• “With all the archival data and that real archaeological data coming together, we’ve built the most accurate virtual model ever of Monitor, and I'm not just talking just the shell of it. Every single nut and bolt is there.” Tane Casserley

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The USS Monitor was commissioned during the Civil War for the Union Navy in answer to the Confederate Navy’s new ironclad ship CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack), touted as being capable of breaking the Union blockade at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Swedish-American inventor, John Ericsson came up with a unique low, freeboard design that included a first-of-its-kind rotating gun turret.

Monitor was launched on January 30, 1862, and on March 9th, famously fought the Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads. Despite the battle being a draw, it effectively signaled the end of age-of-sail naval warfare. Monitor was lost on December 31 in a storm off Cape Hatteras, taking 16 of her officers and crew with her.

In this episode, host Kathy A. Smith talks with NOAA’s Tane Casserley about Monitor, plans for the 50th anniversary of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, and how digital technologies are reimagining the way the public interacts with the iconic shipwreck.

About Tane Casserley

Tane Casserley joined the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in the spring of 2001. As the Resource Protection and Permit Coordinator for both Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and Mallows Bay – Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, Tane is responsible for the development of programs to address commercial and recreational uses in and around the sanctuaries. Tane’s specialties include 19th-century warships and deep-water archaeology, as well as building collaborative partnerships, public outreach and exhibit design. He has led NOAA archaeological expeditions in the Florida Keys, the Great Lakes, California, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, and USS Monitor. He’s also participated in projects including a sunken Boeing B-29 Superfortress in Lake Mead, a Civil War blockade runner in Bermuda, USS Arizona, and was most recently part of an expedition to RMS Titanic. Tane’s projects have used technical diving, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and manned submersibles.

 Watch Fascinated by Shipwrecks, Episode 5, here: