One of Troy's proudest historical events happened more than 140 years ago when a small floating "cheesebox on a raft" helped turn the War of the Rebellion against the South. I'm talking of course about the famous battle between the northern ironclad U.S S. Monitor and the southern counterpart The Virginia, or Merrimac. While probably the most famous naval battle in American history, it has strong Troy connections.

On the afternoon of March 8, 1862, things didn't look good for the North. The clearly outnumbered confederate ironclad Virginia (Merrimac) steamed down the Elizabeth River into Hampton Roads in Virginia and attacked the woodensided Northern blockading fleet anchored there comprising several ships armed with 204 guns and aided by land batteries. Fort Monroe, under the command of Troy's General John Wool was nearby.

By six o'clock, the lonely Virginia had sunk the Cumberland, burned the Congress, forced the Minnesota ashore, and forced the St. Lawrence and the Roanoke to seek shelter under the guns of Fort Monroe. The Union fleet was in shambles and the Virginia planned on returning the next day to finish them off.

However, the Virginia was greeted the next morning by The Monitor. It had slipped in under fog the previous night. The Monitor was more heavily armored, with a revolving gun turret - a first - and speedier and more agile in the water due to the inventive genius of its designer John Ericksson. The thick protective plates were rolled right here in Troy at the Albany Rolling Mill (old Portec building) in South Troy (now being dismantled?).

For about five hours the two ironclads battered each other. Both ships retreated thinking they had won. In effect, the North did win since it halted the further destruction of the fleet and sent the Virginia running.

Ironically it was the forces of nature that sunk the Monitor, 20 miles off Cape Hatteras, when it was being towed back on a stormy New Year's Eve in 1862. Several sailors were killed including 3rd engineer, Robinson Woolen Hands, from Troy.

The Monitor and it's grave site became the first U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in 1975, and is under the jurisdiction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Underwater archaeologists and Navy divers are getting ready to go down this summer and retrieve the 150 ton turret (the "cheesebox").

The Navy-funded, $6.5 million project is the last major recovery effort of the Monitor since surveys in the mid-1990s showed that corrosion of the vessel is accelerating. The 8-inch thick Troy rolled iron turret probably still houses the two 11-inch Dahlgren cannons, many smaller artifacts, and perhaps the remains of the four officers and 12 crewmen who went down with the ship - along with Seaman Francis Butts' black cat - the mascot that was stuffed into the barrel of one of the cannons to keep it dry as the ship bounced around the rough sea.

If everything goes as plan it will be delivered to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, where the rest of the ship's vital parts are stored in water-filled tanks. The museum plans include a $30 million USS Monitor Center, scheduled to open in 2007.

I think we should rebuild an exact replica of the Monitor. We know how to do it since the government has the plans! The new Monitor could be docked in Troy and become a living Civil War museum where students and the public can learn about Troy's important contribution in the Great Rebellion. There is a reenactment group that has built one-fifth-sized replicas of the Virginia and the Monitor and puts on mock battles. We can have it performed here as an annual event.

Yes, it would take millions today to build a new Monitor but this can accomplished by a combination of Federal, State, local money, grants, and volunteerism. The money is out there. It seems only fitting that we honor the Trojans who helped construct it and the men who died while serving on board. It certainly would be a great tourist attraction for Troy. Albany has the U.S. Slater. Troy should have a U.S.S. Monitor. What do you think?