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CSS Virginia was a steam-powered battery
Floating battery

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 design ironclad warship
Ironclad warship

An ironclad was a steam engine warship in the latter part of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel iron armour.The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shell ....
 of the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the Navy of the Confederate States of America armed forces established by an act of the Congress of the Confederate States on February 21, 1861....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 (built using the remains of the scuttle
Scuttling

Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the Hull . This can be achieved in several ways - valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives....
d USS Merrimack
USS Merrimack (1855)

USS Merrimack was a frigate of the United States Navy, best known as the hulk upon which CSS Virginia was built during the American Civil War and then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads ....
).

She was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads
Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack , was the most noted and arguably the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies....
 in March, 1862 opposite the USS Monitor
USS Monitor

USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship warship commissioned by the United States Navy. She is most famous for her participation in the first-ever naval battle between two ironclad warships, the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862 during the American Civil War, in which Monitor fought the ironclad CSS Virginia of the Confedera...
. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between two ironclads.

Ironclads were only a recent innovation, starting with the 1854 steam-powered ironclad battery Lave, which was designed for coastal warfare and had a speed of , with a crew of 282 men.






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CSS Virginia was a steam-powered battery
Floating battery

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 design ironclad warship
Ironclad warship

An ironclad was a steam engine warship in the latter part of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel iron armour.The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shell ....
 of the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the Navy of the Confederate States of America armed forces established by an act of the Congress of the Confederate States on February 21, 1861....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 (built using the remains of the scuttle
Scuttling

Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the Hull . This can be achieved in several ways - valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives....
d USS Merrimack
USS Merrimack (1855)

USS Merrimack was a frigate of the United States Navy, best known as the hulk upon which CSS Virginia was built during the American Civil War and then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads ....
).

She was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads
Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack , was the most noted and arguably the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies....
 in March, 1862 opposite the USS Monitor
USS Monitor

USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship warship commissioned by the United States Navy. She is most famous for her participation in the first-ever naval battle between two ironclad warships, the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862 during the American Civil War, in which Monitor fought the ironclad CSS Virginia of the Confedera...
. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between two ironclads.

Ironclads were only a recent innovation, starting with the 1854 steam-powered ironclad battery Lave, which was designed for coastal warfare and had a speed of , with a crew of 282 men. Throughout the war, the Confederacy built many ironclad steam-powered batteries, and like the CSS Virginia, they were not designed to be ocean cruisers. Due to the success of the CSS Virginia, the CS Navy tried to procure turreted ironclad cruisers, but only succeeded in procuring one ironclad frigate, the CSS Stonewall, which arrived too late to make an impact in the war.

USS Merrimack becomes CSS Virginia

When the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
 seceded from the Union in 1861, one of the important federal military bases threatened was Gosport Shipyard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships....
) in Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth is an independent city located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 100,565, but a 2006 Census estimate showed the city's population had increased to 101,377....
. Accordingly, the order was sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 hands. Unfortunately for the Union, the execution of these orders was bungled. The steam
Steam engine

File:Steam-powered fire engine.jpgA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines have a long history, going back at least 2000 years....
 frigate
Frigate

A frigate is a warship. The term has been used for warships of many sizes and roles over the past few centuries.In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square rig on all three masts , but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort....
 USS Merrimack
USS Merrimack (1855)

USS Merrimack was a frigate of the United States Navy, best known as the hulk upon which CSS Virginia was built during the American Civil War and then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads ....
 sank before she completely burned. When the Confederate government took possession of the yard, the hulk of the Merrimack was raised and moved pierside to clear the main channel of the Elizabeth River of the obstruction. About two months later, Confederate Navy Leutenants John Brooke and John Porter surveyed the hull and found the running gear satisfactory to base conversion of the hull to an ironclad ram
Ironclad warship

An ironclad was a steam engine warship in the latter part of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel iron armour.The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shell ....
.

