Civil War USS Monitor Steam Engine Recovered (NAPSA)—Apiece of history has been lifted from the ocean depths. For the first time in nearly 140 years the engine of the shipwrecked Civil War ironclad USS Monitor broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in a recovery mission carried out by scientists from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ocean Service. The NOAA team, along with scores of U.S. Navy divers, worked around the clock for 28 daysto free the ship’s 30-ton steam engine from the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” The Monitor, famous for its Civil War battle with the Confederate ship the CSS Virginia (exMerrimac), rests upside down ona sand-covered seafloor approximately 16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., in the waters of NOAAs Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The battle between the Monitor and the Virginia revolutionized war at sea. The March 9, 1862 battle marked the endof an era of wooden-hulled sailing warships and the dawn of an era of ironclad, turreted and steam powered naval vessels. The Monitor survived the battle, but later that year, on New Year’s Eve, sank ina gale off the coast of North Carolina. It remained undiscovered for over 100 years. On July 16, 2001, a 400-ton crane aboard the Derrick Barge Wotan hoisted the steam engine More than 150 divers worked for four weeksto raise the Monitor’s engine. Now, planning has begun to raise the gun turret. from 240 feet below the ocean’s surface to a waiting ferry barge. The engine was transported to a 93,000 gallon steel tank at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., where conservators will begin a ten-year process to preserve the historic steam engine. Efforts to raise the Moniter began more than a decade ago. NOAA scientists, concerned about the rapid deterioration of the ship, began plans to salvage the remainder of the ship before it waslost forever. “This was a stunning accomplishment,” said John Broadwater, manager of NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. “Now we can turn our attention to recovering the Monitor's soul, her revolving gun turret.” More information on the expedition and the sanctuary is available at www.monitor.nos.noaa.gov.
