Monitor

The Monitor was one of the most famous ships of the civil war era. It was the first ironclad warship that was built for the Navy of the United States, and it saw service fighting in the Civil War against the Confederacy.

The Monitor was the first in a long line of “Monitor Class” US Warships that was later built and constructed and saw brave service in the US Navy both during and after the Civil War. The Monitor was made famous in a number of different battles, but none as famous as the battle it participated in against the Confederate Warship, the CSS Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads.

The Battle of Hampton Roads took place March 9th, 1862. Neither warship defeated the other, but it was considered a victory for the Union forces because the mission of the CSS Virginia was to break the Union blockade, which due to the Monitor it failed to do.

The civil war era Monitor was lost at sea in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina December 31st, 1862. But it was later rediscovered. In 1973 the wreck of the Ironclad vessel the Monitor was located on the Atlantic seafloor, located about 16 miles off Cape Hatteras.

There have been a number of different artifacts from the Monitor shipwreck, including parts of the engine, anchor, propeller, turret and other parts that have been brought to the surface. There is a great deal of respect and honor that is paid to the wreckage, the control of the shipwreck is in the hands of NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Many artifacts and coins, as well as other items of interest from the original shipwreck has yielded a lot of historical information. The Monitor will live on both in memory and in history, it served as a proud vessel and the first of many other US Navy vessels, the term “Monitor” has became equivalent to any armored metal plated river type patrol vessel.