The men of the USS Monitor around its pioneering gun turret in 1862. Photograph courtesy of Library of Congress.
The USS Monitor, the US Navy’s first ironclad, revolutionized ocean warfare, then sank in 1862 off North Carolina. Now it’s involved in a fresh skirmish—between a museum and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Initially the protector of the Monitor’s sea-bottom berth, NOAA finished raising the ship’s remains in 2002 after the wreck was repeatedly disturbed by fishermen and errant depth charges. The agency entrusted the vessel, including its 120-ton revolving turret, to the private Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, which built a $31-million Monitor Center. But the center hasn’t drawn visitors as expected and donations have declined, leaving NOAA—a Commerce Department division charged with forecasting weather and managing fisheries—to plug gaps in annual preservation costs of $750,000.
NOAA says that was never part of the plan. The museum counters that the feds still own the ship and suggests that Congress step in. Meanwhile, the standoff may do what the Confederacy couldn’t: finish off the Monitor.
This article appears in the April 2014 issue of Washingtonian.
NOAA, Museum Tussle Over Historic Civil War Vessel
Neither wants to pay to preserve a ship that apparently no one wants to see.
The USS Monitor, the US Navy’s first ironclad, revolutionized ocean warfare, then sank in 1862 off North Carolina. Now it’s involved in a fresh skirmish—between a museum and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Initially the protector of the Monitor’s sea-bottom berth, NOAA finished raising the ship’s remains in 2002 after the wreck was repeatedly disturbed by fishermen and errant depth charges. The agency entrusted the vessel, including its 120-ton revolving turret, to the private Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, which built a $31-million Monitor Center. But the center hasn’t drawn visitors as expected and donations have declined, leaving NOAA—a Commerce Department division charged with forecasting weather and managing fisheries—to plug gaps in annual preservation costs of $750,000.
NOAA says that was never part of the plan. The museum counters that the feds still own the ship and suggests that Congress step in. Meanwhile, the standoff may do what the Confederacy couldn’t: finish off the Monitor.
This article appears in the April 2014 issue of Washingtonian.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.
Anti-Abortion Clinic Protests Are Getting Bigger and More Aggressive
A Massive Asian-American Led Protest Is Happening Saturday. Here’s What You Need to Know
Death and the All-American Boy
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Filming on the National Mall and the Photos are Kinda Intense
Washingtonian Magazine
July 2022: Summer Music Guide
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This June
Not Just Foxes: 5 Animals You Might Spot at the US Capitol
How Rosa Parks Befriended a DC Hotel Owner
Dan About Town: The Best of Bashes, Balls, and Benefits This Past April
More from News & Politics
Devastation, Joy, and Fury: Reactions From the Supreme Court
Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.
PHOTOS: DC’s British Embassy Caps Off Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee
Photos from the Supreme Court: Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned
50 Years After Title IX: Why Survivors Still Need More Protections
Anti-Abortion Clinic Protests Are Getting Bigger and More Aggressive
“Reading Lolita in Tehran” Author Azar Nafisi on How Freddie Mercury of Queen Helped Her Survive Life in Iran
This Maryland Start-Up Is on the Brink of Winning a Prestigious XPRIZE