Battle of the IroncladsHampton Roads, VirginiaMarch 9, 1862The USS Monitorvs CSS Virginia

Troy Barone6/6/14

Term 4 Civil War Project

USS Merrimack

• Built in Boston MA Navy Yard in 1856 • Decommissioned in 1860• Federal Forces burned and sank Merrimack in

1861• Confederates found and remade her ironclad

in 1862, renamed her CSS Virginia

Sinking of the USS Cumberland By CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia Attacks USS Cumberland and kills 121 people.CSS Virginia Only had two people die.This was the worst defeat in the history of the US Navy

• Constructed entirely out of iron • 100 days to construct • On January 30th 1862 the monitor launched in

New York’s East River

Turrett of the Monitor

• Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmnnqJm_4Pc

Comparison of the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor

• The CSS Virginia had ten 9 foot cannons and 4 large bore rifles. • Its most lethal weapon was a 1500 pound iron ram projecting from its

bow• The Monitor was nimble and agile. It had two 11 foot cannons which

could spin in the turret and shoot anywhere. The Monitor shot first and a 170 pound cannon ball hit the armor of the Virginia but it only cracked the iron shell of the Virginia.

Battle of the Two Ironclads• The commander of the Virginia, Catesby Jones, prepared to assault

the USS Minnesota seen in the background.• While steaming toward the Minnesota, it noticed a strange raft-like

vessel by its side• The USS Monitor and the Virginia began to battle. The two

ironclads began a firing their cannons at each other where both ships fired into each other with little harm due to their iron makeup.

Map of the Battle of Hampton Roads Virginia March 9, 1862

The ships battled at close combat for several hours following the path on this map.The Virginia tried to ram and capsize the Monitor but the nimbler Monitor was able to avoid the Virginia which had lost its ram fighting the Cumberland.

The Battle of Hampton Roads ends in a draw

• Neither vessel had cannons powerful enough to punch through the iron armor of the other

• Even in close combat and firing at point blank range, neither ironclad could seriously ruin its enemy.

• The impact of these two vessels and their battle had a profound impact on the future of naval warefare, as no more wooden ships were built.

In January in 1863, The Monitor sinks • The Monitor sank in a storm off of the coast of North

Carolina.• Both the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia changed

navel warfare and made every other navy in the world obsolete.

• It was an awesome and dangerous achievement in a sad and bitter war.

References

• http://www.civilwar.org

• http://www.history.navy.mil

• Any question about my presentation???