The most interesting part of today's visit was the exhibition of the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia aka Merrimack. http://www.marinersmuseum.org/uss-monitor-center/uss-monitor-center These were early ironclad battleships that engaged in battle off the coast of Virginia, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, in the Civil War. No-one had seen ships like these before, and the Virginia quickly put several of the Union ships out of service - she seemed unstoppable. Then the following morning the Monitor appeared. After several hours of throwing cannonball at each other to little or no effect, there came a stalemate. Oil paintings of the scene seemed surreal to me - Civil War soldiers on the shore in uniform, civilians dressed in garb of the time, and two iron ships at sea - I can only wonder what the people of the time were thinking when seeing the ships for the first time.
Of note also were the miniature/model ships. Good eyes and steady hands created them, and I certainly admired the artistry. The final exhibition we saw, 'Abandon Ship - stories of survival', had me standing firm in my decision to never travel by ship ever, never, ever! The accounts of those who survived days, weeks and months at sea are harrowing to say the least ... and I don't eat seafood so I'd last a whole day before expiring anyway.
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| A rather impressive entrance - well more impressive than this hastily shot photo from a moving vehicle would suggest. |
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| So detailed and such skill went into making these minatures |
