View allAll Photos Tagged Restoring
The streets were crowded earlier in the morning with thousands of people immersing themselves in the festivities of color.
As dusk settled, normalcy was restored and people returned to their daily lives.
Restored walls and towers (24 to 26) near the Xylokerkos Gate /Belgrade Gate (Belgradkapı)
The Theodosian Walls were situated between the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn and have a length of 6.5 km.
The walls were completed in 413 during the reign of Theodosius II (408–50). The wall was given his name, but was actually built under the supervision of Anthemius of Byzantium, a praefectus praetorio of the Eastern Roman Empire.
From 439 onwards, the sea walls were built along the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara (Propontis), thus walling the entire peninsula on which the city was situated.
The Theodosian Walls consisted of:
- the main inner wall (5 meters thick and 12 meters high); this was separated by a terrace (peribolos) from
- the lower outer wall (2 meters thick and 8.5 meters high).
An outer terrace, the parateichion, extended between the outer wall and the moat. The moat was about 20 m (66 ft) from the outer wall. The moat itself was over 20 m (66 ft) wide and as much as 10 m (33 ft) deep, with a 1.5 m (5 ft) high crenellated wall on the inside, which served as a first line of defense.
Access to the outer wall from the city was provided through the main gates at the base of the towers of the inner wall. The outer wall also had towers, which were placed about halfway between the towers of the inner wall. They were spaced at a distance of 48–78 m (150–250 ft) from each other. Of the towers of the outer wall, 62 have survived.
The walls of Constantinople were notoriously impregnable throughout the Middle Ages. Greek engineers used a much more effective construction technique than others in the Middle Ages. The walls in the Byzantine Empire were usually not solid, but consisted of double walls filled with rubble, which allowed gaps to be quickly repaired. Numerous armies of Bulgarians, Avars, Kipchaks, Russians, Galatians and Arabs failed to penetrate the walls. The first breach of the walls came in 1204, when the Fourth Crusade laid the city to waste. Two centuries later, the city had not yet recovered from the damage of the Crusade, and in 1453, after a relatively short siege, it fell into the hands of the Turkish Ottomans.
But piece by piece he collected me
Up off the ground but you abandoned things
And piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me
I... just want to hold a small warm fluff bundle again.
(Tiny belongs to a friend. ♥︎)
I am breaking the high-key series with this shot.
I've been trying to improve my editing skills, trying to restore my imagination, trying to change lots of things are to start again.
Hope you like it.
The Holländisches Viertel (Dutch Quarter) features a picturesque cluster of 134 gabled red-brick houses, and was built around 1730 for Dutch workers invited to Potsdam by Friedrich Wilhelm I.
The entire district has been restored and gentrified beautifully, and brims with galleries, boutiques, restaurants and cafés. @deinpotsdam
This restored railroad station was once used by the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railroads in Brookville, Ohio. The tracks here are now gone and the right of way converted into the Wolf Creek Trail.
Ely Cathedral as it might look if one side had not fallen down a long time ago and they had not yet erected the great gothic chamber on top of the west tower.
Restored old signs (Texaco and Skelly) and a restored Chrysler Plymouth neon sign on display along 2nd Street in the main business district.
Wetmore, Kansas
Friday afternoon 28 May 2021
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, fthe LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 85:4–13.
Restored and colorized April 05 2015 ©By Marie-Lou Chatel.
Photographer : ©By Lee Russell 1903-1986
Digital file from original: LC-DIG-fsa-8a21073. No known restrictions.
1948 build tram - restored. Was a former restaurant tram in Melbourne. Now part of Ballarat Tram Museum.
Named for Sir Henry Cuthbert (1829-1907).
Member of the Victorian legislative council. Held several important ministry posts. Became first chairman of Ballarat Tramway Company. Has a local road named in his honour and his home (Beaufort House) now provides accomodation for local Federation University students.
One of the beautifully restored trucks at the Wapato Showdown out in Gaston Oregon.. They have this showdown every August and it has grown a lot since I've been going out and taking pictures.. Happy Truck Thursday, Everybody!!
