NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

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NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

America’s First National Marine Sanctuary

Designated Jan. 30, 1975

09/10/2026

Conservator Spotlight: Meet Elsa Sangouard!

Senior Conservator Elsa Sangouard has been working with USS MONITOR for almost 15 years! From starting as an intern at The Mariners’ Museum and Park to helping preserve some of MONITOR's largest and most challenging artifacts, Elsa has spent her career helping ensure this history survives for generations to come.

When asked what her work on MONITOR means to her, Elsa shared:

“Helping perpetuate the story of USS MONITOR and its crew is pretty special! I particularly enjoy the challenge brought by the scale of the conservation project. Our team of conservators and scientists has to be quite creative to develop techniques adapted to preserving this invaluable part of history. Conservation of such large objects is quite the undertaking and has never been done before. Sometimes it means advancing traditional conservation treatments, but most times, we must innovate, which is pretty exhilarating.”

And after almost 15 years working with MONITOR, Elsa even has a favorite artifact: the ship’s wool coat!

Get to know Elsa and learn more about the people working behind the scenes to preserve USS MONITOR and its stories for future generations.

Photo: Mariners' Museum and Park

09/08/2026

What can a 164-year-old letter tell us? Quite a lot.

For International Literacy Day, we’re revealing a little piece of the past through the words of USS MONITOR crewman George Geer.

In this November 29, 1862 letter to his wife, Martha, Geer writes about an ordinary evening aboard MONITOR. He describes passing the time by writing home and shares details about the crew’s meals, including dinner, tea, and supper. It may seem like everyday conversation, but details like these give us a glimpse into what daily life was really like for the sailors who lived and worked aboard the famous ironclad.

Geer’s surviving letters to Martha provide a remarkable firsthand look at a sailor’s experience during the Civil War. More than 160 years later, his words are still helping us read, and understand, the past.

Letter: George S. Geer letter to his wife Martha, November 29, 1862. The Mariners’ Museum and Park

09/01/2026

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you’re just going back and forth?

On August 28, 1862, USS MONITOR's crew could relate.

After heading up the James River, the fleet was ordered back downstream only for MONITOR to be sent upstream again shortly after. Paymaster William F. Keeler joked that the old song about the man who “marched up the hill & then marched down again” had been “fully exemplified in our case.”

Even aboard the Navy’s newest ironclad, some days were apparently just… a lot of back and forth.

Drawing: Acting Paymaster William Keeler
USS MONITOR model: Northrop Grumman

08/26/2026

This artifact was found on MONITOR, what do you think it was used for? Comment below, no cheating!

08/25/2026

Discover how cutting edge technology is revealing new stories from beneath the waves.

In 1862, the USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, cementing its place as one of America's most iconic Civil War shipwrecks and becoming the nation’s first national marine sanctuary.

In part two of our series, step into the future of underwater exploration. Discover how cutting-edge 3D mapping technology is capturing the wreck in unprecedented detail, allowing the public to take virtual trips to the bottom of the ocean, explore the sanctuary, and inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.

Listen now and dive back into the story of the ship that changed naval history: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/aug26/nop85-uss-monitor-3d-mapping.html

08/20/2026

The USS MONITOR carried between 58 and 63 men during its service, men from many different backgrounds, including sailors, laborers, immigrants, and young men seeking opportunity during a time of war.

One was John Rooney

John Rooney, a 29-year-old captain's clerk born in Ireland, enlisted in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 1861, for a 3-year term. He served on the Savannah until it was disabled, probably served next on the OTTAWA, and was transferred to MONITOR by March 6, 1862, where he served as master-at-arms until at least December 31, 1862. During his time on the ironclad, fellow crewman Butts recalled him as the "funny man of the birth-deck." Rooney survived MONITOR's sinking and was sent to the Brooklyn navy hospital, later probably serving on the NORTH CAROLINA before being discharged on May 29, 1863.

Drawing: Courtesy U.S. Naval Historical

08/18/2026

Time for a stern talk about anti-USS MONITOR language we have been hearing lately...

Some everyday phrases can be a little ~*insensitive*~ when there’s an ironclad in the room. From “I’m feeling rusty” to “let’s circle back,” on behalf of the USS MONITOR, we respectfully asks that you reconsider your choice of words.

Swipe through for some MONITOR-approved alternatives! What anti-MONITOR phrase did we miss?

08/13/2026

Happy Left-Handers Day!

Think "lefty loosey, righty tighty" is obvious? Not aboard USS MONITOR.

During the Civil War, standardized directions for turning bolts and fittings weren't yet common. Before one of MONITOR's first test firings, sailors accidentally loosened the Dahlgren gun carriage brake assemblies instead of tightening them.

When the guns fired, they slammed backward into the turret wall, leaving dents that can still be seen on the recovered turret today.

More than 140 years later, archaeologists found those dents on the shipwreck, providing physical evidence that the story really happened.

Drawing: Courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center

08/07/2026

Guarding the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"

Did you know the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the closest point of land to Monitor National Marine Sanctuary?

Standing guard over one of the most hazardous stretches of the Atlantic Coast, this iconic landmark has a dramatic history:

Why is the area so dangerous?
Offshore, the warm Gulf Stream collides head-on with the icy Virginia Drift (a branch of the Labrador Current). This collision forces southbound ships straight into Diamond Shoals—a treacherous, 12-mile-long sandbar responsible for hundreds of historic shipwrecks.

Evolution of a Beacon:

1794–1803: Authorized by Congress, the original 90-foot sandstone tower was lit in 1803. Powered by whale oil, it was unfortunately too short, unpainted, and dim to warn mariners effectively.

1853: Raised to 150 feet, painted red-and-white, and retrofitted with a powerful First-Order Fresnel lens.

1870: Construction on the current lighthouse was completed using an ingenious "floating foundation" made of yellow pine timbers laid beneath the high water table by foreman Dexter Stetson.

1873: Painted with its famous black-and-white spiral stripes—a unique "daymark" so mariners could recognize it instantly during daylight!

Today, it remains a symbol of maritime resilience protecting one of the ocean's most famous ship graveyards.

Photo: National Park Service

08/06/2026

140 years after sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic, the iconic turret of the Civil War ironclad USS MONITOR began its next big voyage: a journey of preservation.

On August 5, 2002, the turret was brought to the surface after sitting 240 feet below sea level off Cape Hatteras, NC, and then transported to The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. This piece of naval history has undergone years of meticulous conservation to undo the damage of over a century in saltwater.

While iron sounds indestructible, decades in the ocean leave metal surprisingly fragile. Conservators are constantly innovating—even preparing to use cutting-edge dry ice blasting methods to clean and preserve the structure safely—to ensure this legendary artifact stands strong for generations to come.

Patience is key when saving history!

See the progress: Visit the USS MONITOR Center at The Mariners' Museum & Park to get an up-close look at the ongoing conservation efforts.

Photo: NOAA Monitor Collection

Address

100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA
23606

Website

http://monitor.noaa.gov/

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