DOCSLIB.ORG

The History, Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The History, Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2012 Ironclad Revolution: The History, Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor Anna Gibson Holloway College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Holloway, Anna Gibson, "Ironclad Revolution: The History, Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor" (2012). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623591. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-6ta9-r518 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ironclad Revolution: The History, Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor Anna Gibson Holloway Hayes, Virginia Master of Arts, The College of William and Mary, 1997 Bachelor of Arts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1990 Bachelor of Arts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1986 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History The College of William and Mary January 2012 Copyright 2012 Anna Gibson Holloway APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Committee, De~ember 2011 ~of &.A Committee Chair Professor Carol Sheriff, History The College of William and Mary Professor Scott Nelson The C of William and Dr. John Broadwater Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA ABSTRACT PAGE On the afternoon of March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad ram Virginia, built upon the burned-out hulk of the steam screw frigate Merrimack, crawled slowly into Hampton Roads to challenge the Union blockade of the Confederate coastline. Before nightfall, the Virginia had wreaked havoc upon the Union blockading fleet: the USS Cumberland lay at the bottom of the Roads, her flags still defiantly flying while the surrendered USS Congress blazed ominously in the harbor until exploding spectacularly in the early morning hours of March 9. The USS Monitor-a vessel of a radical new design and completely untried in battle-arrived too late to make a difference on the 8th, but met the Virginia on the morning of the 9th in a contest that signaled the first time ironclad had met ironclad in combat. While their four-and-a-half-hour battle ended in a draw, it changed much of the future course of naval warfare. Within days of the engagement, navies around the world were declaring an end to wooden construction and moving forward with their own ironclad building programs-many of which predated both the Monitor and the Virginia. Furthermore, the Monitor's rotating gun turret design freed vessels from the strictures of broadside tactics by allowing the guns, rather than the entire vessel, to be turned, and ushered in a new element of battleship design. Neither the Virginia nor the Monitor lived out that year, however. The Virginia was destroyed in May of 1862 by her own crew to keep her from enemy hands, while the Monitor succumbed to a nor'easter on New Year's Eve off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Discovered in 1973, the Monitor was designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1975 under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since 1987, The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA has served as the principal repository for artifacts recovered from the wrecksite and is currently conserving over 210 tons of the Union ironclad in the Batten Conservation Complex. This dissertation serves as the text for the catalogue of the award-winning exhibition, Ironclad Revolution, which opened at The Mariners' Museum in 2007. The author serves as curator of the USS Monitor Center. Drawing from artwork, archival material and the recovered artifacts themselves, this work seeks to tell the full story of the Monitor: her history, discovery, recovery, and conservation. Table of Contents DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE STAGE 21 CHAPTER 2: THE SEEDS OF WAR 35 CHAPTER 3: "A CLASS OF VESSELS HITHERTO UNKNOWN TO NAVAL SERVICE" 48 CHAPTER 4: "THE NAVY DEPARTMENT WILL RECEIVE OFFERS ... " 59 CHAPTER 5: THE BATTLES OF HAMPTON ROADS 107 CHAPTER 6: AFTER THE BATTLE 130 CHAPTER 7: THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MONITOR 164 CHAPTER 8: DISCOVERY AND RECOVERY 179 EPILOGUE 200 APPENDIX A: