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Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was designated the nation's first national marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975. The site was the wreck of the USS Monitor, a Civil War vessel that lies off thecoast of North Carolina. The Monitor was the prototype for a class of U.S. Civil Warironclad, turreted warships that significantly altered both naval technology and marine architecture in the nineteenth century. Designed by the Swedish engineer John Ericsson, the vessel contained all of the emerging innovations thatrevolutionized warfare at sea. The Monitor was constructed in a mere 110 days.
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