ARLINGTON, Va. — A century and a half after the Civil War ship the USS Monitor sank, two unknown crewmen found in the ironclad’s turret will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Friday’s ceremony will include Monitor kin who believe the two Union sailors are their ancestors. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to speak.
Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor went down in rough seas off North Carolina in 1862. The two crew members’ skeletons and the remains of their uniforms were found in 2002 when the ship’s rusted turret was raised from the ocean floor.
The Monitor made nautical history when it fought in the first battle between two ironclads on March 9, 1862. The battle with the CSS Virginia was a draw.