Video: 'The USS Monitor'

(Thursday, January 30, 1862; during the American Civil War) — The USS Monitor, an ironclad warship built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War, was launched today from where it was built, the Continental Iron Works in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York, the first such ship commissioned by the Navy.

Monitor would play a central role in the Battle of Hampton Roads on Mar. 9, 1862, under the command of Lieutenant John L. Worden, where she fought the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia (built on the hull of the scuttled steam frigate USS Merrimack) to a stalemate.

Video: 'Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.2of9.A.Very.Bloody.Affair.' ("Ironclads" at 14:09)

The design of the ship was distinguished by its revolving turret, which was designed by American inventor Theodore Timby. It was quickly duplicated and established the monitor class and type of armored warship built for the American Navy over the next several decades.

The remainder of the ship was designed by Swedish-born engineer and inventor John Ericsson, and built in only 101 days beginning in late 1861. 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.