The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Some More on Admiral Worden

Lt. Worden was appointed commander of the USS Monitor on January 16, 1862, and reported to Greenpoint in Brooklyn, NY, where he supervised its completion. The ship was placed in commission on February 25th and made an aborted attempt to sail to Hampton Roads to battle the Virginia. A second sailing arrived on March 8th, the day before the battle. Worden definitely didn't have much time to prepare his crew for the battle.

After Worden was injured at the pilot house, he turned command over to Samuel D. Green.

Upon recovery, Worden was put in command of the new monitor, the USS Montauk in December 1862 and led it on the attack on Fort McAllister . He was promoted to captain and sank the Confederate privateer Rattlesnake (CSS Nashville). In April 1863, the Montauk took part in the attack on Charleston, SC.

He married Olivia Toffey of Pauling.

The 165 room Mizzentop Hotel in Pauling was completed in 1881 and operated for 50 years. The beautiful views of the Harlem Valley and Catskill Mountains moved Worden to give it the name Mizzentop because it is one of the highest points on a ship.

In 1998, it became the Mizzentop Day School.

Three destroyers and a light cruiser were named after Worden:

DD-16- 1903-1919
DD-288- 1920-1930
DD-353- 1935-1943-- at Pearl Harbor, but received no damage. Engaged a Japanese submarine three hours after the attack. Sunk off the Aleutian Islands in 1943.
DLG/CG-18- cruiser 1963-1993

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