January, 1862, Tom Carroll goes to work in the ship yard to help earn money for his family. Mr. John Ericsson is building an iron clad ship called the Monitor. It is the first of it's kind - "a tin can on a raft". It is being built to fight the Merrimac, the first iron clad ship ever and to protect the Naval Blockade of the North. March 9, 1862, the Monitor met the Merrimac at Fortress Monroe and saved the flagship Minnesota. Both sides claimed to have won the battle, but the blockade held and the Merrimac was never used again. The Monitor only was used for one year. It sank in a storm, but it was a turning point in the Civil War that has gone down through history. This is told through the eyes of the young boy Tom as he works at the ship yard and later sails on the Monitor and takes part in the historic battle.
