Today in 1862, off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

The U.S.S. Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in American history.  It was the first time two ironclads had faced each other in a naval engagement (and fought to a standstill).

U.S.S. Monitor battles C.S.S. Virginia near Hampton Roads, Virginia

After the famous duel, the Monitor provided gun support on the James River for George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, but by December 1862, it was clear the Monitor was no longer needed in Virginia. So she was ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina, to join a fleet being assembled for an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. However, the reassignment required that she be moved through open ocean waters and even though the Monitor served well in the sheltered waters of Chesapeake Bay, the heavy, low-slung ship was not built as an ocean-going warship.

At the best of times, the waters around Cape Hateras are considered rough and in the month of December they are exceedingly so. The U.S. Navy recognized the Monitor would be unable to steam to South Carolina under her own power so the U.S.S. Rhode Island was assigned to tow the ironclad instead.  During the towing operation, rough seas caused the Monitor to pitch and sway so much that the caulking around the gun turret loosened and water began to leak into the hull.  High seas tossed the ship onto heavier and heavier waves with each series increasing the number of leaks and eventually overpowering the onboard pumps.  By nightfall on December 30, the Monitor was in dire straits.

Monitor flounders in high seas while being towed to South Carolina

The Monitor's commander, J.P. Bankhead, signaled the Rhode Island that he wished to abandon ship. The wooden side-wheeler pulled as close as safety allowed to the stricken ironclad, and two lifeboats were lowered to retrieve the crew, many of whom were rescued.  But, when the Monitor’s pumps stopped working altogether, the ironclad quickly sank, entombing sixteen of her crew.   

Recovery of Monitor's  turret and Dahlgren guns

The wreck of the Monitor was discovered in 1973, 111 years after her sinking, and numerous artifacts, including the ship’s distinctive turret, propeller, and massive Dahlgren guns have been recovered.  They are now on display (and being studied) in the Monitor Center at The Mariner’s Museum in Virginia.  The remains of the crewmen that were recovered were interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

[December 30, 1862]