{"id":22361,"date":"2024-09-27T11:09:31","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T15:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/?p=22361"},"modified":"2025-03-27T07:36:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:36:52","slug":"guns-of-uss-monitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/2024\/09\/guns-of-uss-monitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Guns of USS Monitor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The US Navy\u2019s first turreted ironclad warship was the famed USS Monitor<\/em>. This Union ironclad rose to everlasting glory during the  March 9, 1862 Battle of Ironclads. This \u201ccheesebox in a raft\u201d became known as the \u201clittle ship that saved the nation.\u201d The Battle of Hampton Roads was a drawn engagement. CSS Virginia <\/em>blocked Union access to the James River during the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign, which delayed US troops from quickly reaching Richmond. Likewise, USS Monitor<\/em> successfully blocked Virginia<\/em>\u2019s ability to destroy the rest of the Union wooden fleet in Hampton Roads. This engagement changed naval warfare forever and made Monitor<\/em> a household name. The Union ironclad was initially called \u201cEricsson\u2019s Folly\u201d as a rebuke to the vessel\u2019s designer, John Ericsson, and was considered the strangest looking vessel that had ever been seen or simply an \u201ciron coffin.\u201d The ship incorporated two separate hulls. The top (called the upper hull) was in the form of a flat iron raft with a five-inch armor belt. The only features seen above the deck were the turret amidship, with its rounded shape designed to deflect shot, and the small pilothouse near the bow. Ventilators and smoke boxes could be removed before going into combat. The upper hull overhung the lower hull where the engine, boilers, gallery, magazine, toilets, and quarters were located. Monitor<\/em> was virtually a submarine. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Interior of the Tower of the USS Monitor<\/em>. From Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War<\/em>, pg 252. Courtesy NavSource Online, https:\/\/www.navsource.org\/archives\/01\/monitor.htm<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Paixhans\u2019 Gun Design <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All ironclads built or under construction in 1861 were fabricated to protect against explosive shells. Explosive shells and shell guns had already been introduced to coastal defense systems; however, naval leaders had not recognized their application to ship-to-ship combat. Accordingly, old techniques of naval warfare ended when French general Henri Paixhans advocated a new system of naval gunnery based on standardization of caliber and use of shell guns. In 1824, Paixhans tested an 80-pounder shell gun against an old ship-of-the-line and destroyed it with only 16 shells. Besides demonstrating the tremendous destructive power of explosive shells, Paixhans argued that the modern warships should be steam-powered, iron plated, and armed with like-caliber shell guns. Obviously, shells were superior to solid-shot in terms of wooden warship combat. Shells were designed to explode in a ship\u2019s side, tearing an irregular hole that could sink a vessel. Sparks from the explosion could ignite fires on the damaged ship. Furthermore, the resulting wooden splinters and shell fragments could decimate a crew. The Paixhans\u2019 gun design was soon accepted by the US Navy in an VIII-inch version. A desire for more powerful guns witnessed shell guns being produced as X-, XII- and XIII-inch varieties. Larger guns, however, were prone to burst. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Ericsson. The Mariners’ Museum,\u00a01947.0621.000001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

USS Princeton and the Peacemaker Catastrophe <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Swedish inventor John Ericsson was convinced by the well-connected American naval officer Robert Stockton to emigrate to the United States to build the first steam-screw propeller warship for the US Navy. Ericsson was given a contract to design and supervise the construction of a 700-ton corvette, USS Princeton. <\/em>Not only did Ericsson design the two vibrating-lever engine and the six-bladed screw propeller, but he also created the ship’s collapsible funnel, an improved rangefinder and improved recoil systems for the main battery of forty-two-pounder carronades. Princeton, <\/em>a novel combination of sail and steam power, also featured the most modern advances in artillery: two twelve-inch pivot shell guns. 
