Richmond's alternative for news, arts, and culture
This is a past event.
Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War by Jonathan W. White
Price: $10 for nonmembers.
This event was originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, at 5:30 p.m. but has been rescheduled because of inclement weather.
Members and 18 and under: free; Non-member adults: $10
On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor met the CSS Virginia in battle in Hampton Roads, Virginia—the first time ironclad vessels would engage each other in combat. For four hours the two ships pummeled one another as thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians watched from the shorelines. Although the battle ended in a draw, this engagement would change the very nature of naval warfare. The “wooden walls” of navies around the world suddenly appeared far more vulnerable to political and military leaders. At the same time, in the weeks after the battle of Hampton Roads, Americans developed their own ideas for improving the Monitor or for sinking the Virginia. This talk will discuss some of the inventions devised by terrified northerners as well as the legacy of the USS Monitor in American life and culture since its sinking on New Year’s Eve 1862.
Dr. Jonathan W. White is associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and a senior fellow with CNU’s Center for American Studies. He is the author of several books, including Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln and Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War, and coeditor (with Anna Gibson Holloway) of Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War.
Can't make it to the Banner Lecture? Watch it live on the VHS Facebook page starting at 5:30 p.m. EST. Tell your friends to tune in and don't forget to say hello and tell us where you are watching from in the comments section during broadcast.
-
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
- 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond Museum District VA
-
358-4901
- virginiahistory.org…
- Be the first to review this location!
