CIVIL WAR IRONCLADS BATTLE TO A DRAW
Hampton Roads, Virginia (JFK+50) On March 9, 1862, two warships clad in iron fought each other to a draw off the coast of Hampton Roads. The Monitor of the Union Navy and the Virginia of the Confederate Navy began their duel at 9 o'clock in the morning.
The battle, which lasted four hours, ended with neither ship gaining an advantage or sustaining serious damage. The Virginia was originally the Union frigate Merrimack, but was captured and converted to an ironclad by the Confederates.
The Virginia was a stark contrast to the Monitor. She was designed by Swedish engineer John Ericsson with a flat iron deck and a cylindrical gun turret in the center. The following eyewitness statement by S. Dana Green was published in Century Magazine in 1888..."The fight continued with the exchange of broadsides as fast as the guns could be served.....at very short range."
A description of the conditions inside the gun turret of the Monitor as given in Eyewitness to History follows...
"The atmosphere inside the Monitor's turret was only one step removed from that of Hell. Insufferably hot, the air filled with choking smoke while the deafening sound of Confederate cannon shot ricocheting off its iron skin reverberated through the chamber."
The Battle of the Ironclads ushered in a new era in naval warfare and signaled the beginning of the end of wooden warships.
Hampton Roads, Virginia (JFK+50) On March 9, 1862, two warships clad in iron fought each other to a draw off the coast of Hampton Roads. The Monitor of the Union Navy and the Virginia of the Confederate Navy began their duel at 9 o'clock in the morning.
The battle, which lasted four hours, ended with neither ship gaining an advantage or sustaining serious damage. The Virginia was originally the Union frigate Merrimack, but was captured and converted to an ironclad by the Confederates.
The Virginia was a stark contrast to the Monitor. She was designed by Swedish engineer John Ericsson with a flat iron deck and a cylindrical gun turret in the center. The following eyewitness statement by S. Dana Green was published in Century Magazine in 1888..."The fight continued with the exchange of broadsides as fast as the guns could be served.....at very short range."
A description of the conditions inside the gun turret of the Monitor as given in Eyewitness to History follows...
"The atmosphere inside the Monitor's turret was only one step removed from that of Hell. Insufferably hot, the air filled with choking smoke while the deafening sound of Confederate cannon shot ricocheting off its iron skin reverberated through the chamber."
The Battle of the Ironclads ushered in a new era in naval warfare and signaled the beginning of the end of wooden warships.