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Robert Field Stockton. The Mariners’ Museum, 1968.0085.000001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

His allegiance to Paixhans\u2019 concept was witnessed in Princeton\u2019<\/em>s <\/em>main battery composition of twelve 42-pounder carronades. In order to give the ship more effective firepower, he selected a 12-inch shell gun he had already manufactured, known as \u201cThe Oregon.\u201d Ericsson\u2019s shell gun was a smoothbore muzzleloader made out of wrought iron bands capable of firing a 225-pound shell using a 50-pound charge. The design followed David Treadwell\u2019s revolutionary concepts, in that it used the \u201cbuilt-up construction\u201d of placing red-hot iron bands around the gun\u2019s breech end. This action pre-tensioned the gun and greatly increased the charge the breach could withstand. He still needed a second pivot gun for Princeton, <\/em>and Stockton insisted on designing the weapon himself. Stockton designed and supervised the fabrication of Princeton\u2019<\/em>s <\/em>second gun, \u201cThe Peacemaker.\u201d The gun was fatally flawed since Stockton did not fully comprehend the design of Ericsson\u2019s Oregon. Instead of using Ericsson\u2019s hoop construction, he reinforced the breach by simply making it thicker. As a result, this 12-inch muzzleloader weighed 27,000 pounds. Despite its size, the lack of a reinforced breech made it unable to withstand the pressure of the charge and doomed it to eventually burst. Stockton\u2019s warship was an instant success when the corvette arrived in Washington. A grand event was held on February 29, 1844. It was a trip down the Potomac River with President John Tyler, his cabinet, and more than 200 other guests. The champagne flowed, and Peacemaker was fired several times as entertainment. When the huge gun was fired for a final time, it exploded, killing eight attendees, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer. The explosion also wounded 20 others, including Robert Stockton himself. When the smoke cleared and a Court of Inquiry was held, Stockton was somehow exonerated, while the blame entirely fell on Ericsson. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n

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“Awful Explosion of Peace-Maker on Board the U.S. Steam Frigate, USS Princeton<\/em>, on Wednesday, Feby. 1844.” Currier & Ives, lithographer. The Mariners’ Museum, 1935.0689.000001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dahlgren Guns Take Center Stage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 The Princeton <\/em>affair turned the US Navy away from the production of large shell guns until John A.B. Dahlgren, known as the \u201cFather of Naval Ordinance,\u201d developed a new style of naval shell gun known as the Dahlgren gun. Dahlgren guns were designed with a smooth curved shape, equalizing strain with more weight of metal in the gun breech where the greater propellant gasses needed to be met to keep the gun from bursting. The Dahlgren-designed guns differed from Paixhans’ pattern. Dahlgren noted, \u201cMy idea was to have a gun that should generally throw shells far and accurately, with the capacity to fire solid shots when needed.\u201d Known as \u201csoda bottle guns\u201d, the first version was a 32-pounder model. The most popular pre-war Dahlgren shell guns were the VIII- and IX-inch (1,185 made) versions. A X-inch version was made for use as a pivot gun and an XI-inch was also created. [3]<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren. The Mariners’ Museum, 1969.0197.000001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden was named commander of USS Monitor<\/em> on January 13, 1862, two of his most important tasks were assembling the officers and crew as well as securing two guns for the turret. The original plans submitted to Emperor Louis Napoleon recommended using Ericsson\u2019s hydrostatic guns. These guns were merely a concept and due to time constraints, shell guns were suggested. Ericsson had specified that XIII-inch Dahlgrens be fitted into the 21-foot diameter turret. Unfortunately, this gun design proved to be a failure because of the difficulty of drilling the bore out since the shell guns were casted solid. Dahlgren would eventually develop a hollow casting method where the gun was casted around a metal pipe. This enabled the production of the massive XV-inch shell guns. These were not yet available, so Worden found two XI-inch Dahlgrens on the USS Dacotah<\/em> and used them for Monitor\u2019<\/em>s <\/em>turret. 
<\/p>\n\n\n

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XV-inch Dahlgren shell guns in Charlestown Navy Yard. Courtesy New York Public Library, 49dd8450-c543-012f-3dea-58d385a7bc34.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The two XI-inch shell guns were fitted into Ericsson’s specially designed carriage, with brakes tightened by hand cranks to accommodate recoil. Since the big guns were mounted side by side, the crank housings were placed on the outside of the gun carriages so the crew would not have to stand between the guns to make adjustments. This arrangement seemed to imply that the wheels were mirror images, having to be turned in different directions to tighten the brakes, but both were designed with a left-hand screw and were supposed to be turned in the same direction, counterclockwise. During the February 19 test run, Chief Engineer Alban Stimers turned the hand wheel on gun number one as if it were a right-hand screw and then ordered it to be fired. The right-hand turn served to release the friction gear dissipating the gun\u2019s recoil, and the Dahlgren jumped off the carriage, bouncing off the rear wall of the turret. Fortunately, no one was injured. Stimers, believing the second crank wheel should be turned in the opposite direction, again relieved any braking power the gun carriage had and caused the same startling result with gun number two, amazingly again with no injuries. [4]<\/p>\n\n\n

