Louis N. Stodder
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Louis Napoleon Stodder (February 12, 1837 – October 8, 1911) was a U.S. Navy officer who served in the American Civil War as acting master on the famous when it fought the ''Merrimack'' at
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
on March 8–9, 1862. He is also noted for his heroic efforts in the final hours before ''Monitor'' sank in a violent storm at sea off Cape Hatteras that same year. He later commanded and served in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. After the Civil War, he was promoted to captain and served with distinction, commanding other vessels and served in other capacities. He continued serving in the Navy until 1902. When he retired, Stodder lived out the remainder of his years in New York.


Early life

Stodder was born on February 12, 1837, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was married to Watie Howland Aldrich, daughter of Alton Aldrich and Mary Earle, of Franconia, New Hampshire on November 15, 1861, shortly after the Civil War began. Little is known about his childhood and early life.


Civil War service

Stodder volunteered for service aboard USS ''Monitor'' and served as Acting Master for the entire time she was in service (February 25 through December 31, 1862) and was officially assigned to the vessel on January 31, 1862. He was turret officer and, along with officers
Samuel Greene Samuel Dana Greene, Sr. (February 11, 1839 – December 11, 1884) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, mostly noted for his service aboard the during the Battle of Hampton Roads. Biography Early life and care ...
and Chief Engineer, Stimers, commanded and coordinated a sixteen-man gun-crew inside the turret of the ''Monitor''. Designed by
John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which com ...
, the ship was unusual in its design, being almost completely made of iron and set mostly below the waterline. Stodder, who was present at the
Continental Iron Works The Continental Iron Works was an American shipbuilding and engineering company founded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 1861 by Thomas F. Rowland. It is best known for building a number of monitor warships for the United States Navy during the Am ...
while the ship was being built, was subsequently skeptical as to whether Ericsson's hulky
ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...
vessel would actually float, as were some of the other officers. He was also present when the ship was launched on January 30, 1862 into New York's East River at Greenpoint Brooklyn. Just before the launching, Stodder remarked:
She was rather a hasty job, was the Monitor. – You had better get a good look at her now as you won't see her after she strikes water. She's bound to go to the bottom of the East River and stick there, sure.
To his amazement the vessel slipped into the water and floated, while Ericsson stood on its deck in defiance of all his critics.


First battle of the ironclads

On the evening of March 8, after a perilous journey at sea, the ''Monitor'' finally arrived at
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, only to find that the ''Virginia'' had already destroyed several ships of the Union's blockading squadron. When daylight came the following morning, the ''Monitor'', to the surprise of the Confederate crew, emerged from behind the ''Minnesota'' and engaged the ''Virginia'' directly. During the first epic battle of the ironclads, Stodder operated the burdensome control wheel that turned the turret into position, allowing her guns to bear on the Confederate ironclad. The ironclads battled for four hours. Each ship ineffectually pounded the other at close range with cannon fire, changing the way most naval battles would be fought in the future. During the battle, Stodder and officers Stimers and Truscott were inside the gun turret, talking over matters and positioned such that they were leaning against the turret's inside side when it took a direct hit. Holzer, 2013, p. 13 Knocked unconscious, Stodder, who was replaced by Stimers, was taken below, where it took him an hour to regain consciousness. He thus became the first man injured at the
Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...
. He was replaced by Chief Engineer Stimers for the duration. After regaining consciousness, Stodder recalled, "I was flung by the concussion clean over the guns to the floor of the turret."


Service on the James River

Stodder also served aboard the ''Monitor'' at the
Battle of Drewry's Bluff The Battle of Drewry's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, or Fort Drewry, took place on May 15, 1862, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Four Union Navy warships, inclu ...
. The ironclad tried to make her way up the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
and past the blockade in the river, but it was too heavily guarded by the guns of Fort Darling and other shore batteries. Stodder later claimed, "If we had a regiment of men we could have taken that fort." During the last week of June, the ''Monitor'' provided naval support for General McClellan's forces along the banks of the James River during the Peninsula Campaign by covering McClellan's withdrawal from the area. While stationed there, at
Harrison's Landing Berkeley Plantation, one of the first plantations in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred, named after the Berkele ...
, the heat was so intense that Stodder later wrote, "It was hell, being 170 degrees in the fireroom, and on the berth deck it was 95 degrees". After her service on the James River, the ''Monitor'' was put into
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
for repairs in Washington's navy yard in September. Upon completion in November, a notice was placed in the newspaper which stated that the ship would be put on display. Tourists, who turned out by the thousands, were allowed to board and tour the vessel. Stodder and other officers were assigned to oversee the event. When it was over, Stodder noted:
ourists..went through the ship, like a flock of magpies, prying loose as souvenirs anything removable. When we came up to clean that night there was not a key, doorknob,
escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...
– there wasn't a thing that hadn't been carried away.