Entitled: Foot Bound Girls, Liao Chow, Shansi, China [c1920-1930s] likely by IE Oberholtzer [RESTORED]. I took out spots, repaired obvious image defects, increased the contrast and fixed the edges.
Another picture worthy of social note was found from a private web gallery. I discovered this wonderful photograph amongst a series of pictures posted to Picassa Web Albums (Google's free picture gallery) by someone named Joe. He has a collection of images that (from what information I could gather on his gallery), seems to have been taken by one I.E. Oberholtzer in or around the Liao Chow area of Shansi, (modern day Liaozhou, Shanxi Province), China, during the 1920-1930s. His collection captured a wide range of events. There is a detailed series on road construction, a small series on the effects of war, and finally, a section devoted to missionary work, and the social milieu of the Shanxi area. I do not know if Oberholtzer himself was a missionary or not.
Other pictures from this series and Joe's magnificent galleries can be seen here:
picasaweb.google.com/LlamaLane
Beauty is often held to be in the eye of the beholder. One of the most famous, yet puzzling, but distinctly Chinese ideas thereof resided in the form of Bound Feet 纏足. This was done by the forcible breaking, folding and binding of young girls feet, so that the resultant footprint was only about half or a third of the size that it would naturally be. This painful, crippling, and sometimes fatal deformity process was performed on Chinese girls as early as three years old. It was considered something that made them more desirable by Chinese men when they reached eventual adulthood. Also known as a Lotus Foot, the practice was almost an exclusive habit of the affluent or wealthy (since the Tang) until the mid to late 1800's, whereupon the very poor too, eventually took up this practice. It was then thought to increase a family's prospects for eventual receipt of a better dowry when a daughter married. Many poor women however, could typically only be married into other poor families, thereby harshly limiting the size of any such dowry. Thus most poor women had their feet crippled for nothing. The practice was eventually outlawed in the early 1900's but remained a cultural imperative clandestinely performed until the middle of the century. At that time, communist Chinese authorities ultimately threatened death sentences to anyone who didn't stop. It was arguably one of the best pro human rights action that the Chinese communists ever did in China.
As the above photo shows, by the early 20th century, this slavish "fashion" phenomenon wasn't restricted to the very rich. Three young teenage girls, with poor and threadbare peasant clothing, nonetheless have tiny bound feet.
For those that have an interest in this horrifying yet historic practice, do take a look at Flickr member Okinawa Soba's extensive collection of images. His gallery not only has great pics of this cultural phenomenon, it is also peppered with lively discussion about it:
www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/3462167744/in/set-7215...
And for those that don't already know it, Okinawa Soba has one of the finest (if not THE best) Flickr galleries of Old Japan, and general far east period images. His extensive collection is not only inspiring but should serve as a model for all of us Flickr members as to how it really should be done.
Recently had a Jeep Specialist Company restore my 1981 Jeep CJ5. I originally bought this vehicle from a junkyard when I was only 19. With a lot of help from a High School friend, we got her on the road on a shoestring budget. I have a ton of history with this vehicle, including the days of meeting and dating W. It had not run in several years but those days are finally over. Pics taken near our house using HDR software to merge bracketed photos.
In 1719 the castle was garrisoned by 46 Spanish soldiers who were supporting the Jacobites. They had established a magazine of gunpowder, and were awaiting the delivery of weapons and cannon from Spain. The English Government caught wind of the intended uprising and sent three heavily armed frigates The Flamborough, The Worcester, and The Enterprise to quell matters. The bombardment of the castle lasted three days, though met with limited success due to the enormity of the castle walls, which in some places are up to 14 feet thick. Finally, Captain Herdman of The Enterprise sent his men ashore and over-whelmed the Spanish defenders. Following the surrender, the government troops discovered the magazine of 343 barrels of gunpowder which was then used to blow up what had remained from the bombardment…
For the best part of 200 years, the stark ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected, abandoned and open to the elements, until Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.
Rolls Royce 25/30 with a Park Ward Limousine body. It was at one time kept in a lock up for 45 years before being purchased and restored by it's Current owner.
Newly renovated vintage Canterbury Hotel bar now resides at Stuts Business Ctr., Indianapolis.. I did that...
Looking towards Cooper House Bridge on the Rochdale Canal, in Luddenden Foot, outside Hebden Bridge, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.
