On December 31, 1862, 16 men perished that stormy New Year's Eve when
the USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
The United States Navy's first ironclad warship rose to glory during the
Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, but there's much more to know
about the USS Monitor. Historian John Quarstein has painstakingly
compiled bits of historical data gathered through years of research to
present the first comprehensive picture of the lives of the officers and
crew who served faithfully in an iron ship unlike any vessel previously
known.
The Monitor Boys, a moniker the men gave themselves, is a reflection of
how these hundred-odd souls were bound together through storms, battles,
boredom and disaster. Just living aboard the ironclad took uncommon
effort and fortitude. Their perseverance through the heat, stress and
unseaworthiness that defined life on the ship makes the study of those
who dared it a worthy endeavor. Many recognized that they were part of
history. Moreover, the Monitor Boys were agents in the change of naval
warfare.
Following Quarstein's compelling narrative is a detailed chronology as
well as appendices including crew member biographies, casualties and
statistics and dimensions of the ship. Readers can dive into the world
of the Monitor and meet William Flye, George Geer and the rest of the
men who risked everything by going to sea in the celebrated cheesebox on
a raft and became the hope of a nation wracked by war.
