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 being exchanged about seven months later.

Though still ill as a result of his imprisonment, Lieutenant[2][3] Worden accepted orders to command the new ironclad Monitor on January 16, 1862.

At daybreak on the 9th, Virginia emerged once more from behind Sewell's Point to complete her reduction of the Federal fleet at Hampton Roads.

As the Confederate ironclad approached Minnesota, Worden maneuvered Monitor from the grounded ship's shadow to engage Virginia in the battle that revolutionized naval warfare.

For four hours, the two iron-plated ships slugged it out as they maneuvered in the narrow channel of Hampton Roads, pouring shot and shell at one another to almost no visible effect.

Three hours into the slugfest, Worden received facial wounds when a Confederate shell exploded just outside the pilot house that partially blinded him.

During that recuperative period, he received the accolade of a grateful nation, the official thanks of the United States Congress, and promotion to commander.

A month later, newly promoted Captain Worden took his ship into the Ogeechee River, found the Confederate privateer Rattlesnake (formerly CSS Nashville), and destroyed her with five well-placed shots.

During the late 1870s, he commanded the European Squadron, visiting ports in northern Europe and patrolling the eastern Mediterranean during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78.

After the battle of the Monitor and Virginia the state of New York celebrated their hero with the commissioning of a custom-made 37-inch (940 mm) gold-and-silver inlaid sword from Tiffany & Co.

The handle was emblazoned with the Roman god of the sea, Neptune, and included a gold-plated sheath and gold embroidered belt made at the cost of $550.

The sword was missing for over six decades until 1998, when the FBI began an investigation into several dealers of the PBS show Antiques Roadshow.