Rebuilt under the supervision of Captain French Forrest
French Forrest

French Forrest was an United States naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later the Confederate States Navy. His combat experience prior to the American Civil War included service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War....
, the new ship was named Virginia. The burned hull timbers were cut down to the waterline, and a new deck and armored casemate (fortress) were added. The deck was four inch (102 mm)-thick iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
. The casemate was built up of 24" of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled to deflect shot hits. The battery consisted of four single-banded Brooke rifles and six nine-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore shell guns. Two of the rifles, bow and stern pivots, were seven-inch (178 mm) , of 14,500 pounds; the other two were 6.4 inch (32 pound calibre) of 9000 pounds, one on each broadside. The nine-inch (229 mm) gun on each side nearest the furnaces was fitted for firing hot shot. A few nine-inch (229 mm) shot with extra windage (slightly smaller diameter) were cast for hot shot. No other solid shot were on board during the fight. As Virginia’s designers had heard of plans by the North to build an ironclad, and figuring her guns would be unable to harm such a ship, they equipped her with a ram— at that time an anachronism in a warship. Merrimacs engines, now part of Virginia, had not been in good working order, and the salty Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River (Virginia)

The Elizabeth River is a short tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States....
 water and addition of tons of iron armor and ballast did not improve the situation.

The commanding officer, Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, arrived to take command only a few days before sailing. The ship was placed in commission and equipped by the executive officer, Catesby ap R. Jones.

Battle of Hampton Roads

Monitorvirginia
The Battle of Hampton Roads
Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack , was the most noted and arguably the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies....
 began on March 8 1862 when Virginia sortied. Despite an all-out effort to complete her, the ship still had workmen on board when she sailed. Supported by Raleigh
CSS Raleigh (1861)

CSS Raleigh was originally a small, iron-hulled, propeller-driven towing Steamboat operating on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. She was taken over by the State of North Carolina in May 1861, and transferred to the Confederate States the following July....
 and Beaufort
CSS Beaufort

The CSS Beaufort was an iron hull gunboat that served in North Carolina and Virginia during the Civil War.The Beaufort was originally called the Caledonia....
, and accompanied by Patrick Henry
CSS Patrick Henry

CSS Patrick Henry was built in New York City in 1853 by the renowned William Henry Webb for the Old Dominion Steam Ship Line as the civilian steamer Yorktown, a brigantine-rigged side-wheel steamer....
, Jamestown
CSS Jamestown

CSS Jamestown, originally a passenger Steamboat, was built at New York City in 1853, and seized at Richmond, Virginia, Virginia in 1861 for the Virginia State Navy....
, and Teaser
CSS Teaser

CSS Teaser had been the aging Georgetown, D.C. tugboat York River until the beginning of the American Civil War, when she was taken into the Confederate States Navy....
, Virginia took on the blockading fleet.

The first ship engaged, USS Cumberland
USS Cumberland (1842)

The first USS Cumberland was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia....
, was sunk after being rammed. However, in sinking, Cumberland broke off Virginia's ram. Seeing what happened to Cumberland, the captain of USS Congress
USS Congress (1841)

USS Congress ? the fourth U.S. Navy ship to carry that name --was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, .Congress served with distinction in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean....
 ordered his ship grounded in shallow water. Congress and Virginia traded fire for an hour, after which the badly-damaged Congress surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of Congress were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on Virginia. In retaliation, the captain of Virginia ordered to fire upon the surrendered Congress with red-hot shot, to set her ablaze.

Virginia did not emerge from the battle unscathed. Shot from Cumberland, Congress, and the shore-based Union troops had riddled her smokestack, reducing her already low speed. Two of her guns were out of order, and a number of armor plates had been loosened. Even so, her captain attacked USS Minnesota
USS Minnesota (1855)

USS Minnesota, a sailing/steam frigate, was ship naming and launching in 1855 at the Washington Navy Yard and ship commissioning eighteen months later....
, which had run aground on a sandbank trying to escape Virginia. However, because of her deep draft, Virginia was unable to do significant damage. It being late in the day, Virginia left with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the Union blockaders.

Later that night, USS Monitor
USS Monitor

USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship warship commissioned by the United States Navy. She is most famous for her participation in the first-ever naval battle between two ironclad warships, the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862 during the American Civil War, in which Monitor fought the ironclad CSS Virginia of the Confedera...
 arrived at Union-held Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe is a Hampton, Virginia, military installation located at Old Point Comfort, which is on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Along with Fort Calhoun, later renamed Fort Wool, it guarded approach by sea of the navigational shipping channel between the Chesapeake Bay and the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads, which itself is fo...
, rushed to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the region of land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Hampton Roads is notable for its year-round ice-free harbor, for United States Navy, U.S....
 in hopes of protecting the Union force and preventing Virginia from threatening Union cities.