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USS Monitor<\/em>\u2019s Port Dahlgren gun under conservation. The Mariners’ Museum, https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/2021\/08\/dahlgren-gun-tools-an-in-depth-look-at-treatment-part-i\/<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Dahlgrens were mounted in the confined space of the turret. Each XI-inch Dahlgren weighed over eight tons, and their massive size left little room in the turret for the gun crews. Solid shot, made by Novelty Iron Works, was stored along the base of the turret beside the guns. The turret was fitted with huge, pendulum port shutters to protect the turret\u2019s interior when the guns were being reloaded. In fact, a special loophole was bored into each shutter to allow the cannon to be sponged, wormed, and reloaded when the shutter was closed. The guns were re-tested on March 4, as Master\u2019s Mate George Frederickson reported: \u201cFirst of firing blank cartridges, second a stand of grape, third with canister with a full charge of grape.\u201d A 15-pound charge of powder would enable the Dahlgrens to hurl a 187-pound solid shot or a 168-pound explosive shell up to 1,700 yards.  Monitor<\/em> was under orders by naval officials not to use the rated 30-pound powder charge when in action, due to their fear of a gun bursting within the turret. [5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shots Fired: The Battle of Hampton Roads<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the morning of March 9, 1862, USS Monitor was the only weapon the US Navy had in Hampton Roads to protect what remained of its wooden fleet. Monitor engaged Virginia at 8:30 a.m., and it soon became apparent that neither ship\u2019s gunnery could do damage to the other vessel. Monitor\u2019s executive officer, Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene noted that his \u201conly view of the world was over the muzzles of the guns.\u201d The white marks noting the turret\u2019s location in the stationary deck below it were quickly covered with powder residue. In addition, Greene reflected that the \u201ceffect upon one shut up in a revolving drum is perplexing, and it is not a simple matter to keep the bearings.\u201d Also, the turret\u2019s engine partially failed as it could not be properly stopped so the guns were fired \u201con the fly.\u201d Only one gun could be fired at a time and the gun commander had such limited visibility. Finally, the turret did not have a full range of fire due to the location of the pilot house and air intakes. Instead of a 360 degree field of fire, it was about 200 degrees. [6]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all of Ericsson\u2019s mechanical genius, the design and machinery failed at a critical time, which lessened Monitor\u2019s<\/em> combat abilities. The drawback to the position of the pilothouse was soon realized. Worden\u2019s orders, as the speaking tube malfunctioned, had to be transmitted by word of mouth delivered by Captain Clerk Daniel Toffey and Acting Assistant Paymaster William Keeler. [7]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the communication and vision problems, the XI-inch Dahlgrens lacked the punch to pierce Virginia\u2019s<\/em> armor. These Dahlgrens could fire a 187-pound solid shot; however, even though an XI-inch Dahlgren was tested to fire using 30 pounds of powder, Monitor<\/em> was ordered to use only 15 pounds, due to the fear that a gun could burst in the turret. Monitor<\/em> could fire a shot every six to eight minutes. Loading was accomplished with the guns turned away from the enemy, and then the turret would revolve toward the target. The port stoppers were too heavy to operate. Because of limited vision and the inability to effectively stop the turret, of the 41 shots fired by during the engagement, only 20 struck the Confederate ironclad. William Norris noted that \u201cany three [shots] of them properly aimed would have sunk us, and yet the nearest shot to the waterline was over four feet.\u201d [8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After almost two hours of combat, Worden ordered his ship to break off action and steam onto a shoal, away from the Confederate ironclad. The supply of shot in Monitor\u2019s<\/em> turret was exhausted and had to be resupplied from storage bins on the berth deck. To accomplish this, the turret had to be stationary so that the 187-pound solid shot could be hoisted up through the two scuttle holes, one in the deck and the other in the floor of the turret. It was an extremely difficult and time-consuming task. Worden ordered Keeler to provide the powder division with a ration of spirits. One crewman, Moses M. Stearns, received a strain that caused \u201ca hernia of the left side,\u201d and he was excused from duty. First-class Fireman George Geer was then relieved of his \u201cduty in the fire room and went to my station hoisting up shot and shell to the tower guns.\u201d [9]  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight between the two ironclads ended when a conical shell fired by Virginia\u2019<\/em>s stern Brooke rifle struck Monitor\u2019s<\/em> pilot house, wounding the Union ironclad\u2019s commander John L. Worden, and causing Monitor<\/em> to temporarily break off action. As the tide was receding, CSS Virginia<\/em> returned to its base. The two experimental ironclads would never fight again; yet they were models for future ironclad production. Monitor<\/em> was deemed a grand success and the design was improved in various future classes. The Passaic<\/em>-class featured greatly improved fight control and hitting power. Ships like USS Montauk<\/em> had a pilot house situated atop the turret. The XV-inch shell gun was proven to cause significant damage to the Confederate casemate ironclad design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monitor<\/em>\u2019s Final Months<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Interior of the Montauk<\/em>‘s turret. From The Soldier in Our Civil War<\/em>, Volume II, page 187. Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 58701.