Salvaging History: The U.S.S. Monitor

JIM LEHRER:

Finally tonight, recovering a piece of history. Late yesterday, the gun turret of the Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor was brought to the surface 140 years after the ship sank. The "Monitor's" considered the first modern warship. The salvage operation took place 16 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina was conducted by the navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Here to tell us about it is captain Craig Mclean, director of ocean exploration at NOAA. Captain, welcome.

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.

JIM LEHRER:

First some history. Tell us about the "Monitor," when it was built, where, and why.

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The "Monitor" was built in order to meet the Civil War demands of rivering warfare. The "Monitor" was the first vessel to incorporate a rotating gun turret, or a revolving gun turret. And of course, that's the most coveted feature, and that's the artifact that we successfully recovered yesterday. "Monitor" was built to completion in 1862, and came down to Hampton Roads to meet the Merrimack, or what was later renamed the CSS "Virginia." "Monitor" in Virginia battled in the Hampton Roads areas to a draw, and both vessels retreated. Months later, "Monitor" was being towed down to break a blockade in the South, and met its demise off of Cape Hatteras 16 miles east of Hatteras, and 240 feet down, in a storm on the 31st of December.

JIM LEHRER:

Okay, now, what did the "Monitor" look like? What does… does it look like what we think of now as a modern-day warship?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

Most textbooks would describe "Monitor" as the cheese box on a raft, or at least a casual description. It had a very low profile, not much of it extending above the surface of the water except for the turret. That prevented a foe from having a very large target to fire upon, as traditional vessels would have very broad beam and paint a very large target. The entire length of "Monitor" was 170 feet, but the target to a foe was only the dimension of the turret because the balance of that vessel only stuck up above the water by one foot.

JIM LEHRER:

One foot? That's all you could see in addition to the turret?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

Yes.

JIM LEHRER:

And the turret was how high?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The turret was about nine feet high. And that really presents a very limited target to your opponent, while that turret is doing very serious business to a broadside of a traditional vessel, as the CSS "Virginia" was.

JIM LEHRER:

Sure. And it was made of what kind of material?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

It's made of iron, and wood reinforcing it. And the structural design is that the iron would take the impact but be buffeted and reinforced by wood which is somewhat flexible, avoiding cracking or serious denting of the iron.

JIM LEHRER:

Now, the battle it had with the "Merrimack," the "Virginia" it was called at the time at Hampton Roads, how long did that last, and how did it end?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

It lasted for several hours in the vicinity of where the Monitor-Merrimack tunnel is today. And it and ended in a draw, both vessels retreating, after the "Virginia" had caused serious damage and the sinking of at least two union vessels, but the "Monitor" was not able to overcome the "Virginia"; the vessels retreated in a draw.

JIM LEHRER:

Was the "Monitor" damaged in that firefight?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The "Monitor" sustained some hits to the turret, and remarkably, those dents are rendered in a period photograph, and they're also visible on the turret today.

JIM LEHRER:

I see. And then it was hauled away to… it was on its way– not hauled away– it was on its way, is that right, to North Carolina when it got into a storm?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

Yes, it was. The vessel was being towed because as a rivering vessel with only one foot of free board, or distance above the waterline, it was not made for open-ocean sailing. It was very slow, and it took a lot of water on board. The better tact was to tow the vessel and to try to get it down to North Carolina safely. Unfortunately, a gale emerged, as it frequently does off Cape Hatteras, and caused the vessel to take on water. It overtook the pumps, and the engineers were not able to pump sufficient water out, and it sunk.

JIM LEHRER:

How many men were aboard when it sunk?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

There were approximately 100, but there were 16 lost.

JIM LEHRER:

16. The other ones were saved?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

Yes, they were.

JIM LEHRER:

Okay. Now, when you found… when was the… when was the… how… it went aground… I mean, it sunk. And when was it found, or was it ever lost? Did the whole world know it was there, they just didn't do anything about it for many years?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The location was not determined for quite some time. And it was not until 1973 that the vessel was found. In 1975, the vessel, because of its historic importance, was designated as the first national marine sanctuary. That is a marine protection program that NOAA administers. And we're very proud that "Monitor" is the first sanctuary that we have of the 13 scattered across the country and in both oceans.

