Monitor Mania!

LSU Faces Laboratory/AP

This upcoming week will mark one of the most excited periods of events for the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.  For commemorations focusing on the navies, it is perhaps the most important.

Faces of 2 USS Monitor crewmembers reconstructed

As many readers know, we are in the process of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads.  Over the past few weeks, several articles around the country posted news and information on the upcoming anniversary.  The most interesting piece of information coming out this past week was the latest and greatest from the LSU FACES laboratory.  According to the AP writer STEVE SZKOTAK, the latest forensic technology helped to reconstruct the two unidentified faces of the sailors left inside the famous turret when it sank in December 1862.  Unfortunately, DNA testing done from bone samples did not render any living descendants of the two sailors' families.

Perhaps that is all that we will know.

According to an interview with James Delgado, director of NOAA's Maritime Heritage Program, "the faces are really the last opportunity we have, unless somebody pops up out of nowhere and says, 'Hey, I am a descendant.'"  Read the full AP article HERE.

Here are some of the other recent articles on USS Monitor around the internet:

Experts Rebuild Faces of Civil War Sailors - Newser

The Monitor Still Captivates - Washington Post

Clash of the Ironclads - Daily Press

All in all, it is shaping up to be a huge week for the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial.  If you haven't already, make sure to check out the Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend at the Mariners' Museum.  The CWN 150 will be there.  Will you?