The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.
Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.
The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.
Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park
The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.
In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.
restored the stained caused by the sudden rain, lighthouse gives us a path to an answer, a destination! Just like those who spent their day time cross Malaysia- SG bridge to work, and back home at night!
Flickr User Espressobuzz was kind enough to forward me some scans of rare trichrome separations by Seattle photographer George Morihiro after seeing my work restoring trichrome images from the Prokudin-Gorskii Collection.
This image, by far the most striking of the set, depicts a woman wearing a black kimono reclining in a studio.
The original black and white channel separations are included on the left for comparison.
Canberra Rail Museums special train and loco transfer from Hawksbury River, back to Canberra is seen soon after cresting Werai bank, and starting the descent through Exeter and Bundanoon to Penrose.
The train had spent the weekend running shuttles between Gosford and Hawksbury River, utilising the restored Beyer-Garratt 6029. The two C class had been hired from CFCLA to assist the transfer movements to and from, and would be detached at Goulburn, leaving just the 4403 and steamer in charge on the final leg home.
I wish I had taken a “before” photo! This guy was in sad shape. ALL of his chrome was worn off, his silver on his knee pads and gloves was almost gone too. I took a flysea chrome paint pen to his head and torso, and used acrylic silver paint for the highlights. Acrylic red dot for an eye, and voila! he looks right off the card from 1978!
KFTW 27/10/16 Special Kay under restoration at the vintage flying museum, Meacham Fort Worth.
History:
Delivered to U.S.A.A.F as 44-34198, 19??.
- Rebuilt as B-26K by On Mark, April 15, 1965.
- Returned to USAF as 64-17679, October 1969-1971.
State Of Georgia Forestry Commission, Macon, GA, 1971-1977.
- Registered as N269G.
- Stored unconverted, Macon, GA, 1972-1977.
Air Spray Ltd, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1977.
- Registered as C-GXTG.
- Not delivered.
- Damaged by heavy landing during test flight, Macon, GA, 1977.
Arnie Carnegie, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1978.
- Purchased damaged aircraft.
Denny Lynch/Lynch Flying Service, Billings, MT, September 25, 1978-2001.
- Rebuilt, Macon, GA, 1978.
- Delivered to Billings, MT, 1978.
- Flew un USAF camoflage as IF 679.
- Withdrawn from use, Billings, MT, 1979-2001.
Denny Lynch/Lynch Air Tankers, Billings, MT, September 7, 2001-2002.
- Restored to airworthy.
- Flown in USAF camoflage as IF 679.
James Reynolds/Greatest Generation Aircraft Museum, Ft Worth, TX, February 17, 2012.
- Under restoration to airworthy.
Fantasy of Flight P51C - Oh what a gorgeous airplane!
In 1939, the British Purchasing Agency came to America to buy aircraft for the war that had just started in Europe. Having experience with Curtiss P-40s (of Flying Tiger fame), they purchased all that Curtiss could build them. When they approached North American Aviation to build more P-40s, the company was not too excited about building a competitor’s aircraft but offered to build a new fighter using the same American-built Allison engine. The British agreed, but on the condition the first aircraft had to be flying in no more than 120 days. 117 days later, the first P-51 flew!
Named the Mustang by the British, the P-51A was a great low altitude airplane but could not compete at altitude with the Spitfires powered by the British Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. With a more sophisticated supercharger, the Merlin could maintain its rated power to a much higher altitude than the Allison. Merlin-powered Mustangs were tested, and a great fighter was born.
The first Merlin-powered Mustangs were designated P-51 Bs and Cs, the only difference being the Bs were built in Long Beach, California, and the Cs in Dallas, Texas.
This aircraft was accepted by the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1944 at Lakeland, Florida, only 20 miles away!
Year Built — 1944
Wingspan — 37'
Cruise Speed — 300 mph
Top Speed — 434 mph
Gross Weight — 11,000 lbs
Engine — Packard build Rolls Royce Merlin 1650 (1,500 hp)
Armament —Four .50 caliber Browning machine guns Two 500 lb. bombs on under-wing racks
- See more at: www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraft/wwii/north-american-p-51...
