An examination of the skeleton revealed one leg was shorter than the other, meaning his height would vary depending on which leg he was favoring.
Stansbury said she had not sought out any possible family connection in Williams' native Wales because of his common name.
The detective work was hampered, she said, by the use of aliases during the period — used to exit military service without a trace if it wasn't to your liking — and the error-filled records of the day.
"It can be very frustrating when you can't find information," Stansbury said. Still, she said, "It was just an honor to have worked on this project."
The facial reconstruction was done at the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing Persons Information Database at LSU. Its director, Mary Manhein, declined to discuss the final product until the Tuesday announcement but called the facial renderings "very cool."
David Alberg, superintendent of the Monitor sanctuary, said the reconstructed faces of the two unknown sailors cast the ship's sinking in "very personal" terms."
"The notion of putting a face on history suddenly rings true," he said.
If no one steps forward following Tuesday's announcement, Delgado said he hopes the remains can be buried at Arlington.
"After 10 years in the lab, maybe it's time for these guys to get out of archival boxes and into a final resting place," he said. Fund-raising has also begun to erect a monument in Arlington to the 16 men on the Monitor, which he called an "iconic warship that changed naval history."
"Like all who served and all who do pay the price, that in and by itself makes them important and worthy of remembrance and recognition," Delgado said.
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Steve Szkotak can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sszkotakap
Online:
The USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum: http://www.marinersmuseum.org/uss-monitor-center/uss-monitor-center
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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