RECOVERYTIMELINE, 1974-1995 204 BIBLIOGRAPHY 211 VITA 223 For Mama and Daddy 11 Acknowledgments If someone had told me fifteen years ago that I would one day trade in wooden ships for ironclads, and square sails for steam, I would have told them that they were crazy and clearly did not know me well. That was before I met the Monitor. This curious little ironclad and the men who built her, served on her, and died with her, as well as the men and women who discovered, recovered, and now maintain and conserve her have become as much a part of my everyday existence no matter how many miles and fathoms, or decades and centuries separate us. And yes, the Monitor is a she, no matter what the current Navy custom is today. To me it seems somehow wrong to take that pronoun away from "our little Monitor." Relegating her to an "it" somehow removes the soul from a vessel, though she was not a delicate girl by any means. She drank, smoked, belched, roared, reeled and staggered like a drunk man, if you read the words others used about her. She went by the names Ericsson's Folly, Tin can, rat trap, cheesebox. Yet she became the hope of a nation, the home for some 108 men over her brief life above the waves, and the nursery for countless creatures aquatic over the course of a century and a half, serving proudly as America's first National Marine Sanctuary under the auspices of NOAA. She first came into my life in 2000, when I became Director of Education at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News. Little did I know that she and her officers and crew would become as familiar as old friends, or seem like long lost members of 111 my family. To the 108 men who sometimes called themselves "The Monitor Boys," I give my eternal thanks. But this dissertation would never have seen the light of day had it not been for Professor Carol Sheriff and Professor Jim Whittenburg from the Department of History at The College of William and Mary. They had been there with me at the beginning of my "gradual school" career and were determined to see me through to the end. They, along with Professor Scott Nelson, convinced me to switch time periods, and dissertation topics mid-stream. And they were right to do it! I cannot thank them enough for all of their continued support, cheerleading and expertise, as well as the rest of the faculty and staff of the Lyon Gardner Tyler Department of History. My colleagues at The Mariners' Museum have gone above and beyond any call of museum duty to make it possible for me to complete this work. Thanks to Mary Ann Cleary and John Hightower for seeing my potential as curator of the Monitor story, Tim Sullivan and Dr. Bill Cogar for making sure that this work could get done, as well as the incredible staff here at The Mariners' Museum and my colleagues past and present at NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Thanks to Dr. John Broadwater for his assistance and insightful comments in preparing this manuscript, and in teaching me to love the little cheesebox. Thanks to John as well as David Alberg and Jeff Johnston from NOAA, and Captain Bobbie Scholley and MDSU TWO for letting me tag along on some of the expeditions (and not laughing at my sad little seasick self) and for providing me access to these national treasures. Thanks also to the staff of The Mariners' Museum Library and Archives at IV Christopher Newport University, and especially Bill Barker, Tom Moore, Bill Edwards-Bodmer, and Dr. Jay Moore, for helping me paw through primary source documents from the 19th, 2Qth and 21st centuries. One of our fabulous volunteers, Lana Ross, likely does not realize how important all of her incredibly insightful questions were to me were in preparing for this. I thank her for keeping me on my toes with the minutiae of the 19th century. Thanks also to Collections Technician Cindi Verser for her love of early telegraph history which is truly infectious. Priscilla Hauger, Anne Marie Millar, Jeanne Willoz­ Egnor, Frederick Wallace, and Lyles Forbes have all put up with my distractions with good humor, and have been massively supportive! I want to thank David Krop, Marcie Renner, Curtiss Peterson, Eric Nordgren, Elsa Sangouard, Will Hoffmann, Tina Gutshall, Gary Paden, Michael Saul and all of the staff and