Text from the Fantasy of Flight website
Not the best of photos, as you can see it's a little hemmed in. First registered in 04/1988, this nice example is seen here at the North West Museum of Road Transport, St. Helens, at their Spring Open & Bus Running Day, on 04/03/2018. © Peter Steel 2018.
3D red/cyan anaglyph from the glass plate negatives at the Library of Congress, with missing sections restored from the left side of a stereo card version posted online by the Getty Museum.
Link to the Library of Congress negatives, “James River, Va. Sailors relaxing on deck of U.S.S. Monitor,” at: www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/civwar/item/2018666819/
Link to the Getty Museum stereo card, “Crew of the Original "Monitor" on her Deck,” at: www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1079B2
Stereograph Date: July 9, 1862
Photographer: James F. Gibson (1828 - )
Notes: A stereoscopic portrait of 24 sailors, out of a total crew (including officers) of about 65, posing on the deck of “The Monitor,” while at anchor at Harrison's Landing on the James River. The Monitor was providing protection for the Union army which had retreated to the James, after Lee drove McClellan away from Richmond. This is the original monitor, as improved versions continued to be built during the Civil War, and although these later boats had specific ship names, they were also referred to as “monitors.”
This historic stereograph, and a handful of others, were all taken on the same day, July 9, 1862, by photographer James F. Gibson, and are the only known photographs ever taken of this most famous and very first monitor vessel.
The ironclad Monitor was revolutionary in design, built in just a little over 3 months, and after battling the Merrimac to a standstill at Hampton Roads in March 1862, the ship and crew were hailed as the saviors of the Union. The crew was an all volunteer crew, and although they were fairly safe inside it during battle, environmental conditions while serving on board could be atrocious, and worst of all, the ship was not sea-worthy. Six months after this photo was taken, the Monitor sank in a gale off Cape Hatteras, taking sixteen crew members with it to the bottom.
Some of the lost crew are perhaps pictured here, and after finding the skeletal remains of two sailors within the turret in 2002, there was some research and informed speculation as to exactly which two seamen in this photograph they might be. The tall sailor with his arms crossed at the extreme right was one candidate (Robert Williams), and the other (William Bryan) was thought to possibly be the man facing the camera, in a crouch, with his right arm stretched forth towards the checker board nearest the center. This research to identify the two sailors was found to be inconclusive, although it was determined that they were not officers. The two recovered sailors were from the crew - two of "The Monitor Boys," the moniker the crew (non-officers) gave to themselves.
The excerpts and links below provide some additional background information on the recruitment of the crew, the environmental conditions the crew had to endure, the battle with the Merrimac, the Monitor's sinking, and the possible identity of the two sailors, whose remains were found in 2002.
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Below are excerpts from an article by Commander Samuel Dana Greene, which appeared in an 1885 edition of Century Magazine. The editor makes note of Greene’s recent death – Commander Greene had committed suicide the previous December, at age 44. There was speculation that it was either temporary insanity or that he was upset at some perceived criticisms of his role in the famous battle with the Merrimac. In fact, Greene was really one of the Union heroes in the battle, manning and firing the Monitor’s 11 inch guns (which fired 180-pound shot) and taking over for Captain Worden after he was blinded by a direct hit on the pilot house.
It's a wonder that the men in the Monitor’s turret were able to withstand the tremendous noise and force of these huge guns being fired while in that restricted space - and in Greene's case, perhaps he didn’t fare too well. The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) suggests that long term mental health issues can stem from concussions caused by "chronic exposure to low-level blast waves," from the firing of "heavy caliber weapons." If interested, here’s the link: www.dvidshub.net/news/270814/chronic-exposure-low-level-b...
In a letter written shortly after the battle, Greene summed up his condition: "My men and myself were perfectly black with smoke and powder. All my underclothes were perfectly black, and my person was in the same condition.... I had been up so long, and been under such a state of excitement, that my nervous system was completely run down. . . . My nerves and muscles twitched as though electric shocks were continually passing through them.... I lay down and tried to sleep - I might as well have tried to fly.”
