Many people are not familiar with the American Civil War Battle of Hampton Roads until it is referred to as Monitor vs. Merrimack. It was one of the most important Civil War naval battles because of the development of navies it influenced. The battle was fought during the two days of March 8-9, 1862 in Hampton Roads Virginia which is a place where the Elizabeth and Nansemond Rivers connect to the James River and open into the Chesapeake Bay. The battle was an effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade which stopped international trade for the large Virginia cities of Richmond and Norfolk. The battle is important because it was the stage for a new type of ship called the ironclad. The confederate ironclad was the CSS Virginia built using the remains of the scuttled Union ship the USS Merrimack and some support ships and during the first day of battle they were confronted by some wooden-hulled ships of the Union Navy. The CSS Virginia destroyed two ships and threatened a third, the Minnesota, but darkness and low tide stopped the action so the Virginia returned to port to take care of the few wounded sailors and fix the small amount of damage it had sustained.

The Virginia returned on the morning of March 9 to finish the destruction of the Minnesota which had run aground but the ironclad USS Monitor had arrived during the night and was defending the U.S.S. Minnesota.The two ironclads slugged it out for three hours but neither could significantly damage the other and the fight ended in a stalemate so the CSS Virginia returned to her home port for repairs and the USS Monitor returned the defense of the Minnesota. The ships did not battle again and the Union blockade stayed in place but the battle got worldwide attention and had an immediate impact. The premier naval powers of Great Britain and France stopped building wooden hulled ships and started building new warships, the monitor, which was based on the design of the original. A small number of heavy guns installed so they can fire in any direction which was featured on the USS Monitor became standard. These improvements were adopted by navies around the world and changed the course of naval combat forever.

U.S. Civil War Store USS Monitor Replica Miniature Civil War Dahlgren Cannon CSA Virginia Replica Ship The Naval History of the Civil War on CD

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