Scope and arrangement
The collection consists of correspondence between Frank H. Pierce and others, a scrapbook, and a muster roll documenting the history and construction of the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, its commander and crew, and its loss during the Battle of Hampton Roads against the C.S.S. Virginia (also known as the Merrimack or Merrimac) in 1862. The correspondence and scrapbook consist of of personal accounts of the battle from both sides, journalistic accounts from various news sources, diagrams, illustrations, and photographs. John L. Worden, commander of the Monitor, John Ericsson, the ship's designer, and other figures affiliated with the ship and its service are also discussed throughout. Some material relating to the Virginia is included, but generally only as relates to the the Battle of Hampton Roads. An index to the correspondence is included. The final transfer and muster roll of the crew of the Monitor is dated 1862.