The ''Monitors''s final voyage

On December 30, 1862, while serving under Commander
John P. Bankhead John Pyne Bankhead (1821–1867) was an officer in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War, and was in command of the ironclad when it sank in 1862. He went on to command three other ships. Early life John Payne Bankhead w ...
, Stodder played a fundamental role in the prolonged attempts to save the ''Monitor'' from sinking while being towed to North Carolina by during a violent storm some sixteen off the coast of Cape Hatteras. As the storm grew in intensity, the connecting tow line threatened the safety of both ships as they heaved to and fro in the turbulent sea. At 10:30 p.m., Bankhead gave the order for the red distress lantern to be hoisted atop the turret. The engines were slowed to preserve steam for the pumps. However, the reduced speed made the towline very taut, causing the ''Monitor'' to become unstable and almost impossible to control. Bankhead ordered the towline cut and called for volunteers to go out onto the deck to carry out the task. Stodder and two other volunteers came forward. As they climbed down the turret onto the low freeboard deck, the other two men were quickly swept overboard and drowned. He later wrote that "it was not an easy job" and was himself almost washed overboard by the large waves splashing over the low freeboard (deck), but he managed to hang onto the safety lines around the deck and continued making his way to the tow line. He managed to cut through a tow line, in diameter, using a hatchet. In the final minutes before the ''Monitor'' sank, Stodder made several attempts to go below deck in complete darkness to aid any crew members needing assistance. He found the wounded engineer Lewis, still bedded, who refused to be moved. Stodder later reported about his unfortunate encounter with Lewis:
I told him the ship was sinking, and that he had better take his chances in the open. He refused however, to do so and, not being strong enough to carry him, I had to leave him to his fate.
Stodder survived the sinking, and he and other rescued officers and crew were transferred to the ''Rhode Island''. Stodder was one of two officers who remained with Bankhead, who was the last surviving man to abandon the sinking ''Monitor''. In his official report of the ''Monitor''s sinking to the Navy Department, Bankhead praised Stodder for his heroic efforts and wrote, "I would beg leave to call the attention of the Admiral and of the Department of the particularly good conduct of Lieutenant Greene and Acting Master Louis N. Stodder, who remained with me until the last, and by their example did much toward inspiring confidence and obedience on the part of the others." Some time after the sinking, a controversy emerged over why the ''Monitor'' sank. In the ''Army and Navy Journal'', Ericsson accused the crew of drunkenness during the storm and consequently being unable to prevent the vessel from sinking. Stodder vigorously defended the crew and rebuked Ericsson's characterization of the crew and events and wrote to Pierce that Ericsson "cover's up defects by blaming those that are now dead," pointing out that there were several technical problems that led to the ship's sinking, foremost being the overhang between the upper and lower hulls which came loose and partially separated during the storm from slamming into the violent waves. Stodder's account was corroborated by his shipmates.


Other Civil War service

In 1863, Stodder was commander of , a former
blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...
which was attached to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. Before departing to join the squadron, the ''Adela'' was in need of coal and arrived on August 4, 1863, at Port Royal, South Carolina, to resupply the ship. After waiting ten days, Stodder soon realized that the coal supplies were exhausted. During his wait, another ship, the
bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...
''Faith'', laden with coal, struck the nearby shoals and bilged. Stodder requested and received permission from her senior officer to salvage the ''Faith''s coal. For three days, the crew of the ''Adela'' were up to their necks in water salvaging about 25 tons. During this time, another supply vessel arrived, carrying 1400 tons of coal. His crew exhausted, Stodder ordered the salvaging operation to stop, hoping to obtain a supply from the arriving vessel. Stodder also served aboard when it was outfitted as a
receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
.


Post-Civil War service

Stodder's post-Civil War service was very distinguished. He joined the
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as a third lieutenant. He was honorably discharged as an Acting Volunteer Lieutenant on January 10, 1863. The following February, for his heroic role aboard the ''Monitor'', he was awarded a sword on which were engraved the words: "Presented to Lieut. Louis N. Stodder By his Boston Friends February 9, 1863 "Monitor" on guard." In 1999, the sword was auctioned by a prominent New York auction firm and realized more than $43,000. In 1879, he was promoted to captain and was given command of USS ''Oliver Wolcott''. On January 11, 1883, while still captain of this vessel, he subdued an Indian uprising at Fort Simpson, British Columbia. In 1892, Stodder was named supervisor of anchorages at the Port of New York, remaining in that position until 1901. He retired from service the following year. Quarstein, 2010, p. 193


Later life

When Ericsson died in 1889, his body was sent to Sweden for burial on August 23, 1890, at the request of the Swedish government. It was loaded aboard a Navy warship with a full ceremony attended by Stodder, the Secretary of the Navy and former ''Monitor'' crew members. In 1906, Albert Stevens Crockett, a young reporter for the ''
New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...
'', interviewed Stodder, who was retired and living in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, the last surviving officer of the ''Monitor''. Stodder was initially reluctant to talk about himself, so it took some persuading by Crockett to get Stodder to provide a first-hand account of the ''Monitor''s history. Stodder's hair and mustache were now white, but Crockett noted that the former officer was still "erect of figure and had the air and voice of a strict disciplinarian, though with a keen sense of humor and an enjoyment of life." Stodder's account helped historians piece together the story of the short-lived ''Monitor''. Louis Stodder was the last surviving crew member of the ''Monitor'', living well into the 20th century. Following a nervous breakdown, Stodder died of cerebral apoplexy and pulmonary edema in Brooklyn, New York, October 8, 1911, at the age of 74. He is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Greenpoint Monitor Museum, article


See also

* Union Navy * Confederate Navy * Ships of the Union Navy * List of ships of the Confederate States Navy


Notes


References


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Further reading

* Bibliography of American Civil War naval history * 247 pages. * 416 pages.


External links


Officers and Crew of the USS Monitor, December 31, 1862
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stodder, Louis N. 1837 births 1911 deaths People from Boston People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War 19th-century American naval officers Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery