THE GREENPOINT MONITOR MUSEUM
ROAD SHOW "2008-2009"
November 7, 2008

PS 110 - The Monitor School
Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Neighbors of PS 110 "The Monitor School" on Monitor Street.

Monsignor McGolrick Park
and
The USS Monitor Monument (erected in 1938 to commemorate the
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, March 9, 1862, and
in memory of the men of the Monitor and its designer, John Ericsson.)
It is the work of the Sculptor, Antonio De Felippo.
The monument represents a bronze figure of a sailor straining at a hawser.

The USS Barry, a DDG-52 (Guided Missile Destroyer), visited New York
during Fleet Week 2004.
The proud crew of the USS Barry participated in
Greenpoint's Memorial Day Parade on Sunday May 30, 2004.
The Parade was sponsored by St. Stanislaus Post #1771 American Legion
and Lexington Council #293 Knights of Columbus.
The Crew of the USS Barry visited the Monument after the parade.
The USS Barry was named after
Commodore John Barry "Father of the American Navy".

When John Ericsson came to New York in 1839,
the US Navy was still using wooden sailing ships
whose sails depended on the wind for power.
The wooden sailed frigate USS Constitution, which was
launched in 1797, was still in service and even
today can be seen in Boston, Massachusetts.
One of the last sailing frigates designed for the
United States Navy was the USS CONGRESS.

In the 1850's the US Navy included some wooden steam powered
frigates which also had auxiliary sails, but the older wind
powered frigates were still in use.

During the Civil War John Ericsson brought his plans for a
revolutionary type of ironclad warship to President Abraham Lincoln.
His new little warship was an ironclad. Its name was the USS Monitor.

It had a steam engine, revolving turret with two 11 inch Dahlgren cannons,
propeller, shallow draft and was very low to the water.

It was very different from the US Navy sailing frigates which were
made of wood and some depended on the wind and their sails to move.
They could not go in shallow water because they had a deep draft.

He convinced President Abraham Lincoln to give the USS Monitor
a chance. John Ericsson came to Greenpoint to oversee the
construction of his new little warship at a company called
the Continental Iron Works which was located at
Quay and West Streets and the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Thomas Fitch Rowland was the owner of this company.
He and his workers built the USS Monitor.
Thomas Fitch Rowland and many of his workers who built
the USS Monitor lived in Greenpoint.
The USS Monitor took 100 days to build and was launched on
January 30, 1862.

PS 110 5TH GRADE TEACHER ANTOINETTE LOCASIO
RECEIVES A CONGRESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
FROM CONGRESSWOMAN NYDIA VELAZQUEZ

WELCOME TO OUR 5TH GRADE CLASS.
Join our Road Show by selecting the first picture below.

The Greenpoint Monitor Museum is helping NOAA keep alive the memory of the
USS Monitor. Thank you to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
for providing USS Monitor cut out models for the Museum's Road Show classes.

The Museum is not-for-profit with 501(c)(3) status.

CONTACT US:

THE GREENPOINT MONITOR MUSEUM
P.O. Box 220378
Brooklyn, New York 11222-0378
718-383-2637

Janice Lauletta-Weinmann, President, Webmaster
George J. Weinmann, Webmaster

Copyright © 2002-2008 Janice & George J. Weinmann
All Rights Reserved.