 Following brief assignments to and the receiving ship , Williams was transferred to the newly built , the first ironclad warship of the Union Navy, by March 6, 1862.He served on "Monitor" as a seaman and quartermaster, a position responsible for navigation of the ship.At the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, Williams stood at the ship's wheel and steered "Monitor" throughout an engagement with the Confederate ironclad CSS "Virginia" (formerly known as "Merrimack").