A monument to the USS Monitor will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices of its crew, a gathering in Hampton heard on Saturday.

“It is a privilege for us to honor these men, and it is our hope that this monument will memorialize their efforts so that we may always remember the sacrifices they made for their country,” David Alberg, superintendent of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, said during a dedication ceremony, according to a news release.

The monument to the Union Civil War vessel was created by a partnership between the sanctuary, which is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Navy.

The Monitor and the CSS Virginia, commonly called the Merrimack, engaged at the mouth of the Nansemond River on March 9, 1862, during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

“It is very appropriate that we commemorate this history today, as this is the day the USS Monitor and her crew left Hampton Roads exactly 150 years ago,” Rear Admiral David M. Thomas Jr., commander of the Naval Surface Force Atlantic, told the gathering.

“This is real, this is history, these are sailors; it is an incredible honor to be a part of today’s event.”