When the Monitor sank, some of those missing fell into the sea and died and others went down with the ship. These last two from the turret must have been just about to exit the ship when it went down.
Other items found in the turret when it was raised were uniform scraps, a pair of shoes, buttons and a silver spoon.
Some information on the two sailors has been determined. One was between 17 and 24 and the other in his 30s. Both were Caucasian and so not one of the three black sailors to die that night. The older one could be one of two matches and the younger one of four possible.
There is strong evidence that the older one might be Robert Williams who was listed at 5'8" and a quarter and 5'8" and a half in various records. The skeleton they think might be his has one leg shorter than the other so the height discrepancy may be due to which leg he was favoring when measured.
If this is his skeleton, a possible family relation in Wales will be sought as that was where he was from.
Another thing causing identification problems was the wide-spread use of aliases in the Union Navy during the war.
Facial reconstruction was done at the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing Persons Information Database at Louisiana State University.
That Would Be Something If the Two Men Were Identified. --Old B-Runner
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