USS Monitor Center Blog

In this blog post we’ll continue the discussion about one of USS Monitor’s gun cleaning tools, and the conservation treatment it has undergone.

Review

In Part I, I discussed the purpose of the gun tool and how the treatment plan for the gun tool was developed. Part II delved into what steps were taken to preserve the textile found on the iron handle. I also touched on the importance of removing salts from marine archaeological objects and how the desalination process was adjusted for a composite organic & inorganic object. Finally, I explained how we stabilize waterlogged wood in conservation.   Read more

In this blog post we’ll continue the discussion about one of USS Monitor’s gun cleaning tools, and the conservation treatment it has undergone.

Review

In Part I, I discussed the purpose of the gun tool. I also showed how the way the gun tool was constructed made it impossible for me to disassemble the tool and treat the metal and wooden parts separately. This meant I was going to have to think outside the normal conservation treatment box and treat the wood and metal parts together. I also mentioned that I found textile wrapped around the iron handle and that I’d have to take extra steps to ensure it was preserved through treatment.    Read more

Cannon Tools

You’re probably familiar already with USS Monitor’s Dahlgren guns. They are a key part of the history of Monitor, and we have completed some significant conservation steps to finishing treatment on the Dahlgrens recently. What you are likely less familiar with are the tools that were used to maintain the Dahlgren guns while they were used on USS Monitor. 

In the image above you’ll see illustrations of several historic cannon cleaning and loading tools. 1) The sponge would be dipped in water, and run down the barrel of the cannon to extinguish sparks in the bore after firing. 2) The worm cleaned unburned fragments of cloth powder bags from the bore. 3) Ladles were originally used to load powder, but after cartridge bags came into use, they were used to extract loads from the muzzle. 4) The rammer sealed cartridge and ball in place in the barrel. 5) The scraper and searchers were used to clean the gun. 6) The handspike helped to move the gun carriage and to adjust the gun’s elevation.  (From Albert Manucy, Artillery Through the Ages (Government Printing Office, 1949). All of these tools would be used to maintain the Dahlgren guns on Monitor and generally used each time the cannon was fired.    Read more