THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170151
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Alan Flanders
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Jeff Johnson admits that it is ``kind of strange at times,'' representing a Baltimore-born sailor from the ironclad Monitor, but the Shea Terrace resident, who has an ancestor who worked on the Confederate ironclad Virginia admits, ``switching sides from time to time makes for more of a challenge'' in his role as a Civil War interpreter at the Mariners' Museum.
``I've always been interested in the Battle of Hampton Roads and how history was changed on March 8th and 9th when the former steam frigate USS Merrimack steamed from Gosport as the ironclad CSS Virginia and sank the wooden hulls USS Cumberland and USS Congress and then went on to fight the Federal ironclad Monitor. But playing the role of a `Monitor boy', the nickname given to sailors on the Federal ironclad, has given me a real test. My job is to tell the story as truthful and as historically accurate as I can,'' Johnson said. ``And being a Southerner has just made it that much more interesting.''
Johnson, a 10-year member of the James River Squadron, a Civil War living history organization, has learned to play many roles during presentations over the country.
``I take exception when I hear the words, `Civil War re-enactors,' '' Johnson said. ``Instead, I like to refer to our members as presenting professional programs in living history.
``We spend a great amount of time reading actual, first-person, accounts of those who really participated in the war. Much of our research comes from sources documented by the Smithsonian and Mariners' Museum. So before we set up our campsite, we know as much as possible about how people dressed, what equipment they brought with them, from pots and pans to bullets and swords. Our uniforms are not just what we would have liked Civil War soldiers to have worn, but exact copies taken from photographs of that era. In other words, we're not play-acting soldiers, but instead interpreting the war directly from the best sources we can find, diaries and photographs,'' Johnson added.
Throughout March, museum visitors can catch Johnson speaking in the role a sailmaker on the Monitor. For those who engage him in conversation, be prepared to hear it like it was from a sailor who dieted regularly on sea biscuits, hardtack, and salt pork in temperatures below deck that reached 150 degrees in the summer.
For instance, when asked how it was to sail from New York, the site of the Monitor construction, to Hampton Roads, Johnson puts it on the line the way a sailor would from that period.
``Don't let anybody tell you anything other than we were all seasick. From below deck to the top of the turret where the officers hung on, we rolled over and then under the waves as they washed over our bow. Nobody got any sleep as there was no way to stay in your bunks with everything flying past you.''
When queried about what a sailmaker was doing on an ironclad ship that was propelled by steam rather than sail, Johnson replies in character, ``My job is to maintain the awnings and hammocks and anything else that is cloth. Most people don't realize that you can look right down inside the turret through the railroad rails and when she isn't preparing for battle, an awning is raised over the opening to offer shade and keep the rain off.''
Despite her initial unseaworthiness, the Monitor steamed south toward Hampton Roads with a crew that was still speaking in its Civil War voice, confidant and ready to fight.
``Some of us already knew about the former Merrimack when we were stationed at Gosport before the insurrection,'' Johnson said. ``I saw her burning the night I left the shipyard on the Pawnee back in the spring of 1861. Most of us don't expect much from her now. We hear from the Norfolk Day Book stories that came up from Fort Monroe recently that she was floated in dry dock recently, but one account said she flipped over. To tell you the truth, I don't expect it to be there when we reach Hampton Roads.''
As far as what the ``Monitor Boys'' think will be the general situation in Hampton Roads when they arrive, Johnson stays well within the script.
``We're going on blockade duty, but for how long, I don't know. But we've got one of the finest fleets of wooden warships in the world anchored down there, so there shouldn't be much problem with the `rebs.' ''
He reacts quickly and honestly when folks make fun of his ship.
``Yeah, I know they call us a little cheese box on a raft, but it's experimental. There hasn't been a lot of tests on her yet, but she carries two large cannon, 11-inch Dahlgrens that will make things interesting. It's a major transition from the older form of broadside vessel, where the entire ship has to be turned. But then our turret still can't turn in a complete circle and fire as it would hit our smokestack aft and our pilot house forward. ``When the guns are run out, we can't see out so they had to paint bow, stern, port and starboard on the floor of the turret so we can avoid hitting key areas of our ship.''
Despite her drawbacks, Johnson says the ``Monitor Boys'' are ready for anything that might come their way. He underscores his confidence with a jaw set firm for the fight adding, ``and that includes the Virginia!''
Those eager to learn more about the Monitor or the Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads can catch Johnson's rendition during weekend performances this month at the Mariners' Museum. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ALAN FLANDERS
Jeff Johnson, a 10-year member of the James River Squadron, a Civil
War living history organization, represents a sailor from the
Monitor.
by CNB