry and other regiments were transported via Pagan River to the unoccupied Smithfield, across from Newport News.

Union Capt. James Lee led his men south from Smithfield toward Chuckatuck, but ran into stiff opposition from local Confederate troops. The troops who landed at Chuckatuck heard distant firing, saw no enemy and decided to return to where they landed.

Things weren’t going well for their comrades in blue near Smithfield.

Model of the federal gunboat Smith Briggs at Isle of Wight County Museum

“Outmatched, Lee fell back on Smithfield, pulling items from stores along this street to throw up barricades in the hopes of stalling the Confederates,” the sign says. The Union troops were desperate for rescue.

The Smith Briggs returned the next day to save the harried Federal troops, but things went south, so to speak.

Confederate artillery caused the vessel to run aground, leading to its capture and looting. The trapped New Yorkers and others were forced to surrender. (Most were shipped to Andersonville prison in Georgia.)

The late local historian Segar “Sig” Dashiell, who wrote numerous newspaper articles about the history of Smithfield and other towns, wrote of the demise of the Smith-Briggs:

“When the Yankees had been removed, the citizens who had congregated on the wharf were allowed to come aboard the Smith Briggs and carry off anything they wanted. She was equipped with fine-cut glass with the name of the vessel cut on each piece and considerable supplies of tea, coffee and other goods… (Sgt. Joseph) Norsworthy climbed to the top of the pilot house and wrung and twisted from its bracket the handsome carved and gilded eagle that adorned the vessel and brought it ashore…A boy was sent around town to warn every householder to open all windows, as the gunboat was about to be blown up.”   

The Smithfield marker is one of four Civil War Trails markers in the county used to boost tourism. The nonprofit Civil War Trails is based in Virginia and has markers in six states.

By the way, there's a webcam in the museum for what's called the "world's oldest ham."

The Isle of Wight County Museum will host its next lecture and guided tour about the 1864 Battle of Smithfield at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. A short ribbon-cutting event will take place during that lecture.

Twenty years ago today, a giant 'Spider' lifted the USS Monitor turret from the ocean floor. It's still cause for celebration, including this weekend

Cheers erupted when the USS Monitor turret was brought up in 2002 (NOAA)

At 5:47 p.m. on Aug 5, 2002, the turret of the USS Monitor broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast, the crowning achievement in the recovery of much of the legendary Civil War ironclad.

The operation utilized an eight-legged contraption dubbed the "Spider," which locked around the upside-down turret and lifted it from the ocean floor, 140 years after the USS Monitor sank during a storm off Cape Hatteras.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Navy and the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., where the giant artifact has been in a conservation tank since its recovery, this week have been recalling the momentous turret recovery.

A webinar about recovery of the ironclad’s principal components was held Tuesday.

The museum on Saturday will mark the 20th anniversary (NOAA image left), with programs set from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET. Speakers include Will Hoffman, chief conservator of the Monitor, and John Broadwater, who was part of recovery operations. You can find more details about the events here.

The Mariners’ Museum has been conserving the vessel’s two large Dahlgren guns. Responding to a Facebook question this week about the turret’s orientation, officials said:

“The turret will be flipped right side up in the next year or two to continue conservation work, so we should definitely be able to display it correctly. The guns will most likely be displayed separately since we will want to do everything we can to preserve all of the artifacts.”

While much of the USS Monitor’s wreckage has remained on the ocean floor since Dec. 31, 1862, the turret, guns, anchor, engine components and thousands of artifacts are housed at the Mariners’ Museum.

Researchers found the wreckage of the USS Monitor in 1973 and subsequent trips included the recovery of a famous lantern and anchor. Between 1998 and 2001, most of the engine room was excavated and brought ashore.

Hoffman, in a blog post this week, wrote about the unique and meticulous recovery involving divers and crews in a barge above.

The turret carried two Dahlgren guns (Mariners' Museum and Park)

“Due to the turret being upside-down, the weight of all artifacts and marine debris within it rested on its roof, which was not designed to handle it all. Therefore, once in the spider, the iconic object would be picked up slightly off the seafloor and set onto a lower support pad which would then be affixed to the spider, creating an ‘artifact Oreo.’ This would ensure no objects would be lost as the turret was brought up.”

The turret popped to the surface with much fanfare on Aug. 5, 2002. The artifact was brought to Newport News a few days later, greeted by pleasure boats and a 21-gun salute. The turret was then trucked to the museum in an informal parade.

The USS Monitor revolutionized naval warfare.

A specially built "spider" lifted the turret from 230 feet (NOAA)

On March 6, 1862, the new Union ironclad – its radical design dubbed “Ericsson’s folly” by its doubters -- steamed down New York City’s East River for the short journey to Virginia. There were doubts about whether the Monitor could withstand the seas and intense enemy firepower; it fired only two cannons from the revolving turret.

But the small ship quickly challenged the heavily armored CSS Virginia upon arrival and ended the latter’s rampage against Federal ships. The stalemate foreshadowed the end of wooden warships.

An expedition in May, utilizing an underwater robot, visited the USS Monitor and other shipwrecks in the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. According to media reports, officials said the ironclad was in better shape than expected, probably because of its superior construction.

NOAA schematic shows a portion of the turret under the ship's armor belt

"During those (2002) projects, it was necessary to cut into the ironclad's armor belt, hull, and deck to gain access to the turret since the shipwreck was on top of it,” said Tane Casserly, resource protection and permit coordinator at the sanctuary. “The question for us at NOAA was, did those cuts into the shipwreck cause further deterioration? Would we see significant changes caused by these actions today?"

The answer to those questions "was a resounding 'No'," Casserley told McClatchy News.

The Monitor turret before its recovery in summer 2022 (NOAA)

USS Monitor: Navy recognizes Virginia museum for cleaning of ironclad's two Dahlgren guns, which are still being conserved

Erik Farrell uses special drill in Dahlgren bore in early 2020 (Mariners' Museum and Park)

The conservation team that cleaned the inside of the 13-foot guns of the USS Monitor has been recognized with a maintenance excellence award from the U.S. Navy and a video showcasing the exacting work that involved precision tools and a whole lot of muck.

The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) awarded the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., a Pennant of Excellence for helping to preserve the heritage of the armed service.

In February and March 2020, the conservators removed the last concretion from inside the barrels of the smoothbore 11-inch Dahlgren guns.

They used a special drill and spade bit to remove the hardened mix of sediment and sea life. The weapons were inside the USS Monitor turret that was raised from the Atlantic Ocean floor in 2002 and have been in their own treatment tanks since 2004.

The first gun yielded pieces of crab, seashells and coal while the second held a bolt. Neither contained the remains of a cat that legend holds was stuffed into a barrel by a sailor moments before the USS Monitor sank on Dec. 31, 1862.

Once conservation is complete, the two guns will go on display. They will help tell the story of the innovative warship that tangled with the CSS Virginia in March 1862 – the first battle between ironclads.

"The guns still require additional work. Desalination has to be completed, followed by removal of the treatment solution, controlled drying, and the application of different coatings to strengthen and protect the guns,” Erik Farrell, an archaeological conservator, said in a statement to the Picket.

“Because of the fragility of the material, the guns cannot be dried until an environmentally controlled case is available. Funding dependent, the remainder of the conservation process is expected to take around three years," he said.

Farrell is among those showcased in the new video, which was produced by the museum and SoundVision Studios. It shows the boring process and includes interviews with those involved.

The museum team and Master Machine & Tool of Newport News built a custom boring apparatus and cradle support to clean the bores. The barrels had between 1" and 3" thickness of concretion covering them all the way down the bore and forward to the muzzle -- hence the need to clean the inside of the 8-ton guns and help remove harmful ocean salts.    

In 2018, Farrell and others traveled to a Naval History and Heritage Command facility to look at a similar Dahlgren -- one used by the USS Kearsarge, the sloop of war famous for sinking the Confederate raider CSS Alabama off Cherbourg, France, in 1864.

They were able to measure the interior of the gun and learned both the Monitor and Kearsarge barrels -- which were made at the same foundry – were built to a specific Board of Ordnance pattern. The measurements would help crews know exactly how far down to drill without causing damage.

(Photo at left: One of the Dahlgrens in its treatment tank. The Picket took this photo during a visit a few years ago)

During the project in early 2020, water was pushed inside the barrels as the drilling did its magic, forcing sediment and muck out. “Sludge in this operation is a sign of success,” said one speaker in the eight-minute video. The effort included chiseling hard material to see what was inside.

The NHHC maintenance award is presented to nonprofits that demonstrate the greatest improvement in an artifact’s conditions over the past year.

Conservators with the pennant honoring their work (Mariners' Museum and Park)

“Private museums are critical in telling the Navy story, and this award recognizes The Mariners’ Museum and its Conservation team as a force multiplier in informing the public of our Navy’s history,” NHHC Director Samuel Cox said in a press release. “Their efforts honor those that have served as they continue to inspire and educate our next generation.”

Conserving the thousands of recovered items is not work for those who want instant results.

The process can take anywhere from months to years. The turret, which has been in a treatment tank for nearly two decades, needs another 10-15 years of conservation to draw all the salts out, officials say.

The museum has a blog with posts by USS Monitor conservators about the ongoing work to prepare artifacts for possible display. Click here to see posts about the boring and the turret.

One of the barrels before the boring project (Mariners' Museum and Park)