Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 5-8 Subject: U.S. History

Raising Civil War Ships

The summer of 2000 has been a busy time for historians, archaeologists, and deep-sea divers. Off the coast of Cape Hattaras, North Carolina, the Navy and other agencies are preparing to raise the steam engine of the USS Monitor, a Civil War era vessel that ushered in the age of iron battleships. Divers have also worked to stabilize the structure with bags of cement.

The Monitor was unlike any other ship of its day. It had a metal skin, and the armored turret on its flat deck could swivel freely, allowing its two cannons to fire in any direction. It fought in the world's first clash of iron battleships, against the Confederate CSS Virginia, on March 9, 1862. The four-hour battle ended in a draw.

Further to the south, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, crews are working to raise another first-of-its-kind vessel. The H.L. Hunley was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship. In 1995 a dive team found the submarine and reported it to be in remarkably good shape. South Carolina has earmarked $3 million, with $2 million more from a Defense Department program, to help bring the Hunley back to shore and start restoration work.

During the U.S. Civil War, the hand-cranked Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, armed with a torpedo at the end of a 20-foot iron pipe attached to her bow, rammed and sank the USS Housatonic, which was part of a Union blockade.

In this week's online lesson you will learn about the Monitor, the Hunley, and underwater excavation.

The USS Monitor

What made the USS Monitor so unique? Find out by visiting the Monitor Expedition 2000 site, hosted by the Mariners' Museum. After reading about this summer's expedition, learn more about the USS Monitor and why it was unlike any other ship of the day. Also, read about the wreck site. What condition is the Monitor in today? Can it be raised?

The National Maritime Museum Association site uses computer images of historic ships, including the Monitor, for special presentations. View the wireframe and "virtual ocean" view of the Monitor, the cannon turret mechanism, an image showing the scale of the ship, and a painting depicting the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia).

Return to the Mariners' Museum site and go to the Monitor History and Legacy section. Click The Revolutionary Union Ironclad Monitor and read about the design, development, and naming of the Monitor.

Return to History and Legacy and click The Battle of Hampton Roads: March 8 & 9, 1862. This site chronicles the historic battles of the Merrimack and the Monitor. Read "Watching the Merrimac" by R.E. Colston to learn about the famed battle between of two great ironclads. Despite its success in battle, the Monitor could hardly be called sea-worthy. Read "In the Monitor Turret" by S.D. Greene to find out why the Monitor almost sank before its famed battle.

It's ironic that the ironclad USS Monitor, having survived the Civil War, was lost in a storm while being towed. Read the dramatic first-hand account of the sinking of the Loss of the Monitor, originally published in Century Magazine, 1886.

The H.L. Hunley

The best and most accurate resources pertaining to the H.L. Hunley can be found at the Naval Historical Center. First read a short biography of Horace Lawson Hunley, the Louisiana attorney who helped the Confederate submarine. Next read the H.L. Hunley in Historical Context, a lengthy but interesting account of the construction, failed trials, and eventual success of the Hunley. There are great drawings and paintings along the way. Don't miss the final paragraph, which discusses how the success of the Hunley changed the face of naval warfare.

For an update on the condition and possibly recovery of the Hunley, visit the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology site and read the Hunley Update. Read recovery updates, if you want, but check out the underwater photos of the wreck site.

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