On 9th March 1862 a battle took place in Hampton Roads, North Virginia that would change the face of warfare. The two vessels involved were the Confederate ironclad, CSS Virginia and the Union ironclad monitor, USS Monitor. The battle would spell the death knell of the age of the wooden man-of-war.
When the Confederate States seceded from the Union in 1861, the Confederacy gained control of the Gosford naval base (now known as Norfolk Naval Base). The Unionists attempted to evacuate their ships and equipment to prevent them falling into Confederate hands, but the USS Merrimack, a steam powered frigate, was laid up for repairs in the harbour and could not be evacuated. The ship was set on fire, burned to the waterline and sank.
The Confederates raised the hulk and discovered the ships engines were functional. They decided to rebuild the ship as an ironclad in an effort to break the Union blockade of Confederate ports. To protect the ship, a casemate of sloped iron armour was mounted atop the hull. The deck was armoured and 12 guns of various types and calibers were fitted. Ten guns fired broadside through armoured gun ports and a gun was mounted fore and aft that could be rotated to fire through one of three ports.
Rumors that a Confederate ironclad under construction in Gosford led the Unionists to develop a counter measure. Several designs were presented but the winning project was novel, being entirely constructed of iron, with low freeboard for use in rivers, and - most importantly - the armament was mounted in a rotating turret. Designed by Swedish engineer, John Erikson, the USS Monitor established an entire class of vessels that would share her name.
The first Battle of Hampton Roads commenced on 8th March 1862 when the CSS Virginia left harbour and made her way to confront the blockading Union fleet. The Virginia was able to engage the Union ships with impunity, damaging or sinking the USS Congress, USS Cumberland and USS Minnesota. The Cumberland was sunk outright after being rammed by the Virginia.
By coincidence, the USS Monitor was on her way to Hampton Roads the same day. Due to her poor sea-keeping, she was taken under tow, but almost foundered in a storm on the way from New York. On the 9th, when the Virginia came out to finish off the Union fleet, the Monitor was on hand to defend them. Lookouts on the Virginia initially overlooked the Monitor entirely, as the ships silhouette made her look like barge and it was only when she opened fire that they recognized her for a warship. Distracted from her mission, the Virginia engaged with the Monitor in a one-on-one duel, often at point blank range, for the next four hours. The engagement was inconclusive as neither ship was capable of damaging the other, but the Monitor had achieved her purpose of protecting the Union fleet from Confederate attack.
The Virginia never engaged the Union fleet again and was later blown up to prevent capture by Union forces. The Monitor never fought the Confederate navy either as she foundered in a storm on 31 December 1862, but the impact of the battle was profound.
The USS Monitor Centre was established in 2007 to conserve and display artefacts from the Monitor. The site of the Monitor wreck was unknown until the wreck was discovered in 1974. The ship was lying upside down on the ocean floor, outside Newport. There was discussion about raising the entire ship, but it was found that the hull had been badly damaged during the Second World War. A US navy destroyer had detected what it thought was a German submarine and dropped a stick of depth charges on the wreck. Instead, the Monitors engines, turret, guns and other salvageable artefacts were raised.
One of the features of the centre is a full-size replica of the Monitor. The centre has an excellent and informative website here: https://www.monitorcenter.org/
Scale model of the US Monitor. The ship was built in a rush for a singular purpose and was devoid of anything superfluous.
The Monitor is dominated by its turret. In the fo'c'sal is the pilot house. One of the turning points of the Battle of Hampton Roads was a point blank shot into the pilot house by the Virginia. This temporarily blinded ship's commander, Lieutenant John Worden. This forced the Monitor to retreat into shallower water where the Virginia, with her deeper draft could not follow.
Behind the turret are two retractable funnels. A breastwork deck overhung the real hull.
The CSS Virginia. The Merrimack was an ocean going three masted, steam frigate. This gave her a draft that made her unsuitable for riverine use. This limitation would result in her inevitable destruction as the Confederates were unable to withdraw her upriver when the Union seized Norfolk. The heavy armoured casemate made the Virginia too unstable to face the open sea so she was blown up to prevent her capture.
A lifesize diorama of the CSS Virginia casemate, including guns.
Replica of the turret
Diorama of the turret interior, as it was when it raised.
Replica of one of the guns 'in situ.'
Replica of the turret mechanism.
The turret was raised in 2002 and is under conservation at the centre. To prevent the waterlogged metal from turning into rust, it sprayed with water and a preservative.
The anchor. The anchor was hung and raised from inside the ship.
The propeller
Reproduction of the medical officer's cabin. For such a rapid construction, she was given some elaborate fittings.
The turret in the life size replica of the ship
A view under replica ship
The USS Monitor Centre is an excellent museum with great, interactive displays, video presentations and, of course, the actual artefacts from the ship. You can view many items, such as the turret, being conserved. The replica of the Monitor, which you can walk around on, gives a real sense of the scale of the real ship. Highly recommended. The Centre can be found here:
The Mariners Museum & Park
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606
USA
More information about Civil War Ironclads https://www.navalanalyses.com/2014/10/infographics-6-american-civil-war.html
https://www.monitorcenter.org/
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