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Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
A diver explores Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was designated the nation's first national marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975. The site was the wreck of the USS Monitor, a Civil War vessel that lies off the coast of North Carolina. The Monitor was the prototype for a class of U.S. Civil War ironclad, turreted warships that significantly altered both naval technology and marine architecture in the nineteenth century. Designed by the Swedish engineer John Ericsson, the vessel contained all of the emerging innovations that revolutionized warfare at sea. The Monitor was constructed in a mere 110 days.
The Monitor's turret breaks the surface of the water for the first time in 140 years.
A full-sized replica of the USS Monitor can be seen at the The Mariners' Museum, the official visitor center for Monitor NMS, in Newport News, Virginia.
The remains of two Monitor sailors found inside the turret in 2002 were buried at Arlington National Cemetery on March 8, 2013.
In 2002, U.S. Navy divers prepared the turret for lift. As the turret was excavated, the remains of two sailors were found inside.
NOAA diver on the wreck site of the USS Monitor
Historic image of the USS Monitor crew taken July 9, 1862, while the ship was docked on the James River in Virginia. The Monitor, a Civil War ironclad, is famous for fighting the CSS Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Road and for changing naval warfare forever.
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16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
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