Greenpoint Monitor Museum Celebrates 150^th Anniversary

	Children Carrying the Greenpoint Monitor Museum's Banner. (Courtesy NOAA)

The Greenpoint Monitor Museum held a three-day celebration for the 150th anniversary of the USS Monitor's launch. The event also honored John Ericsson, the Monitor's inventor, Thomas F. Roland, the builder, the Monitor crew, and the Continental Iron Works workers. The USS Monitor, built and launched from Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, N.Y. on Jan. 30, 1862, was the famous Civil War ironclad that fought in the Battle of Hampton Roads against the CSS Virginia. That battle marked the first time that iron met iron and it revolutionized all future naval warfare.

The event kicked off Saturday with a history fair at the former Greenpoint Savings Bank where Thomas F. Roland was one of the original trustees. That evening, a Civil War concert was held at the Church of the Ascension where Roland had been a founding member. Re-enactors, a children’s choir, and soloists played and sang songs that depicted the life and times of the Civil War. There were also numerous awards given to students who had participated in the museum’s art contest.

	21-Gun Salute. (Courtesy NOAA)

On Sunday, the Church of the Ascension held a memorial service for the Monitor. After the church service, about 100 people marched in a parade down Manhattan Ave. through Brooklyn. Led by police escort, four llamas, Boy Scouts, Sons of the Civil War members, women in period dress, local politicians, and others, the parade captured the hearts and attention of everyone along the route who stopped to watch. It was obvious that this community took great pride in the right to call Greenpoint the birthplace of the Monitor.

The parade ended at the original site of the Continental Iron Works from where the Monitor launched. After the raising of the flag and the playing of the national anthem, there were speeches, a salute by the fire department's fireboat, and a 21-gun salute by the Sons of the Civil War.

	Dancing to Civil War Music. (Courtesy NOAA)

That evening, a reception was held at Grand Prospect Hall, a beautiful venue built in 1906 as an opera house. The evening was brimming with Civil War music by Old Bethpage Brass Band, dancing, good food and drink, and great conversation. Honorees included Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez; Assemblyman Joseph Lentol; Councilman Steven Levin; Terrance Holliday, NY Commissioner of Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs; Danny Wheeler, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW); David Alberg, Monitor NMS; Jeffrey Albanese, NY State Department Commander, SUVCW; Shannon Ricles, Monitor NMS; Dr. James Delgado, Office of NMS; and Anna Holliday, The Mariners’ Museum.