Coast Guard honors crewmen from historic ship near Hatteras, NC

USS Monitor in action with CSS Virginia, 9 March 1862

Doug Mills World and National News Editor

RCN America Network

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Coast Guard crew conducted a wreath-laying ceremony Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean near Hatteras, N.C., at the wreckage site of the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship commissioned by the Navy during the Civil War.

The ceremony aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Wilmington, N.C., honored the ironclad's legacy and the 16 men who lost their lives 150 years ago.

"I was proud to be able to pay tribute to such a historic ship and honor the sacrifice of her crew," said Ens. Myles McCarthy, the assistant navigator aboard the Diligence.

The original Monitor sank Dec. 31, 1862, at 1:30 a.m. in heavy seas while being towed by the USS Rhode Island.

"The Monitor is one of the most significant ships in U.S. history," said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Saunders, the deputy chief of the enforcement branch at the Coast Guard's 5th District. "It revolutionized Naval architecture and warfare. It was honored and revered by both Union and Confederate descendants. The sailors who served on the Monitor displayed legendary bravery, and it is a reminder to all who work on the sea that nature can be ferocious."

"The Wreck of the Iron-clad 'Monitor.'"

 USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. She was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. Commissioned on 25 February 1862, she soon was underway for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Monitor arrived there on 9 March, and was immediately sent into action against the Confederate ironclad Virginia , which had sunk two U.S. Navy ships the previous day. The resulting battle, the first between iron-armored warships, was a tactical draw. However, Monitor prevented the Virginia from gaining control of Hampton Roads and thus preserved the Federal blockade of the Norfolk area.
Following this historic action, Monitor remained in the Hampton Roads area and, in mid-1862 was actively employed along the James River in support of the Army's Peninsular Campaign. In late December 1862, Monitor was ordered south for further operations. Caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras, she foundered on 31 December. Her wreck was discovered in 1974 and is now a marine sanctuary. Work is presently underway to recover major components of her structure and machinery, to be followed by extensive preservation efforts and ultimate museum exhibition.