The Civil War is well known for the innovation and evolution of military technology which it produced.  150 years ago today the ironclad vessels CSS Virginia and USS Monitor were both under construction and in a few months would make history when they faced off against each other.  The commanders of these vessels were in an interesting situation, considering that they were essentially guinea pigs for a new era of naval warfare.  On January 11^th, 1861, a message was sent to a Lieutenant John L. Worden ordering him to take command of the Monitor under construction at Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  Worden would accept and start a new phase of his career that would propel him to near celebrity status during the Civil War.

Worden was born in Westchester County, New York in 1818.  He entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1834 and started a career that would last until 1886.  Up until the Civil War, Worden served on various vessels on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.  When the Civil War was about to break out he was in Washington, D.C., and selected to bring secret dispatches to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida regard its reinforcement.  Worden delivered the messages successfully, but was captured by the Confederates on the way back north.

After his release, Worden returned to New York and awaited orders.  His next assignment would be offered on January 11^th, 1862 with this message:

The Monitor was a new kind of vessel pioneered by Swedish inventor John Ericsson.  The ship had barely any profile at all, with the exception of a mechanized turret which contained its armament of two guns.  For most people in 1862 the Monitor was a strange looking thing and there were many skeptics about its technology.

Above: Officers aboard the USS Monitor in July 1862.

Worden accepted the command 5 days later, and proceeded to Greenpoint where the ship was under construction.  A little over two months later the ship was ready to start her journey down to Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Mechanical troubles provided major setbacks for Worden, whose ship ultimately had to be towed south by another vessel in early March of 1862.  We’ll cover the famous battle between the Monitor and Virginia on its 150^th anniversary, but with regards to Worden it’s important to mention that during the fight a shot from the Virginia hit near an observation slit he was directing the battle from and partially blinded him.

Worden left the Monitor to recuperate from his injuries and was met back home with the Thanks of Congress, a promotion to commander, and his image on the cover of the March 22^nd, 1862 edition of Harper’s Weekly.  As one of the only officers to ever command a ship like the Monitor, Worden seems to have been regarded as an authority on ironclads.  He was placed in command of a new Monitor-class vessel, the USS Montauk, and served around Charleston, South Carolina until mid 1863.

For the next several years Worden was tasked with the supervising on ironclad construction at various shipyards.  In 1869 he began a 5 year stint as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and was promoted to rear admiral in 1872.  Worden then commanded the Navy’s European Squadron and finished his career on Navy retirement boards.  After his retirement he led a quite life in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1897.  He was buried in Pawling Cemetery in Pawling, New York.