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On March 9, 1862, the Monitor engaged the Virginia
at Hampton Roads, off the Virginia coast, where on the previous
day the Virginia had destroyed two Union ships. Exchanges
of fire did not produce substantial damage, but after a few hours
of battle the Virginia was forced to withdraw to Norfolk
because of sinking tides. The battle at Hampton Roads is thus
generally considered a draw. The encounter, however, proved the
effectiveness of the new ironclad ships, and it marked the beginning
of modern naval engineering.
The Virginia, originally a wooden steam frigate
called the Merrimack, had been sunk and abandoned by Union
forces in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk, Virginia, in the spring
of 1861. It was raised by Confederate forces a few months later
and rebuilt as an ironclad vessel and renamed the Virginia.
Two months after the inconclusive battle with the Monitor,
the Virginia was destroyed by Confederate forces when
they evacuated the Norfolk Navy Yard.
John Ericsson, a Swedish-American engineer, designed
the Monitor. It was a much lighter vessel than the Virginia
and had a revolving turret with two heavy guns. It sank on December
31, 1862, during a storm off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.
During World War II (1939-1945), it was mistaken for a submarine
and hit by depth charges. Rediscovered in 1976, its hull has
since been visited by divers and robot drones, and the ship's
anchor was recovered in 1983. The Monitor's hull itself,
however, is badly corroded. |
Monitor
vs. Virginia 