The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler Monitor was able to outmaneuver Virginia, but neither ship proved able to do significant damage, despite numerous hits. Monitor was much closer to the water, and thus much harder to hit by the Virginia's guns, but vulnerable to ramming and boarding. Finally, Monitor retreated. This was because the captain of the Monitor was hit by gunpowder in his eyes while looking through the pilothouse's peepholes, which caused Monitor to haul off. The Monitor had retreated off into the shoals and remained there, and so the battle was a draw. The captain of Virginia, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones
Catesby ap Roger Jones

Catesby ap Roger Jones was an officer in the United States Navy who became a commander in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War....
,CSN received the advice from his pilots to take the midnight high tide to depart back over the bar toward the CS Navy base at Norfolk until noon of the next day. Lieutenant Jones wanted, instead, to re-attack, but to "turn the ship and fight the starboard gun, was impossible, for heading up stream on a strong flood-tide, she would have been wholly unmanageable." The pilots emphasized that the Virginia had "nearly three miles to run to the bar" and that she could not remain and "take the ground on a falling tide." So to prevent getting stuck, Lieutenant Jones called off the battle and moved back toward harbor.

In the following nine weeks, the crew of the Virginia were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure the Monitor out of the shallows. The Virginia made several sorties back over to Hampton Roads hoping to draw Monitor into battle. Monitor, however, was under orders not to engage. Eventually the Confederate Navy sent Lieutenant Joseph Nicholson Barney
Joseph Nicholson Barney

Joseph Nicholson Barney was born in 1818 in Maryland, son of John Barney and Elizabeth Nicholson Hindman. He married Eliza Jacobs Rogers on June 9, 1846 in New Castle County, Delaware....
 in command of the CSS Jamestown
CSS Jamestown

CSS Jamestown, originally a passenger Steamboat, was built at New York City in 1853, and seized at Richmond, Virginia, Virginia in 1861 for the Virginia State Navy....
, along with the Virginia and five other ships in full view of the Union squadron, enticing them to fight. When it became clear that the US Navy ships were unwilling to fight, the CS Navy squadron moved in and captured three merchant ships, the brigs Marcus and Sabout and the schooner Catherine T. Dix. Their flags were then hoisted "Union-side down" to further taunt the US Navy into a fight, as they were towed back to Norfolk, with the help of the CSS Raleigh
CSS Raleigh

Two ships of the Confederate States Navy were named CSS Raleigh, after the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, North Carolina:*The gunboat CSS Raleigh served as a tender to CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads....
.

Neither ironclad was ever to fight again. On May 10, 1862, advancing Union troops occupied Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the United States Census 2000, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city....
. Virginia was unable to retreat further up the James River due to her deep draft, and since she was a steam-powered battery and not a cruiser, she was not seaworthy enough to enter the ocean. Without a home port, Virginia was ordered blown up to keep her from being captured. This task fell to Lieutenant Jones, the last man to leave CSS Virginia after all of her guns had been safely removed and carried to the CS Marine Corps base and fortifications at Drewy's Bluff to fight again. Early on the morning of May 11, 1862, off Craney Island
Craney Island

Craney Island is the name of an uninhabited island in the United States:* Craney Island Craney Island is an historical name of an inhabited island in the United States:...
, fire reached her magazine and she was destroyed by a great explosion.

Later that same year, despite being an armored raft designed for riverine warfare, the US Navy attempted to tow the USS Monitor out into the Atlantic Ocean and past the ship graveyard of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the Monitor was added to the collection.

Destruction of Merrimac, May 11, 1862

Historical names: Merrimack, Virginia, Merrimac

The name of the warship which served the Confederacy in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads has become a source of confusion, which continues to the present day.

