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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 03/09/2003 12:01:05 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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On March 9, 1862, Hampton Roads was the scene of a terrific engagement, which revolutionized naval warfare. The first battle between ironclad ships, often called the Monitor-Merrimack (Virginia) engagement, is perhaps the most significant naval event of the entire Civil War. This duel is an epic tale that tells how steam-powered iron ships rang the death knell for wooden vessels and echoed the dawn of modern navies.  When the Confederate batteries encircling Charleston Harbor opened fire on Fort Sumter during the early morning of April 12, 1861, the bombardment set in motion a naval race resulting in the first battle between ironclad ships. Little did the Confederates realize that soon their harbors would be blockaded by the Union fleet attempting to sever the vital link between the agrarian South and industrialized European nations. The question in the spring of 1861 was how could the Confederacy maintain this critical industrial lifeline. Onto this stage stepped Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Russell Mallory. Perhaps one of Jefferson Davis' better cabinet appointments, Mallory served as the pre-war chairman of the U.S. Senate's Naval Affairs Committee and immediately recognized that the South could never match the North's superior shipbuilding capabilities unless a novel weapon was introduced into the fray. Mallory's solution was to build or purchase a fleet of ironclad vessels.  The concept of pitting "iron against wood" was not new naval warfare. The Koreans had repulsed a Japanese invasion in 1592 with an iron-covered "tortoise ship," and during the Crimean War the French utilized floating ironcased batteries to shell Russian forts. Based on this experience in 1859, the French navy launched the Gloire, which was a traditional warship design covered with iron plates. The Royal Navy, not to be outdone by the French, introduced an ambitious production program. The H.M.S. Warrior and H.M.S. Black Prince were two of 10 armorclads under construction in British shipyards by early 1861. Despite the European rush to build iron warships, the U.S. Navy had not made any concerted effort to construct armored vessels by the time of the Civil War. Mallory's desire to construct Confederate blockade-breaking iron-plated steam ships was given a tremendous boost when Virginia seceded from the Union. The Federals were forced to abandon Gosport Navy Yard across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk in Portsmouth. Gosport had been one of the U.S. Navy's finest shipyards, containing excellent shipbuilding facilities and materials. Of perhaps equal importance was that the retreating Federals had scuttled several ships, including the steam frigate U.S.S. Merrimack. The Confederates then raised the Merrimack and began to convert the frigate into an ironclad. The effort would tax Southern resources severely, yet it was an amazing test of Confederate ingenuity. The Merrimack was completely reconfigured during its conversion. A 178-foot long slope-sided casemate, covered by 4 inches of ironplate bolted to 24 inches of oak and pine backing, was constructed atop the ship's charred hull. The ironclad was armed with six 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, and two 7-inch Brooke rifles, which served as pivot guns. A 6-foot-long, 1,500-pound cast iron ram completed the vessel's weaponry.  The Merrimack was launched on Feb. 17, 1862, and recommissioned as the C.S.S. Virginia. The ironclad appeared to be a powerful vessel, but there were numerous defects. With her 268-foot length and draught of 22 feet, the Virginia proved to be difficult to maneuver. The two salvaged 600-horsepower engines of the old Merrimack, previously condemned, were used to propel the Virginia. Lt. John Taylor Wood noted that the ironclad was as unmanageable as a "waterlogged vessel." While the Southerners grappled with the Merrimack's conversion, Union leaders also recognized the importance of building ironclads. The U.S. Navy established an ironclad board in August 1861 to review armored ship concepts. The board reluctantly selected John Ericsson's novel design as one of three iron vessels to be constructed in East Coast shipyards. The U.S.S. Monitor, initially called "Ericsson's Folly," was truly a unique vessel. The ironclad was 173 feet in length, weighed 776 tons and had a beam of 41.5 feet. With a draft of 11 feet and a freeboard of less than 1 foot, the ironclad was virtually awash with the sea. The Monitor's most impressive and dominant feature was its rotating turret, which contained two 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgrens. One crew member noted the ironclad as "the strangest craft I had ever seen"; and another observed before the Monitor left New York, "She had not been pronounced seaworthy, and no one could safely judge of her fighting qualities." The Monitor was constructed in a little more than 100 days. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wanted the Union ironclad to reach Hampton Roads quickly to destroy the Confederate ironclad in drydock. His dreams would be shattered by a mere day.  