The first national marine
sanctuary, established in 1975, is the wreck site
of the USS Monitor. This is the famous Civil
War ship whose battle with the confederate ship,
the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS
Merrimac) revolutionized war at sea. The March
9, 1862 battle marked the end of an era of
wooden-hulled, sailing warships and the dawn of an
era of ironclad, turreted, and steam-powered naval
vessels. The Monitor survived the battle,
but later that year, on New Year's Eve, sank in a
gale off the coast of North Carolina. It remained
undiscovered for over 100 years. In 1973 it was
found by scientists from Duke University using side
scan sonar.
The now upside down
Monitor is approximately 16 miles SSE of Cape
Hatteras in 240 feet of water. Significant
deterioration of the ship has occurred in recent
years due to natural processes and an inadvertent
anchoring incident.
Managing the sanctuary
centers around preventing further deterioration of
the wreck, recovery of important ship components
and artifacts, protecting the wreck from damage by
human activities such as vessel anchoring and
fishing.
Over the last three years
scientists and divers from NOAA, the US Navy, and
the Mariners' Museum in Newport News,VA as well as
a host of other participants, have been leading
expeditions to record the condition of the wreck,
stabilize her hull, and recover portions of the
craft for restoration by the Mariners' Museum. Read
more about the recovery efforts on the
Mariners'
Museum Expedition 2000 web
page.
The Monitor photo collection
contains images which portray only a small portion
of the past, current and restoration information
offered by the sanctuary and The Mariners Museum.
For a more detailed description of the sanctuary
and activities surrounding the Monitor, please
visit the Monitor
National Marine Sanctuary Web
site.
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The Collection
Monitor
Then (1862) presents
11 photos depicting scenes from 1862, the year the
Monitor fought its only battle and also the year it
sank. Most of the images found on this page were
taken from the Historical archives of the Library
of Congress.
Monitor
Now (2000) presents
18 photos depicting views of the Monitor in its
watery grave. You will see mosaic images of video
stills taken from the submersible Clelia, and some
marine life that now calls the Monitor
home.
Research
& Recovery
presents 22 images depicting diagrams drawn for
archeological research, and photos of the most
recent NOAA/Navy collaboration in recovering the
engine, and stabilizing the Monitor's
hull.
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