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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 26679326, member: 101855"]The name "Monitor" lays out what it was thought the ship's role would be. It was supposed to monitor the waterways around forts and harbors. The ship was not very seaworthy and did not fare well in rough water. The Monitor sank in rough seas when it was being towed off of North Carolina, I believe. The Confederacy had its iron clad, The Virginia. It was built from the burned out hull of the Union ship Merrimac. It too was slow and was way underpowered, but the Union was afraid of what it might do. The concern was that the Confederate Navy would move up the Potomac River and bombard Washington, DC. The reality was the weather and seas would have to have been perfect for the Virginia to have done that. It could barely waddle on the water, and was quite top heavy. The two ships squared off at Hampton Roads, Virginia in the spring of 1862. They fought to a draw with neither one gaining the advantage. The Union won in a way because the Monitor was able to neutralize “the monster” the North had feared. Later the Confederates blew up The Virginia when it looked like it would fall into Union hands. In the early 1900s, iron was recovered from The Virginia wreck. It was used to tokens and other trinkets. At one time The Virginia tokens were listed with the Civil War tokens, but they were delisted when it was shown that they were struck circa 1905. Here’s my example of that token. It is rusted and terrible. Nice ones sell for over $3,000. [ATTACH=full]1702359[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1702360[/ATTACH] This little horseshoe and card was another of The Virginia trinkets. [ATTACH=full]1702361[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]

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