volunteers of the Monitor Conservation Project in years past for all of the phone calls in the past decade that began with the words, "Anna, you need to come over here and see this!" My co-curator JeffJohnston, along with Len Soccolich, Judy Vannais, Scott Guerin, David Lenk, the groovy John Quarstein, Sara Johnston, David Dwyer, Sidney Moore, Kimberly Hansin, Two Rivers Studios, Pyramid Studios, Batwin + Robin, Susannah Livingston, and a cast of thousands all played major roles in creating the USS Monitor Center exhibition. Their good humor, incredible skills and willingness to do some pretty bizarre things for the sake of the exhibition are the stuff of legend.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE FEASIBLITY of the OVER-THE-HORIZON AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT for U.S. NAVY and MARINE CORPS FORCES a Thesis Presented To
    THE FEASIBLITY OF THE OVER-THE-HORIZON AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT FOR U.S. NAVY AND MARINE CORPS FORCES A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Colege in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE STEPHEN L. GOERTZEN, LCDR, USN B.S., U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, 1982 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 1993 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Name of Candidate: LCDR Stephen L. Goertzen, USN Thesis Title: The Feasibility of the Over-the-Horizon Amphibious Assault for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Forces Approved by: u , Thesis Committee Chaiman LTCOL W. A. Sp , Member Accepted this 4th day of June 1993 by: , Director, Graduate Degree Philip J. Brookes, Ph.D. Programs The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing statement.) ABSTRACT THE FEASIBILITY OF THE OVER-THE-HORIZON AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT FOR U.S. NAVY AND MARINE CORPS FORCES: An analysis of the doctrine, equipment, and technology contributing to the feasibility of the over-the-horizon amphibious assault. By Lieutenant Commander Stephen L. Goertzen, USN, 128 pages. This study is an analysis of the tactics,techniques, procedures, doctrine, equipment, and technology utilized in over-the-horizon amphibious assaults. The study examines the issues surrounding current feasibility of the assault, as well as future feasibility of the assault.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter 2006 HNSA Anchor Watch.Qxd 1/20/2010 6:25 PM Page 1
    Winter 2010 AW:Winter 2006 HNSA Anchor Watch.qxd 1/20/2010 6:25 PM Page 1 JANUARY NCHOR FEBRUARY A MARCH APRIL WATCH 2010 The Quarterly Journal of the Historic Naval Ships Association www.hnsa.org CSS NEUSE: IRONCLAD SLATED TO GET A NEW HOME Winter 2010 AW:Winter 2006 HNSA Anchor Watch.qxd 1/20/2010 6:25 PM Page 2 2 ANCHOR WATCH HNSA STAFF HNSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS President Executive Director RADM John P. McLaughlin, USS Midway CDR Jeffrey S. Nilsson, USN (Ret) Vice President Executive Director Emeritus Brad King, HMS Belfast CAPT Channing M. Zucker, USN (Ret) Secretary Executive Secretary LCDR Sherry Richardson, HMCS Sackville James W. Cheevers Treasurer Individual Member Program Manager COL Patrick J. Cunningham CDR Jeffrey S. Nilsson, U.S.N. (Ret) Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park Anchor Watch Editor Immediate Past President Jason W. Hall William N. Tunnell, Jr., USS Alabama/USS Drum Battleship New Jersey Museum Webmaster HONORARY DIRECTORS Richard S. Pekelney Admiral Thad W. Allen, U.S. Coast Guard Sean Connaughton, MARAD International Coordinator Admiral Michael G. Mullen, U.S. Navy Brad King Larry Ostola, Parks Canada HMS Belfast Vice Admiral Drew Robertson, Royal Canadian Navy Admiral Sir Alan West, GCB DCD, Royal Navy DIRECTORS AT LARGE HNSA COMMITTEE Captain Terry Bragg CHAIRPERSONS USS North Carolina Captain Jack Casey, USN (Ret) USS Massachusetts Memorial Annual Conference Maury Drummond Ms. Angela McCleaf USS KIDD USS Texas Awards Alyce N. Guthrie PT Boats, Inc. James W. Cheevers United States Naval Academy Museum Terry Miller Communications Tin Can Sailors, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District 1325 J Street Sacramento, California Contract: DACA05-97-D-0013, Task 0001 FOSTER WHEELER ENVIRONMENTAL CORPORATION
