Civil War Book Signing: Bob Sheridan "Iron from the Deep: The USS Monitor"

On Sunday April 22nd Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is pleased to welcome Bob Sheridan who will be available to sign his book "Iron from the Deep: The Discovery and Recovery of the USS Monitor." This book signing is held in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit “Gone for a Soldier:” Jerseymen in the Civil War. Presented in partnership with the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee (NJCW150), this new exhibit brings together for the first time about two hundred objects from the Civil War from nearly thirty museums, historical societies, and private collections. Until now, many of the stories of the major contributions of Jerseymen to the Civil War effort have remained untold. Gone for a Soldier makes a major contribution toward telling these stories.

Robert E. Sheirdan is a marine geophysicist and a marine geologist who studied the North American Atlantic continental margin for forty years. A descendant of a Union army veteran, his work on the discovery and recovery of USS Monitor allowed him to combined his vocation with his avocation as a Civil War history enthusiast. Sheridan has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Rutgers University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in geophysics from Columbia University. He was an associated professor at the University of Delaware in 1973, when he was part of the team that discovered the Monitor wreck off Cape Hatteras. Sheridan moved to Rutgers University as a full professor in 1986 and retired in 2003.

Mr. Sheridan has been part of the Monitor story since the 1970s, when his research vessel first made sonar contact with the long-lost wreck of the famous Civil War ironclad and he collected the first identifiable artifact. In this book he combines his perspective of the Monitor’s discovery and efforts to save her artifacts with an authoritative history of the ship that revolutionized naval design. Opening chapters discus the ship’s construction, he successful battle with the Merrimac in 1862 that spelled the end of wooden warships, and the Monitor’s sinking later that year off Cape Hatteras. Comments from the secretary of the navy who spurred the building of the Monitor, the captain who engaged her, and the young lieutenant who survived the sinking add color to these historically significant events. Sheridan follows with a personal account of the discovery of the Monitor and addresses the issues of control over the wreck and its recovery. He also describes this nearly twenty years of lobbying to convince Congress that the Monitor’s deterioration called for action. The book’s final chapters chronicle the raising of artifacts from this national treasure. This is the first account to detail both the dramatic history of the Yankee ironclacd and the extraordinary attempts to recover her.

Mr. Sheridan will be available to sell and sign books to museum visitors between 1pm and 4pm.

“Gone for a Soldier” is on display Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons through July 1st 2012. Throughout the course of the exhibit, the museum will offer related programs, including lectures, book signings, and family-friendly events. Program announcements will be posted on the museum’s website and Facebook page.

NJCW150, a volunteer organization working for increased awareness and recognition of New Jersey’s important role in the Civil war, has been recognized by the New Jersey Governor and both houses of the New Jersey legislature. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families, the Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd through its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural programs. It is located in the heart of Morristown’s National Historic District. The Museum is open to tour the house and view exhibits on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. General Admission: Adults $8; Seniors & Students $6; Children 6 – 12 $4. Members and children under 5 are free. The last tickets for admission are sold at 3 p.m. School tours, adult/senior tours and rentals may be scheduled by appointment. For information, call the Museum weekdays at (973) 538-2404 ext 10, visit our website www.maccullochhall.org or find us on Facebook. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 45 Macculloch Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is a nonprofit educational affiliate of the W. Parsons Todd Foundation.