Launched on Jan. 30, 1862, at the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, N.Y., the USS Monitor became the Union Navy's first ironclad warship. It fought the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia in the first clash between two ironclads at the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, an encounter that signaled the start of a new era of naval warfare. Its short but historic career ended on Dec. 31, 1862, when it sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C., with the loss of 16 sailors. In 1975, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated the wreck site as the nation's first national marine sanctuary, and over the years NOAA and partners carried out recovery operations and retrieved artifacts for conservation. When U.S. Navy divers recovered the ship's gun turret in 2002, archaeologists found the remains of two sailors inside. In 1987, NOAA selected The Mariners' Museum as the principal repository for conserving and preserving USS Monitor artifacts, and the museum's Batten Conservation Laboratory Complex opened in 2006. In 2007, in partnership with NOAA, the museum opened the USS Monitor Center, where the "Ironclad Revolution" exhibit brought together artifacts, original documents, paintings, personal accounts, interactive exhibits, and immersive environments.