    CALIFORNIA HISTORIC MILITARY BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES INVENTORY VOLUME II: THE HISTORY AND HISTORIC RESOURCES OF THE MILITARY IN CALIFORNIA, 1769-1989 by Stephen D. Mikesell Prepared for: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District 1325 J Street Sacramento, California Contract: DACA05-97-D-0013, Task 0001 FOSTER WHEELER ENVIRONMENTAL CORPORATION Prepared by: JRP JRP HISTORICAL CONSULTING SERVICES Davis, California 95616 March 2000 California llistoric Military Buildings and Stnictures Inventory, Volume II CONTENTS CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................... i FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................. iv PREFACE .................................................................................................................................... viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1-1 2.0 COLONIAL ERA (1769-1846) .............................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 Spanish-Mexican Era Buildings Owned by the Military ............................................... 2-8 2.2 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 2 22 37 55 68 90 W Numerze 11 26 42 58 78
    Dwumiesięcznik W NUMERZE Vol. XVIII, Nr 5/2011 (109) ISSN-1231-014X, Indeks 386138 Redaktor naczelny Jarosław Malinowski Juliusz Tomczak Pancernik wielkich nadziei – historia CSS 2 Kolegium redakcyjne Rafał Ciechanowski, Michał Jarczyk, „Virginia”, część II Maciej S. Sobański Współpracownicy w kraju Andrzej S. Bartelski, Jan Bartelski, Alejandro A. Anca, Nikołaj W. Mitiuckow Stanisław Biela, Jarosław Cichy, 11 Krążowniki Portugalii Andrzej Danilewicz, Józef Wiesław Dyskant, Maciej K. Franz, Przemysław Federowicz, Michał Glock, Tadeusz Górski, Jarosław Jastrzębski, Rafał Mariusz Kaczmarek, Jerzy Lewandowski, Oskar Myszor, Andrzej Nitka, Piotr Nykiel, Michał Jarczyk, Krzysztof Krzeszowiak Grzegorz Ochmiński, Jarosław Palasek, Jednostka torpedowa „Zieten” 22 Jan Radziemski, Marek Supłat, Cesarskiej marynarki wojennej Niemiec Tomasz Walczyk, Kazimierz Zygadło Współpracownicy zagraniczni BELGIA Leo van Ginderen Aleksandr Aleksandrow, Siergiej Bałakin CZECHY 26 „Asama” i kuzyni, częć IV Ota Janeček FRANCJA Gérard Garier, Jean Guiglini, Pierre Hervieux HISZPANIA Alejandro Anca Alamillo LITWA Jarosław Jastrzębski Aleksandr Mitrofanov O potrzebie wyodrębnienia w nomenklaturze 37 NIEMCY okrętowej klasy „hydroplanowca” Richard Dybko, Hartmut Ehlers, Jürgen Eichardt, Christoph Fatz, Zvonimir Freivogel, Reinhard Kramer ROSJA Siergiej W. Patjanin Siergiej A. Bałakin, Nikołaj W. Mitiuckow, 42 Od Sallum do Syrty. Flota w Kampanii Konstantin B. Strelbickij Północnoafrykańskiej lat 1940-1941 STANY ZJEDNOCZONE. A.P. Arthur D. Baker III UKRAINA Anatolij N. Odajnik, Władimir P. Zabłockij WŁOCHY Rafał Mariusz Karczmarek Maurizio Brescia, Achille Rastelli „Lancastery” nad Sassnitz 55 Adres redakcji Wydawnictwo „Okręty Wojenne” Krzywoustego 16, 42-605 Tarnowskie Góry Polska/Poland tel: +48 32 384-48-61 www.okretywojenne.pl Andrij Kharuk e-mail: [email protected] 58 Niszczyciele typu „Battle”, część II Skład, druk i oprawa: DRUKPOL sp.
    [Show full text]
  • Battle of the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia Battle of Antietam Creek
    CK_5_TH_HG_P231_324.QXD 2/13/06 1:56 PM Page 282 II. The Civil War: Causes, Conflicts, Consequences had a highly successful military career. He served with distinction in the Mexican- American War, was superintendent of West Point for a period in the 1850s, and was in command of the troops at Harpers Ferry that captured John Brown. At the beginning of the war, Lincoln asked Lee to assume command of the Union forces, but Lee refused out of loyalty to his home state, Virginia. He instead accepted a command in the Confederate army. Lee scored a number of important victories, but faced with dwindling resources, his army was unable to withstand the larger, better-equipped Union army. General Stonewall Jackson Cross-curricular General Thomas Jackson was given the nickname “Stonewall” because of his Teaching Idea actions in the First Battle of Bull Run. During the battle, a Confederate soldier “Stonewall” Jackson is described in noted that Jackson and his men were “standing like a stone wall.” The nickname “Barbara Freitchie,” listed in the poetry stuck: for the rest of the war Jackson was known as “Stonewall Jackson.” selections for this grade. You may wish Considered by many to be General Lee’s most able general, Jackson orches- to teach this poem in conjunction with trated Confederate victories in the Shenandoah Valley campaign. He led his forces your discussion of Jackson and the bat- brilliantly at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and at the battles at Antietam and tles in the east. Fredericksburg. He was wounded in 1863 during the battle of Chancellorsville and died eight days later.