USS Monitor launched at Brooklyn (1862)

The Union ironclad USS Monitor was built in Brooklyn, New York, beginning in late 1861. Designed by John Ericsson, the vessel was launched on 30 January 1862 in Brooklyn. The launch occurred despite skepticism about the ship's ability to float, marking a significant milestone in naval engineering during the American Civil War.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. After the United States received word of Confederate ironclad construction, Congress appropriated $1.5 million on 3 August 1861 to build one or more armored steamships. According to the John Ericsson source, Ericsson was convinced by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and shipbuilder Cornelius Scranton Bushnell to submit an ironclad ship design, one based on Swedish lumber rafts. The keel was eventually laid down in a New York shipyard.

Design and Construction. The ship was built in 101 days in Brooklyn, New York, on the East River. The name "Monitor" was proposed by Ericsson on 20 January 1862 and approved by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox. According to the John Ericsson source, the resulting vessel was the first armored ironclad warship equipped with a rotating gun turret.

Launch Event. On 30 January 1862, USS Monitor was launched in Brooklyn. Ericsson stood on the deck in defiance of critics who believed the ship would sink. The launch was met with cheers from the crowd, including those who had bet against the ship's buoyancy. This event preceded the ship's commissioning and subsequent combat role.

People involved

Sources

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.