John Lorimer Worden (March 12, 1818 – October 19, 1897) was a U.S. Navy officer in the American Civil War, who took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first-ever engagement between ironclad steamships at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 March 1862. Commanding the Union's only warship of this class, , Worden challenged the Confederate vessel Virginia, a converted steam-frigate that had sunk two Union blockaders and damaged two others. After a four-hour battle, both ships withdrew, unable to pierce the other's armour. Background and early career Worden was born in Scarborough, New York. He grew up in Swartwoutville, Dutchess County, New York, and was married to Olivia Toffey, the aunt of Daniel Toffey, captain's clerk of the USS Monitor. He was appointed midshipman in the Navy on January 10, 1834. He served his first three years in the sloop-of-war Erie on the Brazil Station. Following that, he was briefly assigned to the sloop before he reported to the Naval School at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for seven months of instruction. He returned to sea in July 1840 for two years with the Pacific Squadron. Between 1844 and 1846, Worden was stationed at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. During the Mexican–American War, he cruised the west coast, primarily in the store ship Southampton, but in other ships as well. In 1850, he returned to the Naval Observatory for another two-year tour of duty. The ensuing nine years were filled with sea duty which took Worden on several cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. Civil War service Brought to Washington early in 1861, he received orders in April to carry secret dispatches—regarding the reinforcement of Fort Pickens—south to the warships at Pensacola. During the return journey north, Worden was arrested near Montgomery, Alabama, and was held prisoner until exchanged about seven months later. Taking command of the Monitor Though still ill as a result of his imprisonment, Lieutenant Worden accepted orders to command the new ironclad Monitor on January 16, 1862. He reported to her building site at Greenpoint in Brooklyn on Long Island and supervised her completion. He placed the new warship in commission at the New York Navy Yard on February 25 and two days later sailed for Hampton Roads. However, steering failure forced the ironclad back to New York for repairs. On March 6, she headed south again, this time under tow by Seth Low. On the