page_title: USS Monitor
section_title: Crew
hierarchical_section_title: USS Monitor / Crew
caption_attribution_description: p161
context_page_description: USS Monitor was an iron-hulled steam-powered ironclad warship built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War, the first such ship commissioned by the Navy. Monitor played a central role in the Battle of Hampton Roads on 9 March 1862, where, under the command of Lieutenant John L. Worden, she fought the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia to a standstill. The unique design of the ship, distinguished by its revolving turret which was designed by American inventor Theodore Timby, was quickly duplicated and established the monitor class and type of armored steam-powered warship built for the American Navy in the next several decades.
  The remainder of the ship was designed by the Swedish-born engineer and inventor John Ericsson, and hurriedly built in Brooklyn, New York on the East River beginning in late 1861 in only 101 days. Monitor presented a new concept in ship design and employed a variety of new inventions and innovations in ship building that caught the attention of the world.
context_section_description: Monitor's crew were all volunteers and totaled 49 officers and enlisted men. The ship required ten officers: a commander, an executive officer, four engineers, one medical officer, two masters and a paymaster. Before Worden was allowed to select, assemble, and commit a crew to Monitor, the vessel had to be completed.
  The original officers at the time of Monitor's commissioning were:
  Four of the officers were Line officers and responsible for the handling of the vessel and operation of guns during battle, while the engineering officers were considered a class unto themselves. In Monitor's turret, Greene and Stodder supervised loading and firing of the two 11-inch Dahlgrens. Each gun was crewed by eight men. In Worden's report of 27 January 1862 to Welles, he stated he believed 17 men and 2 officers would be the maximum number in the turret that allowed the crew to work without getting in each other's way.
  Monitor also required petty officers: among them was Daniel Toffey, Worden's nephew. Worden had selected Toffey to serve as his captain's clerk. Two black Americans were also among the enlisted men in the crew.
  Living quarters for the senior officers consisted of eight separate well-furnished cabins, each provided with a small oak table and chair, an oil lamp, shelves and drawers and a canvas floor covering covered with a rug. The entire crew were given goat-skin mats to sleep on. Lighting for each living area was provided by small skylights in the deck above, which were covered by an iron hatch during battle. The officer's wardroom was located forward of the berth deck where officers would eat their meals, hold meetings or socialize during what little spare time they had. It was well furnished with an oriental rug, a large oak table and other such items. Ericsson had personally paid for the costs of all the officer's furnishings.
  Many details of Monitor's history and insights of everyday crew life have been discovered from correspondence sent from the various crew members to family and friends while serving aboard the ironclad. In particular the correspondence of George S. Geer, who sent more than 80 letters, often referred to as The Monitor Chronicles, to his wife Martha during the entire time of Monitor's service provide many details and insights into every chapter of the ironclad's short-lived history, offering a rare perspective of a sailor's experience on the naval front during the Civil War. The letters of Acting Paymaster William F. Keeler to his wife Anna also corroborate many of the accounts of affairs that took place aboard the Monitor. The letters of Geer and Keeler are available for viewing and are housed at the Mariners' Museum in Virginia. Other crew members were interviewed later in life, like Louis N. Stodder, one of the last crew members to abandon Monitor minutes before she sank in a storm at sea, who was the last surviving crew member of Monitor and lived well into the 20th century.
caption: USS Monitor Officers on deck, posed by her armored gun turret, while the ship was in the James River, Virginia, 9 July 1862. The US Navy Library identifies them as, Top row, left to right: Second Assistant Engineer Albert B. Campbell; Third Assistant Engineer Mark Trueman Sunstrom; Acting Assistant Paymaster William F. Keeler; and Lieutenant L. Howard Newman (Executive Officer of USS Galena). Middle Row, left to right: Acting Master Louis N. Stodder; Master's Mate George Frederickson; Acting Volunteer Lieutenant William Flye; Acting Assistant Surgeon Daniel C. Logue; and Lieutenant Samuel Greene. Seated on deck in front, left to right: Third Assistant Engineer Robinson W. Hands and Acting Master E.V. Gager.[78] A similar photograph shows Monitor officer First Assistant Engineer Isaac Newton[79]
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