That Darn Cat-- Part 3: A Salt and Oxidation Problem

A research team located the wreck of the USS Monitor in the 1970s and the site is now managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The NOAA and the U.S. Navy cooperated in  to recover the Monitor's gun turret in 2002.  Two years later, the two cannons were removed from that turret.  But 140 years in the salt water had taken its toll  on the metal.

As Will Hoffman, the museum's director of conservation says the cannons are as soft as chalk in some places.  To preserve the guns, the museum stores them in a chemical solution that draws out salt and protects against sudden oxidation.

"The goal of this is to really get the artifact on display so it can tell the story of the Monitor, the leadup to the battle between ironclad ships, the aftermath," said Hoffman.   "Because just nearby is the turret of the Monitor, which the gun was found inside.  It's the first turret on a ship in human history."

--Old B-Runner