File:Temporary marker - USS Monitor Unknown Dead - Arlington National Cemetery - 2013-03-15.jpg

English: Temporary grave marker of the two unknown sailors from the USS Monitor, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States.

The Monitor is one of the most famous ships in U.S. history. Designed by John Ericsson in June 1861, the USS Monitor was an ironclad ship with a rotating turret (the first ever to be used) atop a hull that barely cleared the water. It had a high-technology vibrating lever steam engine which also proved groundbreaking. The Monitor was assigned to the U.S. Navy support fleet off Hampton Roads, Virginia. On March 9, 1862, the ironclad CSS Virginia and USS Monitor fought for four hours to a draw. It was the first battle between ironclad ships in world history. The Virginia retreated into the port, and was scuttled by her own crew when the Confederate States of America abandoned Norfolk on May 12. Damaged in the battle, the Monitor was repaired at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and returned to blockad duty. On her way back to the Brooklyn Navy Yard later that year, the Monitor sank in rough seas on December 31, 1862, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Sixteen of her 62 crew were lost.

In August 1973, the wreck of the Monitor was located off Cape Hatteras. In July 2001, divers brought the ship's engine to the surface. In August 2002, the turret was recovered. While raising the turret, divers discovered the remains of two crewmen inside it.

The remains of these sailors were temporarily stored at the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The U.S. Navy undertook DNA testing, facial identity reconstruction, and a national campaign to locate any descendants -- but none were identified or came forward.

On March 8, 2013, the remains of these two sailors were buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. It is believed they will be the last American Civil War dead to be buried at the cemetery.