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Century Magazine 1885 Vol. 7
In the “Monitor” Turret
By Commander S. Dana Greene
"The keel of the most famous vessel of modern times, Captain Ericsson’s first iron-clad, was laid in the shipyard of Thomas F. Rowland, at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in October, 1861, and on the 30th of January, 1862, the novel craft was launched. On the 25th of February she was commissioned and turned over to the Government, and nine days later left New York for Hampton Roads, where, on the 9th of March, occurred the memorable contest with the Merrimac. On her next venture on the open sea she foundered off Cape Hatteras in a gale of wind (December 29). During her career of less than a year, she had no fewer than five different commanders; but it was the fortune of the writer to serve as her only executive officer, standing upon her deck when she was launched, and leaving it but a few minutes before she sank.
So hurried was the preparation of the Monitor that the mechanics worked upon her night and day up to the hour of her departure, and little opportunity was offered to drill the crew at the guns, to work the turret, and to become familiar with the other unusual features of the vessel. The crew was, in fact, composed of volunteers. Lieutenant Worden, having been authorized by the Navy Department to select his men from any ship-of-war in New York harbor, addressed the crews of the North Carolina and Sabine., stating fully to them the probable dangers of the passage to Hampton Roads and the certainty of having important service to perform after arriving. The sailors responded enthusiastically, many more volunteering than were required. Of the crew selected, Captain Worden said, in his official report of the engagement, '' A better one no naval commander ever had the honor to command.”
We left New York in tow of the tug-boat Seth Low at 11 a. m. of Thursday, the 6th of March. On the following day a moderate breeze was encountered, and it was at once evident that the Monitor was unfit for a sea-going craft. Nothing but the subsidence of the wind prevented her from being shipwrecked before she reached Hampton Roads. The berth-deck hatch leaked in spite of all we could do, and the water came down under the turret like a waterfall. It would strike the pilot-house and go over the turret in beautiful curves, and it came through the narrow eye-holes in the pilot-house with such force as to knock the helmsman completely round from the wheel.
The waves also broke over the blower-pipes, and the water came down through them in such quantities that the belts of the blower-engines slipped, and the engines consequently stopped for lack of artificial draught, without which, in such a confined place, the fires could not get air for combustion. Newton and Stimers, followed by the engineer’s force, gallantly rushed into the engine-room and fire- room to remedy the evil, but they were unable to check the inflowing water, and were nearly suffocated with escaping gas. They were dragged out more dead than alive, and carried to the top of the turret, where the fresh air gradually revived them. The water continued to pour through the hawser-hole, and over and down the smoke-stacks and blower-pipes, in such quantities that there was imminent danger that the ship would founder. The steam-pumps could not be operated because the fires had been nearly extinguished, and the engine-room was uninhabitable on account of the suffocating gas with which it was filled.
The hand-pumps were then rigged and worked, but they had not enough force to throw the water out through the top of the turret,—the only opening,— and it was useless to bail, as we had to pass the buckets up through the turret, which made it a very long operation. Fortunately, towards evening the wind and sea subsided, and, being again in smooth water, the engine was put in operation. But at midnight, in passing over a shoal, rough water was again encountered, and our troubles were renewed, complicated this time with the jamming of the wheel-ropes, so that the safety of the ship depended entirely on the strength of the hawser which connected her with the tug-boat. The hawser, being new, held fast; but during the greater part of the night we were constantly engaged in fighting the leaks, until we reached smooth water again, just before daylight.
It was at the close of this dispiriting trial trip, in which all hands had been exhausted in their efforts to keep the novel craft afloat, that the Monitor' passed Cape Henry at 4 p. m. on Saturday, March 8th. At this point was heard the distant booming of heavy guns, which our captain rightly judged to be an engagement with the Merrimac twenty miles away. He at once ordered the vessel stripped of her sea-rig, the turret keyed up, and every preparation made for battle. As we approached Hampton Roads we could see the fine old Congress burning brightly, and soon a pilot came on board and told of the arrival of the Merrimac the disaster to the Cumberland and the Congress, and the dismay of the Union forces.