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Norfolk fell, Virginia<\/em> was scuttled by its crew leaving the James River apparently open all the way to Richmond. Monitor<\/em> joined a squadron consisting of the ironclads USS Galena<\/em> and Naugatuck <\/em>as well as the wooden double-ender gunboats Port Royal <\/em>and Aroostock<\/em>. The squadron was blocked by Confederate fortifications atop Drewey\u2019s Bluff, partially manned by crew members of CSS Virginia<\/em>. During the May 15, 1862 engagement Galena <\/em>was damaged by Rebel plunging shot and shell. Monitor<\/em> then moved abreast of Galena <\/em>in an effort to draw Confederate gunfire away from the larger ironclad. Monitor\u2019s <\/em>new position and the dimensions of the turret\u2019s gun ports did not allow the ironclad to elevate its two XI-inch Dahlgren’s enough to hit the Confederate batteries. Therefore, the turreted ironclad played a minor role in the battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After supporting Major General George McClellan\u2019s Peninsula Campaign, Monitor<\/em> was detailed to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs. The hull was cleaned, a new blower system was installed, and the engines revitalized. George Geer was very impressed by the engine overhaul, noting that \u201cit works first-rate now.\u201d In turn, Keeler was most impressed with how the Dahlgrens were engraved with large letters: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MONITOR & MERRIMAC WORDEN <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MONITOR & MERRIMAC ERICSSON <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USS Monitor’s starboard gun in the conservation tank. The Mariners’ Museum, MNMS.2002.001.470A.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After repairs at the Washington Navy Yard, Monitor<\/em> was ordered back to Hampton Roads. On December 25, 1862, the ironclad was ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina to participate in a planned attack on Wilmington, North Carolina. Monitor<\/em> left Hampton Roads on December 29 undertow by USS Rhode Island<\/em>. The warship was struck by a heavy gale on the afternoon of December 30. The heavy seas overwhelmed the little ironclad and it began to sink. A bailing party was organized to help staunch the flow of water. Francis Butts was in the turret to pass bails up and down through the hatch of the turret. Butts claimed that he became so annoyed by the wailing of a cat that he placed the feline into a barrel of one of the XI-inch Dahlgren’s and stuffed a wad in after it. Unfortunately, this action did not stop the cat\u2019s mournful howling. Monitor <\/em>sank in the early morning of December 31, 1862; however, an effort was undertaken by NOAA, the US Navy, and The Mariners\u2019 Museum to recover parts of the ironclad from its grave off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The turret, including the two XI-inch Dahlgren’s, was brought to The Mariners\u2019 Museum in Newport News, Virginia, in 2002 and is now under conservation.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENDNOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. John V. Quarstein, The Monitor Boys, <\/em>Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011, pp. 17-18.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Spencer C. Tucker, Handbook of 19th Century Naval Warfare<\/em>, Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000, pp. 88-89.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. IBID., pp.. 82-85.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Quarstein, The Monitor Boys, <\/em>pp. 47-48.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Monitor <\/em>Log<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Samuel Dana Greene, \u201cIn the Monitor\u2019s<\/em> Turret,\u201d In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,<\/em> vol. 1, edited by Robert Underwood and Clarence Clough Buel. New York: Century Co., 1887.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. IBID.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. William Norris, \u201c{The Story of the Confederate States Ship \u2019Virginia\u2019<\/em>\u2019(once Merrimac<\/em>): Her Victory Over the Monitor, <\/em>Born March 7th, Died May 10th, 1862.\u201dSouthern Historical Society Papers 41 <\/em>(September 1916): pp. 204-33.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. William Marvel, ed., The Monitor Chronicles, <\/em>New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 33 and . <\/em>Alban C. Stimers, \u201cAn Engineer Aboard the Monitor, Civil War Times Illustrated, <\/em>April 1970, p. 35.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The US Navy\u2019s first turreted ironclad warship was the famed USS Monitor. This Union ironclad rose to everlasting glory during the  March 9, 1862 Battle of Ironclads. This \u201ccheesebox in a raft\u201d became known as the \u201clittle ship that saved the nation.\u201d The Battle of Hampton Roads was a drawn engagement. CSS Virginia blocked Union […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":22362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":92,"post_id":4676}}]},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"mariners_open_graph_description":"","mariners_open_graph_image":0,"mariners_open_graph_title":"","mariners_featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,82,37,19],"prominence":[],"audience_motivation":[61,64],"byline":[92],"class_list":["post-22361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-civil-war","tag-military","tag-military-conflict","tag-uss-monitor"],"yoast_head":"\nGuns of USS Monitor - The Mariners' Museum and Park<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/2024\/09\/guns-of-uss-monitor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guns of USS Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The US Navy\u2019s first turreted ironclad warship was the famed USS Monitor. This Union ironclad rose to everlasting glory during the  March 9, 1862 Battle of Ironclads. This \u201ccheesebox in a raft\u201d became known as the \u201clittle ship that saved the nation.\u201d The Battle of Hampton Roads was a drawn engagement. 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