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of North Carolina Underwater Archaeology
    i BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NORTH CAROLINA UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY Compiled by Barbara Lynn Brooks, Ann M. Merriman, Madeline P. Spencer, and Mark Wilde-Ramsing Underwater Archaeology Branch North Carolina Division of Archives and History April 2009 ii FOREWARD In the forty-five years since the salvage of the Modern Greece, an event that marks the beginning of underwater archaeology in North Carolina, there has been a steady growth in efforts to document the state’s maritime history through underwater research. Nearly two dozen professionals and technicians are now employed at the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch (N.C. UAB), the North Carolina Maritime Museum (NCMM), the Wilmington District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), and East Carolina University’s (ECU) Program in Maritime Studies. Several North Carolina companies are currently involved in conducting underwater archaeological surveys, site assessments, and excavations for environmental review purposes and a number of individuals and groups are conducting ship search and recovery operations under the UAB permit system. The results of these activities can be found in the pages that follow. They contain report references for all projects involving the location and documentation of physical remains pertaining to cultural activities within North Carolina waters. Each reference is organized by the location within which the reported investigation took place. The Bibliography is divided into two geographical sections: Region and Body of Water. The Region section encompasses studies that are non-specific and cover broad areas or areas lying outside the state's three-mile limit, for example Cape Hatteras Area. The Body of Water section contains references organized by defined geographic areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Confederate Artillery Defenses Department of the Gulf 11 January 1864
    Confederate Artillery Defenses Department of the Gulf 11 January 1864 Fort Morgan 5 ­ 10" Columbaids 3 ­ 10" Sea Coast Mortars 1 ­ 8" Columbaid 2 ­ 8" Blakley Rifles 2 ­ 6.4" Rifles (old 32pdrs, rifled and banded) 5 ­ 6.4" Rifles (old 32pdrs, rifled, not banded) 16 ­ 32pdr Smoothbores 1 ­ 5.82" Rifle (8" Columbaid Pattern) 2 ­ 5.82" Rifles (old 24pdrs, not banded) 4 ­ 24pdr Smoothbores 20 ­ 24pdr Flank Casemate Howitzers 1 ­ 12pdr Field Howitzer 1 ­ 3" Rifle Fort Gaines 3 ­ 10" Columbaids 2 ­ 8" Siege Mortars 7 ­ 6.4" Rifles (old 32pdrs, rifled and banded) 5 ­ 32pdr Smoothbores 2 ­ 24pdr Smoothbores 11 ­ 24pdr Flank Casemate Howitzers 2 ­ 18pdr Guns 1 ­ 12pdr Field Howitzer Fort Powell 2 ­ 8" Columbaids 1 ­ 6.4" Rifle (l0" Columbaid Pattern) 2 ­ 24pdr Smoothbores 3 ­ 12pdr Field Howitzers 2 ­ 6pdr Field Guns Battery McIntosh 6 ­ 10" Columbaids 1 ­ 6.4" Rifle (old 32pdrs, rifled and banded) Battery Gladden 4 ­ 10" Columbaids 1 ­ 7" Brooke Rifle Battery Missouri 3 ­ 10" Columbaids 1 ­ 7" Rifle (old 42pdrs, rifled and banded) Battery Tracy 1 ­ 8" Columbaid 1 ­ 8" Sea Coast Howitzer 2 ­ 7" Rifles, (old 42pdrs, rifled and banded) 1 ­ 32pdr Smoothbore Battery Huger 2 ­ 10" Columbaids 2 ­ 42pdr Smoothbores 1 ­ 24pdr Smoothbore Redoubt No. 1 3 ­ 12pdr Siege and Field Guns Redoubt No. 2 not reported Redoubt No. 3 3 ­ 24pdr Smoothbores Redoubt No. 4 3 ­ 24pdr Smoothbores Redoubt No. 5 1 ­ 24pdr Smoothbore Redoubt No. 6 3 ­ 6.4" Rifles (old 32pdrs, rifled and banded) Redoubt No. 7 1 ­ 8" Columbaid 1 ­ 6.4" Rifle (old 32pdr, rifled and banded) Redoubt No.
