Hampton, Virginia, is the site of the naval battle between the Merrimac, owned by
the Confederate States of America, and the Monitor, owned by Cornelius Scranton
Bushnell who hoped to sell it to the United States but had to prove its worthiness
before Uncle Sam would buy it.          -submitted by Bob Bushnell
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# 1202 CORNELIUS SCRANTON BUSHNELL, b. Madison, CT 7-19-1829, d. New
York, NY 5-6-1896.   

     CORNELIUS shipped on a coasting vessel at the age of 15 and a year and a half
later was half owner of a 60 ton schooner in the coastal trade between New Haven
and New York, but after five years as a mariner, forsook the sea to enter the
wholesale grocery business with his older brother Nathan Townsend (#1201) Bushnell
in New Haven in which he continued for many years, although active in many other
enterprises.

     In 1858 he became interested in the bankrupt New London and New Haven R.R.
and with his own capital and credit, and that of some of his friends, was successful in
completing in 1860, a connection with the Providence road at Stonington, which
established a through route between Boston and New York, and with favorable
legislation, solved the immediate difficulties of the road.

     He had been elected president of the railroad, and was in Washington DC on
railroad business early in 1861 when the Civil War broke out, and upon the call for
volunteers to defend the Capitol until such time as regular troops could be moved
there, he enlisted with the Cassius H. Clay Battalion on the 13th, and was mustered in
on 18 Apr. 1861 and after the arrival of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry was
discharged the 4 May next,  his honorable discharge being signed by President
Lincoln.

     By the capture of the Norfolk Navy Yard early in 1861, the Confederates obtained
the hull of a 3500 ton frigate which had been burned and sunk when the Federal force
left Norfolk, and it was discovered that the machinery was not damaged, and that the
hull could be salvaged, whereupon work was soon commenced upon an iron-clad
battery, later to be known as the MERIMAC, which with it's antagonist, the MONITOR,
was to revolutionize naval construction the world over.

     This project was known in Washington and Mr. Bushnell, appreciating the
necessity for predominance in sea power, both offensive and defensive, and that it
must be developed quickly, prepared to open a shipyard in Fair Haven, CT, and with
the assistance of Mr. S. H. Pook of Boston, an expert naval constructor, plans for an
iron-clad vessel, later known as the GALENA, were prepared and submitted to the
newly created Naval Board, who approved the design, and with a contract for it's
construction, he prepared to leave for New Haven, but in the meantime, doubts had
arisen, as to it's stability with it's heavy armor, and it was suggested that he consult
with Capt. John Erickson of New York, an expert in naval construction, and an
inventor, and fortunate it was for the preservation of national unity that he did so, for it
was at this conference with Capt. Erickson that plans were exhibited and the model for
a battery with a revolving turret, that would be impervious to shot and shell, and which
could be built in 90 days.  Erickson had designed it for the French Government about
1854 but it had not been accepted.      
                                             
     Mr. Bushnell immediately perceived in this small model the ideal craft for which he
had been seeking, and eight days later, after having with consumate tact, overcome
all objections, succeeded in forcing upon the government the adoption of the
impregnable turret, which was to become standard with all the navies of the world.

     This battery, (vessel with guns), the MONITOR, so named as an admonition to
foreign governments to be cautious, or "Cheesebox on a Raft" as it was derisively
called, was about 180 feet long with a 41 foot beam, was launched at Greenport, RI
on 30 Jan 1862, and on 9 Mar 1862, the day following the partial destruction of the
federal fleet in Hampton Roads, met the MERRIMAC, and after a terrific battle sent
her back to her anchorage wounded unto death.

     Because of a clause which had been added to the contract, the contractors were
require to guarantee the satisfactory performance, and as there had not been
sufficient time for the official tests, the MONITOR, when it went into battle, was the
property of the contractors; Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Winslow, Mr. Griswold, and Capt.
Erickson.  The government had not built nor paid for her, and the red tape of the
government bureaus had almost laughed her to scorn.

     On 31 Dec. 1862, the MONITOR foundered in a severe gale off Cape Hattaras
with 17 men and 4 officers while on it's way to Charleston, SC.  All honor is due to
Capt. Erickson's talent, but his designs were of no practical value until the bold and
resourceful Mr. Bushnell appeared and put his ideas to completion.

     In 1862, Mr. Bushnell became one of the original organizers of the Union Pacific
Railroad and the only one who remained until it's completion, and for many years was
the sole survivor of the original board of directors.  A station in Nebraska was named
Bushnell in his honor.  

     -from the 1945 Bushnell Book.
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USS Monitor preservation under way
     -Associated Press, June 18, 2000
     New efforts to protect the wreck of the USS Monitor are getting under way off
North Carolina.

     A joint National Ocean Service and Navy expedition began this week and is
expected to continue for four weeks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said Friday.

     The Civil War ironclad Monitor became famous for its battle with the Confederate
ironclad CSS Virginia.  The Monitor later sank in a storm.  A marine sanctuary 16
miles off the coast at Cape Hatteras now surrounds its remains.

     The new expedition is designed to place grout bags beneath the hull of the
deteriorating vessel to prevent sections of the ship from dropping several feet to the
sea floor, which would damage or destroy much of the material still within the hull.
The vessel lies upside down in 240 feet of water, resting on its displaced turret.
NOAA divers have reported significant deterioration in recent years.

     In addition to the grout bags, the long-range preservation plan for the Monitor calls
for recovering major components of the wreck, including the engine and turret.  The
propeller was recovered in 1998.    
                                                   
     The work will be carried out by Navy divers.  Any recovered artifacts will be taken
to the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Va.

     The Monitor and Virginia battled to a draw in Hampton Roads, Va., on March 9,
1862, in the first clash between ironclad vessels, an event that marked the beginning
of the end for wooden vessels.

     The Virginia is sometimes referred to as the Merrimack, its name becoming part of
the Confederate Navy.

References:

The above taken from The Bushnell Genealogy Book by George E Bushnell 1945