The city of Troy played a pivotal role in turning the Civil War in favor of the Union. Many of our factories produced material for the war effort. W. & L.E. Gurley made brass fuses for bombs; Corning, Winslow & Co. made steel rifled cannons; Eaton, Gilbert & Co. made army wagons; Burden Iron Company made horseshoes; Sweet, Quimby & Co. made shot and shells; F.W. Parmener made ammo wagons; Jones & Co. made brass cannons; and casting mortar shells were made by both Fuller, Warren and Co. and Knight, Harrison & Paine.

However, it was two of South Troy's iron manufacturers, the Rensselaer and Albany Iron works that made machinery and plates for the Union's first ironclad warship, The Monitor, a ship that changed naval history forever. Furthermore, if it wasn't for the patriotism and political connections of the owners of those iron works, John A Griswold and John F. Winslow, The Monitor may never have seen the light of day.

It was the famous battle between The Monitor and the South's Virginia (Merrimac) on the morning of March 9, 1862 at Hampton Roads, Virginia, that most historians consider the turning of the tide for the Union. The Monitor battled the Merrimac to a standstill taking away the naval advantage that the confederacy enjoyed for a brief time.

Learning that the South was developing iron ships, the US Navy's newly created Ironclad Board, placed ads in Northern newspapers on August 3, 1861, inviting designers to submit plans for the construction of ironclad warships.

John Ericsson, a Swedish inventor who became an American citizen in 1848, wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln on August 29th offering to build a ironclad vessel in 90 days, However, Ericsson, a brilliant engineer, inventor of air compressors, boilers, engines, locomotives, naval guns and the screw propeller, was at odds with the Navy after an accident in 1844 in which one of his cannon designs blew up killing both the Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of State, and others.

As luck would have it, Ericsson received a visit from Cornielus Bushnell, of New Haven, Connecticut who seeked out the inventor's expertise on a matter of an ironclad ship he was going to build called the Galena. Ericsson asked Bushnell to look at a model of his Monitor.

Ericsson had originally submitted his design for a "cupola battery" to Emperor Napoleon III several years before during the Franco-Russian War, but it was graciously declined. Ericsson also was not new to iron ships having designed and built them in Europe in the 1830's.

Bushnell offered to take the model and plan to Washington on the inventors behalf and present it to the Naval Board. He presented the model to Troy's Griswold and Winslow and explained the properties of the vessel that Ericsson had given him. With their help, a letter of introduction was obtained from the Governor of New York and delivered to Lincoln, on Bushnell's behalf. The three men, Bushnell, Winslow and Griswold, went to pitch the Naval board.

The President accompanied the three men to the Navy Department where they met with the Navy Board on September 13, 1861. It was a tough sell to the board since some Navy folks still had a grudge against Ericcson. Before Lincoln left the meeting he had the final word that day. He was holding the model studying its unique features and remarked, "All I have to say is what the girl said when she stuck her foot in the stocking. It strikes me there's something in it!"

Winslow or Bushnell decided to get Ericcson to present the final case himself. He did and got the go ahead to build the ship in 100 days. Griswold, Winslow, and Bushnell were guarantors of the project.

Ericsson immediately went to work. He contracted with Thomas Fitch Rowland, proprietor of the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Long Island (Brooklyn) to build the battery.

The ship was 172 feet long with a 41 foot 6 inch beam. Two 12 inch guns would be housed in a revolving turret. The ship would have a flat deck with only 18 inches of free board and a draft of 10 feet 6 inches. This would allow the ship to easily operate and maneuver in any of the South's inland waters.

The majority of the iron plates, bolts, nuts, and rivets were manufactured in New York State. Holdane & Company, the Albany Iron Works, and the Rensselaer Iron Works provided tons of flat plates, and angle iron. The Niagara Steam Forge pounded out the eight inch thick port stoppers. The turret and machinery were made at the Novelty Iron Works.

Back in the early 1980's, workers at the old Iron Works (then Portec) showed me a few extra Monitor hull plates they had in store. I believe the Mohawk Hudson Gateway now has those in possession.

The iron turret had an interior diameter of 20 feet. The eight layers of one inch thick plate were assembled around an iron skeleton. The structure was powered by two "donkey engines" that turned massive gears and provided the turret with 2 1/2 rpm. The turret revolved on a brass ring set into the deck and a shaft from below raised up by a wedge and set to put the turret in motion. When Ericsson learned that the Navy had no 12 inch guns ready, he recalculated to incorporate two XI inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannons.

The public was not impressed. Local papers began printing articles about "Ericsson's Folly" and how the ship would slide to the bottom of the East River when launched.

On January 20th, 1862, Ericsson wrote to Secretary Fox proposing the name of the ship be The Monitor. Ten days later, on January 30, 1862, 101 days after the contract was signed, a ship that was unlike anything the world had seen slid down into the East River at the Continental Iron Works. There were many bystanders who were witness to what they thought would be a slide to the bottom of the river. Ericsson stood on the stern of his ship and when launched it floated to within 3 inches of his designed water line.

The ship was turned over to the Navy Department and commissioned on February 25, 1862. It had devices containing over 40 original patents on board including a flush toilet. The USS Monitor steamed for Hampton Roads on March 6, 1862 and on the morning of March 9, 1862 entered the annals of history forever.

Next week. The Battle of Hampton Roads and Troy celebrates.