    [Show full text]
  • AMERICAN YACHTING ;-Rhg?>Y^O
    Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/americanyachtingOOsteprich THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY EDITED BY CASPAR WHITNEY AMERICAN YACHTING ;-rhg?>y^o AMERICAN YACHTING BY W. p. STEPHENS Of TH£ UNfVERSITY Of NelD gork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1904 All rights reserved Copyright, 1904, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up, electrotyped, and published April, 1904. Norwood Press Smith Co, J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Norwood^ Mass.f U.S.A. INTRODUCTION In spite of the utilitarian tendencies of the present age, it is fortunately no longer necessary to argue in behalf of sport; even the busiest of busy Americans have at last learned the neces- sity for a certain amount of relaxation and rec- reation, and that the best way to these lies in the pursuit of some form of outdoor sport. While each has its stanch adherents, who pro- claim its superiority to all others, the sport of yachting can perhaps show as much to its credit as any. As a means to perfect physical development, one great point in all sports, it has the advantage of being followed outdoors in the bracing atmos- phere of the sea; and while it involves severe physical labor and at times actual hardships, it fits its devotees to withstand and enjoy both. In the matter of competition, the salt and savor of all sport, yachting opens a wide and varied field. In cruising there is a constant strife 219316 vi Introduction with the elements, and in racing there is the contest of brain and hand against those of equal adversaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to the Merrimac & Monitor Post Card Company “Virginia in Dry
    Guide to the Merrimac & Monitor Post Card Company “Virginia in Dry Dock” Postcard, 1906 MS0429 The Mariners' Museum Library at Christopher Newport University Contact Information: The Mariners' Museum Library 100 Museum Drive Newport News, VA 23606 Phone: (757) 591-7782 Fax: (757) 591-7310 Email: [email protected] URL: www.MarinersMuseum.org/library Processed by Jay E. Moore, 2012 DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY Repository: The Mariners' Museum Library Title: Merrimac & Monitor Post Card Company “Virginia in Dry Dock” Postcard Inclusive Dates: 1906 Catalog number: MS0429 Physical Characteristics: 1 picture postcard Language: English Creator: Merrimac & Monitor Post Card Company (Firm); Richardson, Benjamin A. (Benjamin Adworth) HISTORICAL SKETCH The Merrimac & Monitor Post Card Company was formed in 1906 with the immediate purpose of issuing commemorative postcards to be sold during the Jamestown Tercentenary celebration in 1907. The company produced postcards commemorating the events of Mar.8 and 9, 1862 during the Battle of Hampton Roads. It also created postcards pertaining to the life of CSS Virginia. They range from the April 19, 1861 destruction at the Gosport Navy Yard of the US steam frigate Merrimack, from whose hulk Virginia was built, to the destruction of the ironclad on the shores of Craney Island, Virginia, on May 10-11, 1862 at the hands of its own crew. The paintings on the postcards were taken from a series of original works by Benjamin A. Richardson (1833-1909). Richardson, born in Portsmouth, was a self-taught, amateur artist. Early in life, he earned a living as a house and sign painter. During the Civil War, Richardson enlisted in Norfolk as a private in the Confederate States Army in the United Artillery under Captain Thomas Kevill.
