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Crew
Captain John
Worden
John Lorimer
Worden was born on
March 12, 1818 in
New York. He became
a Navy Midshipman at
the age of 15and
spent the next
several years at sea
in various
squadrons, and
ashore at the Naval
Observatory in
Washington, D.C.
After being promoted
to Lieutenant in
1846, Worden saw
more extensive sea
duty, largely within
the Pacific
Squadron. In 1861,
he was captured by
the Confederate authorities while
carrying secret
messages to a local
John L. Worden.
Photo Credit:
Courtesy of The
Mariners’ Museum |
commander in
Pensacola. Being the
first POW of the
Civil War, he was
sent to a hospital
to recover after he
was released a few
months later. While
recovering, he was
charged with command
of the USS
Monitor.
During the battle
with the CSS
Virginia on
March 9, 1862,
Worden was looking
through the viewing
ports in the
Monitor's pilot
house when a shell
hit nearby. The
explosion severely
wounded and
temporarily blinded
him forcing him to
relinquish command
of the Monitor
for the rest of the
battle. In October
1862, Worden
recovered his sight
and was again placed
in command of
another ironclad
warship. He retired
from the navy in
1886 as a Rear
Admiral after 52
years of naval
service. He died in
1897.
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