Join Elsa Sangouard, a senior conservator in the USS Monitor Center, for a behind-the-scenes view into what it takes to conserve the US Navy’s first ironclad warship! Conserving large composite artifacts (made of different materials) is a multiyear process that requires a wide range of expertise from welders to analytical chemists. The port gun carriage is the largest of USS Monitor’s composite artifacts to be fully conserved to date. This lecture presents an overview of the conservation treatment process for the port gun carriage and describes disassembly challenges, innovation developed, and lessons learned. In the near future, the results of this work will be applied during the conservation of the starboard gun carriage.

Maritime Connections lectures are free with Museum admission, but seating is limited. This lecture will be held in the lower lobby of the Museum.