William Durst (coal heaver) ~ b. 5/6/1839 in Tarnow, Austria; immigrated to America November 1861; 5'6", hazel eyes, brown hair, dark complexion, "WD" tattoo on right wrist; enlisted 2/14/1862 in New York; deserted 11/6/1862 and reinlisted under alias Walter David; a newspaper report, dated in July, 1907, indicated that he was then living in Philadelphia, and was assumed to be the last survivor of the crew of the Monitor; he was described, at that time, as being in good mental and physical condition; d. 1/4/1916 in Philadelphia.
USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. She was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. Commissioned on 25 February 1862, she soon was underway for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Monitor arrived there on 9 March, and was immediately sent into action against the Confederate ironclad Virginia , which had sunk two U.S. Navy ships the previous day. The resulting battle, the first between iron-armored warships, was a tactical draw. However, Monitor prevented the Virginia from gaining control of Hampton Roads and thus preserved the Federal blockade of the Norfolk area.
Following this historic action, Monitor remained in the Hampton Roads area and, in mid-1862 was actively employed along the James River in support of the Army's Peninsular Campaign. In late December 1862, Monitor was ordered south for further operations. Caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras, she foundered on 31 December. Her wreck was discovered in 1974 and is now a marine sanctuary. Work is presently underway to recover major components of her structure and machinery, to be followed by extensive preservation efforts and ultimate museum exhibition.
Click Below for ALL THE MONITOR BOYS .................
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=277454
Click Link to see all The Lost Sailors I've Found
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=266131
USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. She was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. Commissioned on 25 February 1862, she soon was underway for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Monitor arrived there on 9 March, and was immediately sent into action against the Confederate ironclad Virginia , which had sunk two U.S. Navy ships the previous day. The resulting battle, the first between iron-armored warships, was a tactical draw. However, Monitor prevented the Virginia from gaining control of Hampton Roads and thus preserved the Federal blockade of the Norfolk area.
Following this historic action, Monitor remained in the Hampton Roads area and, in mid-1862 was actively employed along the James River in support of the Army's Peninsular Campaign. In late December 1862, Monitor was ordered south for further operations. Caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras, she foundered on 31 December. Her wreck was discovered in 1974 and is now a marine sanctuary. Work is presently underway to recover major components of her structure and machinery, to be followed by extensive preservation efforts and ultimate museum exhibition.
Click Below for ALL THE MONITOR BOYS .................
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=277454
Click Link to see all The Lost Sailors I've Found
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=266131
William Durst (coal heaver) ~ b. 5/6/1839 in Tarnow, Austria; immigrated to America November 1861; 5'6", hazel eyes, brown hair, dark complexion, "WD" tattoo on right wrist; enlisted 2/14/1862 in New York; deserted 11/6/1862 and reinlisted under alias Walter David; a newspaper report, dated in July, 1907, indicated that he was then living in Philadelphia, and was assumed to be the last survivor of the crew of the Monitor; he was described, at that time, as being in good mental and physical condition; d. 1/4/1916 in Philadelphia.
USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. She was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. Commissioned on 25 February 1862, she soon was underway for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Monitor arrived there on 9 March, and was immediately sent into action against the Confederate ironclad Virginia , which had sunk two U.S. Navy ships the previous day. The resulting battle, the first between iron-armored warships, was a tactical draw. However, Monitor prevented the Virginia from gaining control of Hampton Roads and thus preserved the Federal blockade of the Norfolk area.
Following this historic action, Monitor remained in the Hampton Roads area and, in mid-1862 was actively employed along the James River in support of the Army's Peninsular Campaign. In late December 1862, Monitor was ordered south for further operations. Caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras, she foundered on 31 December. Her wreck was discovered in 1974 and is now a marine sanctuary. Work is presently underway to recover major components of her structure and machinery, to be followed by extensive preservation efforts and ultimate museum exhibition.
Click Below for ALL THE MONITOR BOYS .................
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=277454
Click Link to see all The Lost Sailors I've Found
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=266131
USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. She was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. Commissioned on 25 February 1862, she soon was underway for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Monitor arrived there on 9 March, and was immediately sent into action against the Confederate ironclad Virginia , which had sunk two U.S. Navy ships the previous day. The resulting battle, the first between iron-armored warships, was a tactical draw. However, Monitor prevented the Virginia from gaining control of Hampton Roads and thus preserved the Federal blockade of the Norfolk area.
Following this historic action, Monitor remained in the Hampton Roads area and, in mid-1862 was actively employed along the James River in support of the Army's Peninsular Campaign. In late December 1862, Monitor was ordered south for further operations. Caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras, she foundered on 31 December. Her wreck was discovered in 1974 and is now a marine sanctuary. Work is presently underway to recover major components of her structure and machinery, to be followed by extensive preservation efforts and ultimate museum exhibition.
Click Below for ALL THE MONITOR BOYS .................
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=277454
Click Link to see all The Lost Sailors I've Found
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=266131
Inscription
Last survivor of First Monitor
WILLIAM DURST (1839-1916)
ESTHER DURST (1841-1903)
GABRIEL DURST (1866-1889)
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