William Nicholson Jeffers

William Jeffers was born on October 16, 1824, in Swedesboro, New Jersey. The son of a lawyer and a maritime family, he decided in 1840 to enter upon a naval career. As a midshipman he sailed around the Horn on the United States, one of the oldest ships in the fleet. In 1846, he graduated from the new Naval Academy. As a midshipman, Jeffers took particular interest in gunnery and published a manual on the subject.

Jeffers saw sea duty in the action around Roanoke Island in 1861. On March 12, 1862, he took command of the Monitor. After commanding the Monitor for a month, Jeffers wrote his analysis of the ship, noting especially her faults in the area of gunnery. He proposed many improvements to the ship, all of them well argued and factual; however, the Navy Department ignored his suggestions.

Jeffers tried to draw the Virginia out of the Elizabeth River for battle, but he never succeeded. The Virginia was finally destroyed by her own crew on May 10, 1862.

In May, the Monitor was ordered up the James River to Richmond with the ironclad Galena and three wooden ships. The ships arrived at Drewry's Bluff on May 15, 1862. After reaching a blocked narrow point in the river, the Union flotilla came under the Confederate guns on Drewry's Bluff. The Monitor moved forward to help but could not raise her guns to fire up toward the bluff. After nearly four hours of shelling, the Union gunboats withdrew. The Galena was badly damaged, but the Monitor remained unharmed.

Following the battle at Drewry's Bluff, Jeffers was ordered to return the Monitor to Hampton Roads, where she remained throughout the summer on blockade duty. In August 1862, Jeffers was relieved of command of the Monitor.

Jeffers's service record reports that due to poor health, he was not given further sea duty. Instead, he was assigned to the Bureau of Ordinance in Philadelphia and later in Washington. Following the war, Jeffers was again assigned to sea duty, this time in command of the Swatara. In this capacity he returned John Surrat, one of the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, to the United States from Italy to stand trial.

Having attained the rank of Commodore, Jeffers died in 1883 of kidney disease.