JIM LEHRER:

Now, being a sanctuary means that nobody is allowed to go down there unless they are sanctioned by you all, correct?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

That is correct. Access is controlled to the site. And I would believe that certain of the artifacts that we saw on the turret after it's recovered probably would not have been there had we not had the kind of protections through a sanctuary that we have had since 1973.

JIM LEHRER:

Now, when did divers and people from your organization first go down to take a really good look at this?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The original discovery, in 1973, had people from many different institutions and organizations, academically and federal agencies as well. Over the years we've generated sufficient interest, and benefited significantly from the Navy's participation. And in recent years, Navy and NOAA came together to provide both a training opportunity for Navy and a technical capacity to bring parts of "Monitor" back to the surface. We did a study in the early '90s, at the request of the Congress, to measure the options for "Monitor.". We could leave it alone and let it degrade in the sea, we could bring up parts of the "Monitor," or we could bring all of the "Monitor" up. The expense and technical feasibility of bringing all the "Monitor" up is really not a reality. Leaving it alone is not a proper reality either. And we recommended the mid-term option, which was to bring parts of it up. And we have done so. The propeller and the propulsion apparatus, the steam engine, and now the turret, have been recovered.

JIM LEHRER:

And you found the remains of a seaman, did you not?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

There are skeletal remains of what most likely would be a crewman, but until we have complete forensic analysis, we'll hold that option open. It certainly makes sense to conclude that this must be a seaman, but again, the forensics will determine that.

JIM LEHRER:

Are the forensics to a state where you might be able to identify who this man was?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

I believe the science is capable of doing that. I don't know whether we'll be able to accomplish that. The remains are at the central identification laboratory in Hawaii, which is a world class U.S. Army facility that is quite accustomed to providing this technical service.

JIM LEHRER:

If they are in fact identified, what will then happen to the remains?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The remains will be dealt with in a proper military way, and this has all been predetermined in a forensics plan in the event that we did encounter remains of any of the 16 crew members that were lost. And the entire recovery plan for "Monitor" has been shared, embedded with all federal agencies, and has been publicly reviewed as a very competent document.

JIM LEHRER:

In other words, there could be a burial with full military honors if this man is identified as a particular person, and his family, or whatever, could be identified and be involved in a final resting of this… of these remains?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

It would be very hopeful that we can identify the potential crew member, if it is in fact a crew member, and to be able to provide that comfort or that knowledge to the relatives of this person.

JIM LEHRER:

Now the turret is… where is the turret going to end up?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

The turret will join the third partner in what is a very successful relationship between Navy, NOAA, and the mariners' museum in Newport News, Virginia. The Mariners' Museum has an agreement with NOAA and the sanctuary's program to retain, conserve, and manage the display of "Monitor" artifacts. Members of the public can see the recovered artifacts from "Monitor" even during their conservation process.

JIM LEHRER:

I see. And it will be there for the rest of time for people to see?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

It will be there until we have any cause to determine a further location or any other type of disposition, but we are very confident and proud of the relationship that we have with the Mariners' Museum. It's a fine institution that has world-class displays, including a "Monitor" exhibit. And they're undertaking a significant financial commitment in order to provide both the funding and to accommodate the steam engine, the turret, the propeller, to conserve these and display them for the public.

JIM LEHRER:

This must be an exciting time for all of you involved in this project, is it not?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

This is a particularly exciting time. And while we have a lot of public attention focused on oceans and ocean issues, it's a grand time to be able to bring to a success to the public: The raising of the turret.

JIM LEHRER:

Are we going to learn anything from this, do you think, Captain, that we would not have known otherwise?

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

I think so. I think there are many uncertainties about what life was like in the "Monitor." The as-built plans, or the plans that were developed at the time of initial construction, are not accurate completely for what we see on that wreck or on that ship. And by determining through analysis what was built in addition, why it was changed, what technical additions have been made to that original design, will teach us a little bit more about what an entire class of ironclads was all about, because "Monitor" was the first of many to follow.

JIM LEHRER:

Okay. Well, again, Captain, congratulations to you, and good luck on further findings.

CAPT. CRAIG McLEAN:

Thank you very much.