HAMPTON ROADS — The Mariners Museum will hold its annual Battle of Hampton Roads Commemoration Celebration in partnership with NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Saturday at its campus in Newport News.
The Battle of Hampton Roads was the first engagement between ironclad warships. On the battle’s second day, March 9, 1862, the armorclads CSS Virginia and USS Monitor fought over control of the harbor. While neither side could claim victory, this clash proved the power of iron over wood and forever revolutionized naval warfare.
Each year, the Commemoration Day illuminates a different theme or focus, helping visitors engage with Monitor’s history in new ways. This year’s event highlights maritime careers, emphasizing professions related to Monitor’s journey.
“The Mariners’ is thrilled to help families explore the career paths connected with the Battle of Hampton Roads and the USS Monitor recovery project,” said Mariners’ Education Department Director Harriet Smith. “Along with our NOAA partners, we look forward to celebrating the many maritime careers associated with Monitor’s legacy.”
The community can also attend a Wet Lab Open House, where they’ll get a clear view of Monitor’s turret up close — a rare opportunity as the iconic artifact is typically submerged in a solution that limits visibility.
As the first of its kind ever to be installed on a ship, the Monitor’s 115-ton revolving gun turret represents a major technological advancement that changed the course of naval architecture and warfare. Since its undersea recovery off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 2002, the Museum has worked to preserve and stabilize the turret. It is the world’s largest marine archaeological metals conservation project.
Normally, the turret is submerged in a 90,000-gallon tank filled with an alkaline solution working to remove corrosion-inducing ocean salts before the artifact can be put on display in the Museum.
Every five years or so, that solution needs to be changed — a multi-step process that includes a temporary draining of the tank.
The turret’s tank is currently drained for the first time since 2019, and the Commemoration Day offers the only chance for the general public to step inside the wet lab to see the turret before it is submerged again.
Will Hoffman, who has been at the museum for 16 years, is the director of conservation and the chief conservator at the Mariners Museum and Park.
“We can talk about the Battle of Hampton Roads and its impact locally, nationally, and internationally. What’s really unique is that people can come into the lab and see the turret in person. You will literally see everything that the sailors during the Civil War saw. You are really going to see history and discover more about what makes Monitor special,” Hoffman said.
There will also be a meet and greet with the Mariners team as they interpret artifacts, a virtual tour through a detailed model of the USS Monitor, 3D printed replicas of tools that the Monitor’s crew would have used in 1862 and lectures by Monitor historians.
All Commemoration Day activities are included in the $1 admission and are free for Mariners’ Museum Members. A food truck will be stationed in front of the Museum, and snacks and water will be available for purchase in the Museum’s Gift Shop.
For more information on the planned celebration, visit marinersmuseum.org.