Recently I had the opportunity to visit the memorial of one of the brave sailors who was lost when theMonitorsank in a storm off Cape Hatteras on December 31st, 1862. Jacob Nicklis, son of William Nicklis, a prominent tailor in Buffalo, New York had re-enlisted as an ordinary seaman in the US Navy on October 13, 1862 and joined theMonitor’screw shortly thereafter. He is commemorated on the Nicklis-Leonard family obelisk at Forest Lawn cemetery in Buffalo.
During archaeolgical excavation of theMonitor’sturret, a spoon was found engraved with the initials ‘JN’ which was identified as having belonged to Mr. Nicklis. The spoon has been conserved and is now on display at The USSMontitorCenter.
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