The Monitor was pushed with all haste, and reached the Roanoke (Captain Marston), anchored in the Roads, at 9 p. m. Worden immediately reported his arrival to Captain Marston, who suggested that he should go to the assistance of the Minnesota, then aground off Newport News. As no pilot was available, Captain Worden accepted the volunteer services of Acting Master Samuel Howard, who earnestly sought the duty. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded the fleet, and the pygmy aspect of the new-comer did not inspire confidence among those who had witnessed the destruction of the day before.
Skillfully piloted by Howard, we proceeded on our way, our path illumined by the blaze of the Congress. Reaching the Minnesota, hard and fast aground, near midnight, we anchored, and Worden reported to Captain Van Brunt. Between 1 and 2 a. m. the Congress blew up, not instantaneously, but successively; her powder-tanks seemed to explode, each shower of sparks rivaling the other in its height, until they appeared to reach the zenith — a grand but mournful sight. Near us, too, lay the Cumberland at the bottom of the river, with her silent crew of brave men, who died while fighting their guns to the water’s edge, and whose colors were still flying at the peak.
The dreary night dragged slowly on; the officers and crew were up and alert, to be ready for any emergency. At daylight on Sunday the Merrimac and her consorts were discovered at anchor near Sewall’s Point. At about half-past seven o’clock the enemy’s vessels got under way and steered in the direction of the Minnesota. At the same time the Monitor got under way, and her officers and crew took their stations for battle. Captain Van Brunt officially reports, “I made signal to the Monitor to attack the enemy,” but the signal was not seen by us; other work was in hand, and Worden required no signal.....
Worden took his station in the pilot-house, and by his side were Howard, the pilot, and Peter Williams, quartermaster, who steered the vessel throughout the engagement. My place was in the turret, to work and fight the guns; with me were Stodder and Stimers and sixteen brawny men, eight to each gun. John Stocking, boatswain’s mate, and Thomas Lochrane, seaman, were gun-captains. Newton and his assistants were in the engine and fire rooms, to manipulate the boilers and engines, and most admirably did they perform this important service from the beginning to the close of the action. Webber had charge of the powder division on the berth-deck, and Joseph Crown, gunner’s mate, rendered valuable service in connection with this duty.
The physical condition of the officers and men of the two ships at this time was in striking contrast. The Merrimac had passed the night quietly near Sewall’s Point, her people enjoying rest and sleep, elated by thoughts of the victory they had achieved that day, and cheered by the prospects of another easy victory on the morrow. The Monitor had barely escaped shipwreck twice within the last thirty-six hours, and since Friday morning, forty-eight hours before, few if any of those on board had closed their eyes in sleep or had anything to eat but hard bread, as cooking was impossible; she was surrounded by wrecks and disaster, and her efficiency in action had yet to be proved.
Worden lost no time in bringing it to test. Getting his ship under way, he steered direct for the enemy’s vessels, in order to meet and engage them as far as possible from the Minnesota. As he approached, the wooden vessels quickly turned and left. Our captain, to the ‘‘ astonishment” of Captain Van Brunt (as he states in his official report), made straight for the Merrimac which had already commenced firing; and when he came within short range, he changed his course so as to come alongside of her, stopped the engine, and gave the order, Commence firing! ” I triced up the port, ran out the gun, and, taking deliberate aim, pulled the lockstring. The Merrimac was quick to reply, returning a rattling broadside (for she had ten guns to our two), and the battle fairly began. The turret and other parts of the ship were heavily struck, but the shots did not penetrate; the tower was intact, and it continued to revolve. A look of confidence passed over the men’s faces, and we believed the Merrimac would not repeat the work she had accomplished the day before.
The fight continued with the exchange of broadsides as fast as the guns could be served and at very short range, the distance between the vessels frequently being not more than a few yards. Worden skillfully maneuvered his quick-turning vessel, trying to find some vulnerable point in his adversary. Once he made a dash at her stern, hoping to disable her screw, which he thinks he missed by not more than two feet. Our shots ripped the iron of the Merrimac, while the reverberation of her shots against the tower caused anything but a pleasant sensation. While Stodder, who was stationed at the machine which controlled the revolving motion of the turret, was incautiously leaning against the side of the tower, a large shot struck in the vicinity and disabled him. He left the turret and went below, and Stimers, who had assisted him, continued to do the work.