    [Show full text]
  • A Historical Assessment of Amphibious Operations from 1941 to the Present
    CRM D0006297.A2/ Final July 2002 Charting the Pathway to OMFTS: A Historical Assessment of Amphibious Operations From 1941 to the Present Carter A. Malkasian 4825 Mark Center Drive • Alexandria, Virginia 22311-1850 Approved for distribution: July 2002 c.. Expedit'onaryyystems & Support Team Integrated Systems and Operations Division This document represents the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Department of the Navy. Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. Specific authority: N0014-00-D-0700. For copies of this document call: CNA Document Control and Distribution Section at 703-824-2123. Copyright 0 2002 The CNA Corporation Contents Summary . 1 Introduction . 5 Methodology . 6 The U.S. Marine Corps’ new concept for forcible entry . 9 What is the purpose of amphibious warfare? . 15 Amphibious warfare and the strategic level of war . 15 Amphibious warfare and the operational level of war . 17 Historical changes in amphibious warfare . 19 Amphibious warfare in World War II . 19 The strategic environment . 19 Operational doctrine development and refinement . 21 World War II assault and area denial tactics. 26 Amphibious warfare during the Cold War . 28 Changes to the strategic context . 29 New operational approaches to amphibious warfare . 33 Cold war assault and area denial tactics . 35 Amphibious warfare, 1983–2002 . 42 Changes in the strategic, operational, and tactical context of warfare. 42 Post-cold war amphibious tactics . 44 Conclusion . 46 Key factors in the success of OMFTS. 49 Operational pause . 49 The causes of operational pause . 49 i Overcoming enemy resistance and the supply buildup.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of CANNON in the CIVIL WAS with Particular Reference To
    The Use Of CANNON IN THE CIVIL WAS With Particular Reference to DERBYSHIRE by R. HAYHURST Published by the Local History Section of the DERBYSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Because of the interest occasioned by ray previous article, (DerbyshireMiscellanyVol.il No.6 p.318-9) and through the useful suggestions of members, I am encouraged to submit these notes, which I hope-will assist in clarifying the picture so far as the use of guns in Derbyshire is concerned. It appears desirable, in order to place the matter in its proper context, to review the situation generally, and to this end I have consulted various works, including the following, to which I am indebted for numerous extracts; Whitelock's Memorials, 1682; Rushworth's Collections, 1659-1701} "Cromwell's Army", by C . H. Firth, 1902} "Castles and Cannon", B. H. St. John O'Neill, "Life of Col. Hutchinson", Lucy Hutchinson} "Memoirs of the Duke of Newcastle", by Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle} "Derbyshire", Pilkington; "Waterloo", John Naylor, I960; and "The Story of the Gun", by Lt. A. W. Wilson, R.A., 1944* Firth quotes expensively from earlier writers, as "Animadversions of War", 1639, "Principles of the Art Military", 1643, etc. Appended to a particular edition of "The Life of Col. Hutchinson" is an excellent day to day account of the Siege of Lathom House. From the gunnery standpoint St. John O'Neill is disappointing, as buildings were his interest and he refers to the gun only insofar as it affects castles and fortifications. Generally there are masses of references to the use of guns, but only very infrequently does one find precise information as to range and effect, and the picture must be built up by extracting appropriate evidence from numerous actions.
    [Show full text]
  • General Info Today to Our Upcoming Tour on May 13! N Museum Hours Monday - Saturday: 9 Am to 5 Pm, Sunday: 11 Am to 5 Pm
    Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage Enhance your Membership PAID Yorktown, VA Permit No. 80 100 Museum Drive Newport News, VA 23606 and Park MarinersMuseum.org Upgrade your Membership to a Beacon or Explorer Level! • Receive FREE access to over 80 maritime museums across the country • Attend exclusive President’s Receptions throughout the year -------------------- Boost your Membership to the Explorer Level and go behind-the-scenes with our curators and conservationists! Secure your invitation General Info today to our upcoming tour on May 13! n Museum Hours Monday - Saturday: 9 AM to 5 PM, Sunday: 11 AM to 5 PM. MarinersMuseum.org/Membership Memorial Day to Labor Day: 9 aM - 5 PM daily. For general information, call (757) 596-2222 or (800) 581- SAIL (7245). n Library The Mariners' Museum Library is currently closed to the public. Select archival items are still available online for research and purchase, call (757) 591-7781 for information. n Admission $13.95 for adults, $12.95 for military & senior citizens (65+), $8.95 for children 4–12, free for children 3 and under. 3D movies in the Explorers Theater are $5 for Members, $6 for non-members with admission. n Group Tours Group rates for parties of 10 or more are available by calling (757) 591-7754 or emailing [email protected]. n Education Programming For information on student groups, call (757) 591-7745 or email [email protected]. n Membership Museum Members receive exciting benefits, including free admission and program discounts. Call (757) 591-7715 or email [email protected] for more information.
    [Show full text]