USS Monitor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built in 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 of Hampton Roads, 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.  The monitor sank in a storm on Dec 31 off Cape Hatteras.

Finding the USS Monitor was so important because, in 1975 the area became the 1st National Marine Sanctuary.  There are now 13 marine national sanctuaries throughout the US.  These are important as the population of large fish has declined by about 90%.