The drawbacks to the position of the pilot-house were soon realized. We could not fire ahead nor within several points of the bow, since the blast from our own guns would have injured the people in the pilot-house, only a few yards off. Keeler and Toffey passed the captain’s orders and messages to me, and my inquiries and answers to him, the speaking-tube from the pilot-house to the turret having been broken early in the action. They performed their work with zeal and alacrity, but, both being landsmen, our technical communications sometimes miscarried. The situation was novel: a vessel of war was engaged in desperate combat with a powerful foe; the captain, commanding and guiding all, was inclosed in one place, and the executive officer, working and fighting the guns, was shut up in another, and communication between them was difficult and uncertain.....
As the engagement continued, the working of the turret was not altogether satisfactory. It was difficult to start it revolving, or, when once started, to stop it, on account of the imperfections of the novel machinery, which was now undergoing its first trial. Stimers was an active, muscular man, and did his utmost to control the motion of the turret; but, in spite of his efforts, it was difficult if not impossible to secure accurate firing. The conditions were very different from those of an ordinary broadside gun, under which we had been trained on wooden ships. My only view of the world outside of the tower was over the muzzles of the guns, which cleared the ports by a few inches only.....
The effect upon one shut up in a revolving drum is perplexing, and it is not a simple matter to keep the bearings. White marks had been placed upon the stationary deck immediately below the turret to indicate the direction of the starboard and port sides, and the bow and stern; but these marks were obliterated early in the action. I would continually ask the captain, How does the Merrimac bear ? ” He replied, “ On the starboard-beam,” or on the port-quarter,” as the case might be. Then the difficulty was to determine the direction of the starboard-beam, or port-quarter, or any other bearing. It finally resulted, that when a gun was ready for firing, the turret would be started on its revolving journey in search of the target, and when found it was taken on the fly,” because the turret could not be accurately controlled.
Once the Merrimac tried to ram us; but Worden avoided the direct impact by the skillful use of the helm, and she struck a glancing blow, which did no damage. At the instant of collision I planted a solid one-hundred-and-eighty-pound shot fair and square upon the forward part of her casemate. Had the gun been loaded with thirty pounds of powder, which was the charge subsequently used with similar guns, it is probable that this shot would have penetrated her armor; but the charge being limited to fifteen pounds, in accordance with peremptory orders to that effect from the Navy Department, the shot rebounded without doing any more damage than possibly to start some of the beams of her armor-backing....
The battle continued at close quarters without apparent damage to either side......Soon after noon a shell from the enemy’s gun, the muzzle not ten yards distant, struck the forward side of the pilot-house directly in the sight-hole, or slit, and exploded,. cracking the second iron log and partly lifting the top, leaving an opening. Worden was standing immediately behind this spot, and received in his face the force of the blow, which partly stunned him, and, filling his eyes with powder, utterly blinded him. The injury was known only to those in the pilot-house and its immediate vicinity. The flood of light rushing through the top of the pilot-house, now partly open, caused Worden, blind as he was, to believe that the pilot-house was seriously injured, if not destroyed; he therefore gave orders to put the helm to starboard and “sheer off.” Thus the Monitor retired temporarily from the action, in order to ascertain the extent of the injuries she had received. At the same time Worden sent for me, and leaving Stimers the only officer in the turret, I went forward at once, and found him standing at the foot of the ladder leading to the pilot-house.
He was a ghastly sight, with his eyes closed and the blood apparently rushing from every pore in the upper part of his face. He told me that he was seriously wounded, and directed me to take command. I assisted in leading him to a sofa in his cabin, where he was tenderly cared for by Doctor Logue, and then I assumed command. Blind and suffering as he was, Worden’s fortitude never forsook him; he frequently asked from his bed of pain of the progress of affairs, and when told that the Minnesota was saved, he said, "Then I can die happy.”
......During this time the Merrimac, which was leaking badly, had started in the direction of the Elizabeth River; and, on taking my station in the pilot-house and turning the vessel’s head in the direction of the Merrimac, I saw that she was already in retreat. A few shots were fired at the retiring vessel and she continued on to Norfolk. I returned with the Monitor to the side of the Minnesota where preparations were being made to abandon the ship, which was still aground. Shortly afterward Worden was transferred to a tug, and that night he was carried to Washington.
