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USS Monitor Legacy Program: Enemy in the River
Presenter: John V. Quarstein, Director Emeritus of the USS Monitor Center
When President Lincoln arrived at Fort Monroe, Virginia on May 6, 1862, he sought to break the existing Hampton Roads stalemate. Two days later, he ordered USS Monitor and several other gunboats to attack Sewell’s Point while the USS Galena task force dueled the Confederate forts guarding the entrance to the James River; these fortifications were abandoned. This action isolated Norfolk and forced the city’s surrender. The flotilla commanded by Capt. John Rodgers stopped at every Confederate fortification as it sailed up river. The time spent investigating these abandoned earthworks enabled the Confederates to complete their fortifications on Drewry’s Bluff.
Image credit: Plan of Fort Huger. Courtesy Library of Congress.
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Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3039992-0
