The Timby and the Monitor Blog-- Part 6: 'The Duplicity of Ericsson'

When Ericsson's vessel was completed it was quickly recognized as Theodore Timby's  turreted, low freeboard ship concept which he had  modeled and exhibited in New York as early as 1843.

Despite high levels of protest by military and political principals of the times and others who knew, duplicity of Ericsson in high places, and a government acting in denial of its own official records, Timby's revolutionary design became famous as the Civil War USS Monitor, but in history, alas to the credit and fame of the wrong man.

Of course, these are the words of Theodore Walcott Dickes, great -great grandson of Theodore Timby.  He definitely has an axe to grind and rightfully so.  Until I came across that article about seeing the remains of the USS Monitor at the Mariners' Museum and under Monitor designers saw the names of Ericsson and Timby, I had never heard of Theodore Timby.

That is why I have been writing about this the last several weeks.

--Old B-Runner