The fight was over. We of the Monitor thought, and still think, that we had gained a great victory. This the Confederates have denied. But it has never been denied that the object of the Merrimac on the 9th of March was to complete the destruction of the Union fleet in Hampton Roads, and that in this she was completely foiled and driven off by the Monitor; nor has it been denied that at the close of the engagement the Merrimac retreated to Norfolk, leaving the Monitor in possession of the field.
.....For the next two months we lay at Hampton Roads. Twice the Merrimac came out of the Elizabeth River, but did not attack. We, on our side, had received positive orders not to attack in the comparatively shoal waters above Hampton Roads, where the Union fleet could not manoeuvre. The Merrimac protected the James River, and the Monitor protected the Chesapeake. Neither side had an iron-clad in reserve, and neither wished to bring on an engagement which might disable its only armored naval defense in those waters.
With the evacuation of Norfolk and the destruction of the Merrimac, the Monitor moved up the James River with the squadron under the command of Commander John Rodgers, in connection with McClellan’s advance upon Richmond by the Peninsula. We were engaged for four hours at Fort Darling, but were unable to silence the guns or destroy the earthworks.
Probably no ship was ever devised which was so uncomfortable for her crew, and certainly no sailor ever led a more disagreeable life than we did on the James River, suffocated with heat and bad air if we remained below, and a target for sharp-shooters if we came on deck.
With the withdrawal of McClellan’s army, we returned to Hampton Roads, and in the autumn were ordered to Washington, where the vessel was repaired. We returned to Hampton Roads in November, and sailed thence (December 29) in tow of the steamer Rhode Island, bound for Beaufort, N.C. Between 11 p. M. and midnight on the following night the Monitor went down in a gale, a few miles south of Cape Hatteras,. Four officers and twelve men were drowned, fortynine people being saved by the boats of the steamer. It was impossible to keep the vessel free of water, and we presumed that the upper and lower hulls thumped themselves apart.
No ship in the world’s history has a more imperishable place in naval annals than the Monitor. Not only by her providential arrival at the right moment did she secure the safety of Hampton Roads and all that depended on it, but the ideas which she embodied revolutionized the system of naval warfare which had existed from the earliest recorded history. The name of the Monitor became generic, representing a new type; and, crude and defective as was her construction in some of its details, she yet contained the idea of the turret, which is to-day the central idea of the most powerful armored vessels."
S. D. Greene,
Commander U. S. Navy
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Findagrave link for Samuel Dana Greene: www.findagrave.com/memorial/6017440/samuel-dana-greene
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Link to CNN article and video pertaining to the two sailors whose remains were found in the turret in 2002. Towards the end of the video possible names and faces are matched up. This received a lot of publicity at the time, but note that official sources connected to the recovery and effort to identify the two men seemed to have completely backed away from the possible ID's.
CNN Link: www.cnn.com/2013/03/08/us/monitor-sailors-buried/index.html
Link to a second article pointing to the two men: www.huffpost.com/entry/uss-monitor-anniversary_b_2372051
The two sailors were eventually buried with full military honors as "two unidentified crew members" at Arlington National Cemetery, see link: www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Blog/Post/10995/The-Monitor-Is-...
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Red/Cyan (not red/blue) glasses of the proper density must be used to view 3D effect without ghosting. Anaglyph prepared using red cyan glasses from The Center For Civil War Photography / American Battlefield Trust. CCWP Link: www.civilwarphotography.org/
Caherciveen's Heritage centre is housed in a former Royal Irish Constabulary (Police during British occupation) Barracks. The building was burned by anti-treaty forces in 1922 and has been restored.
This building seems quite out of place for Kerry and there is a story that the plans for it were mixed up with a barracks to be built in India.
The Barracks was designed and constructed during the period 1869-1871 and is arguably one of the most picturesque with its turreted structure nesting in the beautiful South Kerry landscape. With the careful restoration of this interesting building, services such as restaurant, craft workshops, audio-visual display, display of archaeological remains and a tourist information point are provided.
The centre houses exhibits on Daniel O'Connell, the Fenian uprising, and other local history.
(Source IrishTourist.com)