Conservators from The Mariners' Museum and historians from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Program drilled and removed a two-inch diameter "core sample" from the wall of the famous Civil War ironclad USS Monitor's turret this week.

Late on the evening of March 8, 1862, a strange looking craft, which some thought resembled a "cheesebox on a raft," crept slowly into Hampton Roads, Va., after a harrowing trip down the coast from New York. That morning, the massive Confederate ironclad Virginia, constructed atop the hull of the old steam frigate Merrimack, had made its first sortie into the roadstead, destroying two U.S. Navy warships and damaging a third.

The Mariners' Museum successfully raises $4 million to meet Frank Batten 2:1 $2 million matching gift for $30 million USS Monitor Center Capital Campaign. Additional $6 million marks important campaign milestone for USS Monitor Center.