Battle of Hampton Roads Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Battle of Hampton Roads during the US Civil War took place from March 8-9 1862, off Sewell's Point, a narrow place near the mouth of Hampton Roads, Virginia.
Although the battle itself was inconclusive, it is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between two powered ironclad warships. Prior to then, all ships were made primarily of wood. Afterwards, the ships and naval warfare changed dramatically. Although very different from each other, both ironclads were very odd-looking in comparison with contemporary warships.
USS Monitor
The USS Monitor was of a totally new design, and a favored project of Union President Abraham Lincoln. The unique design engineered by John Ericsson featured an innovative rotating gun turret and a low profile in the water.
Lincoln was greatly frustrated that the USS Monitor's delivery from the builder was late. It was rushed to Hampton Roads, arriving later the night of the very day that its competitor had made a stunning and frightening debut at the expense of the Union Navy.
The CSS Virginia of the Confederate Navy, was rebuilt at Richmond on the James River with ironclad plating and a reduced superstructure from the burned out hull of the USS Merrimac, which is what the Union preferred to call the ship, even after she was rebuilt. (Since the Union won the war, history generally records the Union name, although the name was shortened to drop the final "k", hence the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac).
The battle began when the former American frigate USS Merrimac, converted into a large and somewhat unwieldy ironclad warship called CSS Virginia by the Confederate States Navy, steamed into Hampton Roads, Virginia on the morning of March 8, 1862, and set to work attempting to break the Union blockade. Accompanied by three other rebel warships, Virginia sank USS Cumberland and forced USS Congress aground, where she later exploded when fires caused by the rebel ironclad caused her magazine to explode. While attempting to finish off the warship USS Minnesota, the ironclad found herself seriously damaged by Union shore battery fire and retreated into the safety of rebel controlled waters for the night.
The next morning, after undergoing repairs, Virginia returned to finish her kill of Minnesota but found her way blocked by the newly arrived USS Monitor, which the commander of the rebel ship later described as "little more than a cheesebox on a raft". After fighting for close to nine hours, both ships withdrew from the engagement, claming victory.
Recent evidence has suggested an irony that the officers at the time might have found humorous; had Virginia been carrying Monitor's armament, and vice versa, the two might have done serious damage to each other.
The broad impact of the Monitor-Merrimac battle on naval thinking was summarized by Captain Levin M. Powell of USS Potomac writing later from Vera Cruz: The news of the fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac has created the most profound sensation amongst the professional men in the allied fleet here. They recognize the fact, as much by silence as words, that the face of naval warfare looks the other way now and the superb frigates and ships of the line. . . supposed capable a month ago, to destroy anything afloat in half an hour . . . are very much diminished in their proportions, and the confidence once reposed in them fully shaken in the presence of these astounding facts." And as Captain Dahlgren phrased it: Now comes the reign of iron and cased sloops are to take the place of wooden ships."
After the Battle of Hampton Roads, neither ship played much of a subsequent part in the war.
CSS Virginia was a one-of-a-kind ship and led a short life. Trapped in the Elizabeth River harbor at Norfolk by Union warships controlling Hampton Roads, she was unable to slip past them to return up the James River to help defend Richmond. To avoid leeting her fall into enemy hands, CSS Virginia was destroyed by the Confederate forces as they abandoned Norfolk and burned the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in May, 1862.
Although [[USS Monitor]] became the prototype for the monitor warship type, and many more were built, the original did not survive 1862. It's low-profile design and heavy turret caused questionable seaworthiness, probably leading to its early demise in December, 1862, when it foundered and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Because of the Monitor's advanced state of deterioration, timely recovery of remaining significant artifacts and ship components became critical. Since then, using new technologies, hundreds of fragile artifacts, including the turret and its two Dahlgren cannons, an anchor, steam engine, and propeller, have been recovered and were carefully transported back to Hampton Roads. The USS Monitor Center is a popular attraction at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
This is an Article on Battle of Hampton Roads. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Battle of Hampton Roads CSS Virginia
First Clash Between Ironclads
Impact upon Naval Warfare
Short Life for Famous Ironclads
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel
In 1992, Virginia's Department of Transportation completed the 4.6-mile Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, crossing Hampton Roads very close to the site of the famous clash of the ironclads. It cost $400 million to build, and it includes a four-lane tunnel that is 4,800 feet long, two man-made portal islands, and 3.2 miles of twin trestle. USS Monitor - Rediscovery and Display
After resting undetected on the ocean floor for 111 years, in 1973 the wreck of the USS Monitor was located by a team of scientists. The remains of the ship were found 16 miles off Cape Hatteras, on a relatively flat sandy bottom at a depth of about 240 feet. The Monitor's hull lies upside down, with her deck resting on her displaced gun turret. In 1987, the site was declared a National Historic Landmark, the first shipwreck to receive this distinction.References
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