When she was first commissioned into the United States Navy in 1856, her name was Merrimack, with the K. The name derived from the Merrimack River
Merrimack River

The Merrimack River is a -long river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset River and Winnipesaukee River rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport, Massachusetts....
 near where she was built. She was the second ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for the Merrimack River, which is formed by the junction of the Pemigewasset
Pemigewasset River

The Pemigewasset River is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is , in length and drains approximately ....
 and Winnipesaukee River
Winnipesaukee River

The Winnipesaukee River is a long river that connects Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset River and Merrimack River rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, New Hampshire....
s at Franklin, New Hampshire
Franklin, New Hampshire

Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 8,405, the lowest of any of New Hampshire's 13 cities....
. The Merrimack flows south across New Hampshire
New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
, and then eastward across northeastern Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 before emptying in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 at Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles northeast of Boston, Massachusetts. The population was 17,189 at the United States Census, 2000....
.

The Confederacy bestowed the name Virginia on her when she was raised, restored, and outfitted as an ironclad warship, but the Union preferred to call the Confederate ironclad warship by either its earlier name, "Merrimack", or by the nickname, "The Monster".

Perhaps because the Union won the Civil War, the history of the United States
History of the United States

The first known inhabitants of modern-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000 - 50,000 years ago by crossing Beringia into Alaska....
 generally records the Union version. In the aftermath of the battle, the names Virginia and Merrimack were used equally by both sides, as attested by the newspapers and correspondence of the day. Some Navy reports and pre-1900 historians misspelled the name as "Merrimac," which is actually an unrelated ship. Hence "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac". Both spellings are still in use in the Hampton Roads area.

Memorial, heritage

  • It is said the most popular exhibit at Jamestown Exposition
    Jamestown Exposition

    The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States early part of the 20th century....
     held in 1907 at Sewell's Point
    Sewell's Point

    Sewell's Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads....
     was the "Battle of the     Merrimac and Monitor," a diorama which was in a special building.
  • The small community in Montgomery County, Virginia
    Montgomery County, Virginia

    Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 83,629. Its county seat is Christiansburg, Virginia....
     near where the coal burned by the Confederate ironclad was mined is now known as Merrimac, Virginia
    Merrimac, Virginia

    Merrimac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Virginia, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,751 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Blacksburg, Virginia–Christiansburg, Virginia–Radford, Virginia Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metropolitan area which encompasses all of Montgomery County and the city o...
    .
  • Other pieces of Virginia are on display at the Mariners' Museum
    Mariners' Museum

    The Mariners' Museum is located in Newport News, Virginia. It is one of the largest maritime museums in the world....
     in Newport News
    Newport News, Virginia

    Newport News is an independent city in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It is at the south-western end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News Point on the harbor of Hampton Roads....
     and the Museum of the Confederacy
    Museum of the Confederacy

    The Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War ....
     in Richmond
    Richmond, Virginia

    Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
    , where the anchor
    Anchor

    An anchor is an object, often made out of metal, that is used to attach a ship to the bottom of a body of water at a specific point. There are two primary classes of anchors?temporary and permanent....
     has resided on the front lawn for many years.


A gun recovered from the wreckage of the Virginia rests in Fredericksburg, VA next to the old city hall, Now a museum

In 1907, an armour plate from the ship was melted down and used in the casting of the Pokahuntas Bell
Pokahuntas Bell

Named for the Indian princess Pocahontas, the Pokahuntas Bell was created in 1907 to hang in the Virginia Building at the Jamestown Exposition....
 for the Jamestown Exposition
Jamestown Exposition

The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States early part of the 20th century....
.

The name of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel is the 4.6 mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664. It is a four-lane bridge-tunnel composed of bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under a portion of the Hampton Roads harbor where the James River , Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River s come together in the southeastern port...
, built in Hampton Roads in the general vicinity of the famous engagement, with both Virginia and federal funds, also reflects the more recent version.

Should periodic modern efforts to recover more of the Confederate vessel from the depths of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the region of land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Hampton Roads is notable for its year-round ice-free harbor, for United States Navy, U.S....
 prove successful, it is unclear what name will be applied to the remains.

See also

  • Norfolk Naval Shipyard
    Norfolk Naval Shipyard

    The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships....
  • USS Merrimack (1855)
    USS Merrimack (1855)

    USS Merrimack was a frigate of the United States Navy, best known as the hulk upon which CSS Virginia was built during the American Civil War and then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads ....


External links