The Monitor Boys: The Crew of the Union's First Ironclad - Hardcover

Quarstein, Director Newport News Museums John V

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1540203255 ISBN 13: 9781540203250

Publisher: History Press Library Editions, 2015

Synopsis

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 un-seaworthiness 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.

About this title

About the Author

John V. Quarstein is an award-winning historian, preservationist and author. He presently serves as historian for the city of Hampton. He previously worked as the director of the Virginia War Museum and as consultant to The Mariners' Museum's Monitor Center.

Quarstein is the author of ten books, including Fort Monroe: The Key to the South and A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron Over Wood. He also has produced, narrated and written several PBS documentaries, including Jamestown: Foundations of Freedom and Hampton: From the Sea to the Stars.

John Quarstein is the recipient of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 1993 President's Award for Historic Preservation; the Civil War Society's Preservation Award in 1996; the United Daughters of the Confederacy's Jefferson Davis Gold Medal in 1999; and a 2007 Silver Telly for his Civil War in Hampton Roads film series.

Besides his lifelong interest in Tidewater Virginia's Civil War experience, Quarstein is also an avid duck hunter and decoy collector. He lives on Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia, and on his family's Eastern Shore farm near Chestertown, Maryland.

Edition details

• Publisher: History Press Library Editions
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1540203255
• ISBN 13: 9781540203250
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 354