Editing John Ericsson (section)

==USS ''Monitor''==
[[File:Monitor model2.jpg|thumb|Replica of USS ''Monitor'']]
{{Main|USS Monitor}}
Shortly after the [[American Civil War]] broke out in 1861, the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] began constructing an ironclad ram upon the burnt hull hulk of the {{USS|Merrimack|1855|6}} which had been partially burned and then scuttled / sunk by evacuating Federal troops before it was captured by militia forces loyal to the local [[Commonwealth of Virginia]]. Nearly concurrently, the [[United States Congress]] had recommended to the [[United States Department of the Navy|U.S. Navy Department]] in August 1861 that armored ships be built for the American Navy. Ericsson still had a dislike for the U.S. Navy because of his personal experience with now Commodore Stockton, but he was nevertheless convinced by 16th President [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s hard-working new [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]],  [[Gideon Welles]] (1802-1878, served 1861-1869), and railroad executive / shipbuilder [[Cornelius Scranton Bushnell]] (1829-1896), to submit an ironclad ship design to them. Ericsson later presented drawings of {{USS|Monitor}}, a novel design of armored ship which included a rotating turret housing a pair of large cannons. Despite controversy over the unique design, based on Swedish lumber rafts,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Burke|title=The civil war: strange & fascinating facts|date=1982|publisher=Fairfax Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0517371510|page=[https://archive.org/details/civilwarstrangef00davi/page/145 145]|edition=1st|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/civilwarstrangef00davi/page/145}}</ref> the keel was eventually laid down in a New York shipyard and the experimental ironclad was launched on March 6, 1862. The ship went from plans to launch in approximately 100 days, an amazing achievement.

On March 8, the former heavy steam frigate USS ''Merrimack'', rechristened as the {{ship|CSS|Virginia}}, for the new [[Confederate States Navy]], was wreaking havoc on the wooden [[Union Navy]] Blockading Squadron in the lower / southern [[Chesapeake Bay]] of [[Virginia]], sinking {{USS|Congress|1841|6}} and {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}} and damaging / running aground the [[USS Minnesota (1855)|USS Minnesota]] off-shore of the northside peninsula from [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]. The new ''Monitor'' appeared the next day, initiating the first battle between ironclad warships on March 9, 1862, at the [[Hampton Roads]] harbor of southeastern [[Virginia]]. The battle ended in a tactical stalemate between the two ironclad warships, neither of which appeared capable of sinking the other, only causing minor damage on its opponent, but strategically saved the remaining Federal fleet from losing any more now obsolete wooden warships and defeat.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=15375|title= John Ericsson|publisher = Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (tr. Swedish biographical dictionary) |access-date= September 1, 2016}}</ref> After this, numerous [[Monitor warship type|monitors]] were built for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union's]] [[United States Navy]], including additional twin turret versions, and contributed greatly to the further continued success of the blockade of Southern coasts and port cities with naval victory of the Union over the rebellious states. Despite their low draft and subsequent problems in navigating in high seas, plus frequent engine break-downs, many basic design elements of the ''Monitor'' class were copied in future warships by other designers and navies around the world. The rotating gun turret in particular is considered one of the greatest technological advances in naval history, still found on modern warships today.