January 30, 1862

[Cayden McConnell]

Today, one of the two ships that revolutionized naval warfare, was launched.

The USS Monitor, was launched on January 30, 1862. The vessel featured a rotating turret,  a first in naval history. The ship's nickname was, "a raft with a cheesebox on top."

[John Brown]

That is Sweet....thanks for Letting us know about this mate

[Gabe Crouch]

Today, one of the two ships that revolutionized naval warfare, was launched.

The USS Monitor, was launched on January 30, 1862. The vessel featured a rotating turret,  a first in naval history. The ship's nickname was, "a raft with a cheesebox on top."

Yes she was a mean ship in her day.

[Mikey010178]

Awesome, long live the Navy

[Juren th'Shan]

An exemplary feet of engineering for that time period.  Thank you for sharing this.

[Jon Tulley]

This reminds me of the weird battle between this ironclad and the other ironclad, CSS Virginia.

The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler, and faster Monitor was able to outmaneuver the larger, slower Virginia, but neither ship proved able to do any severe damage to the other, despite numerous shell hits by both combatants, many fired at virtually point-blank range. Monitor had a much lower freeboard and only its single, rotating, two-cannon gun turret and forward pilothouse sitting above her deck, and thus was much harder to hit with Virginia's heavy cannon. After hours of shell exchanges, Monitor finally retreated into shallower water after a direct shell hit to her armored pilothouse forced her away from the conflict to assess the damage. The captain of the Monitor, Lieutenant John L. Worden, had taken a direct gunpowder explosion to his face and eyes, blinding him, while looking through the pilothouse's narrow, horizontal viewing slits. The Monitor remained in the shallows, but it already being late in the day Virginia steamed for her home port, the battle ending in a draw without a clear victor

[Gabriel Arthur]

Fun fact for the day:  one of the Virginia's commanders during the battle at Hampton Roads in the spring of '62 was Cmdr. Catesby ap Roger Jones, who had probably the coolest name in the civil war.

...the more you know.