Monarch as an ocean-going instrument of diplomacy

Monarch's voyage with USS Plymouth and the remains of George Peabody combined diplomatic respect with a display of naval capability. Peabody's standing as an American financier and philanthropist gave the repatriation wider public significance. The American wooden screw sloop and the British turret ironclad offered a conspicuous contrast when they arrived together. Sending a modern capital ship across the Atlantic demonstrated Britain's ocean-going capabilities as part of a friendly gesture. A friendly Anglo-American gesture could also carry a competitive naval message. This was early in a career assessed at roughly 33 years of fighting usefulness, followed by three years as a depot ship.