Even though both ironclads were ready for battle by early March 1862, the Merrimack, now re-christened as the C.S.S. Virginia, would win the race to gain naval supremacy in Hampton Roads. While the Monitor struggled against a gale along the mid-Atlantic coast toward the Chesapeake Capes, the Confederate ironclad embarked on its first cruise. The Confederates, however, were unsure of the vessel's capabilities as the ironclad steamed away from its dock at Gosport Navy Yard. Most of the officers and crew believed the trip down river was just a trial run, but Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan had other thoughts. "Old Buck" had been assigned to the Virginia because of his aggressive nature and he planned to test the vessel in combat. Buchanan had corresponded with Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, commander of the Confederate Army of the Peninsula, in late February to develop a joint Army-Navy operation against the Union Camp Butler on Newport News Point. Even though "Prince John" had agreed initially to this plan, he backed off as time neared to execution, stating that "no one ship can produce such an impression upon the troops at Newport News as to cause them to evacuate the fort." Undaunted, when the Virginia reached Craney island at 12:30 pm on March 8, 1862, Buchanan ordered the ironclad forward to attack the Union fleet. The Virginia entered Hampton Roads appearing, according to Henry Reaney of the tugboat Zouave, like "the roof of a very big barn belching forth smoke as from a chimney on fire." The entire Union fleet went to battle stations. The Federals had been expecting the ironclad for some time and the U.S.S. Congress and U.S.S. Cumberland were positioned off Newport News Point. Buchanan's first target was the Cumberland. He previously had told Chief Engineer H. Ashton Ramsay, "I am going to ram the Cumberland, I'm told she has the new rifles, the only ones in their whole fleet we have cause to fear. The moment we are out in the Roads I'm going to make right for her and ram her." As the Virginia began her run at the Cumberland, the Union ships and shore batteries began shelling the ironclad with little impact. The shot "had no effect on her," noted Lt. Thomas O. Selfridge of the Cumberland "but glanced off like pebble stones." Methodically passing the 50-gun U.S.S.Congress, the Virginia rammed the 24-gun sailing sloop-of-war Cumberland, creating a hole, according to Lt. John Taylor Wood, "wide enough to drive in a horse and cart." The mortally wounded Cumberland began to sink and trapped the Virginia's ram within her. The Virginia's engines struggled to free her from being pulled under the waves with the Cumberland. The ironclad survived only because her ram broke off.  The Virginia backed clear and continued to pour shot and shell into the Cumberland. Both were now engulfed in gun smoke. The Virginia's sloped sides, coated with grease to help deflect shot, began to crackle and pop from the heat. Midshipman Hardin Littlepage recalled that the ironclad seemed to be "frying from one end to the other." Littlepage later recounted one excited exchange between two crew members: "Jack, don't this smell like hell?" "It certainly does, and I think that we will all be there in a few minutes." It was indeed hell on the Cumberland. Master Moses Stuyvesant remembered it as "a scene of carnage and destruction never to be recalled without horror." Finally, the Cumberland lurched forward and sank with all her flags flying as Lt. George U. Morris called to the crew, "Give them a Broadside boys, as she goes." Buchanan now turned his ironclad toward the Congress. The Union frigate had run aground trying to escape, and the Virginia could approach only within a hundred yards, pounding the Congress with shot and shell for almost an hour until the Congress surrendered. While overseeing the removal of the wounded from the Congress, musket fire from troops on Newport News Point wounded Buchanan. He ordered the destruction of the Congress and then gave up his command to Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones. The Virginia moved to attack the U.S.S. Minnesota, one of three vessels that had run aground coming to the aid of the Cumberland and Congress, and was saved from certain destruction only because the tide had ebbed. The Confederate ironclad returned to Sewell's Point determined to finish destroying the Union fleet the next morning. President Abraham Lincoln viewed the sinking of the Congress and Cumberland as the greatest calamity since Bull Run. Secretary of War Edwin W. Stanton feared that the Merrimack would "soon come up the Potomac and disperse Congress, destroy the Capitol and public buildings." Little did Northern leaders realize that the Confederate ironclad was considered by its commander so unseaworthy that it could not leave Hampton Roads.  As the Union high command fretted, the U.S.S. Monitor, which almost had sunk en route from New York, entered Hampton Roads aglow from the flames consuming the Congress. The Union ironclad positioned itself next to the U.S.S. Minnesota to await the return of the C.S.S. Virginia. On the morning of March 9, Catesby Jones got the Virginia underway only to be amazed by the sight of the Monitor moving away from the Minnesota. One Confederate noted, "Such a craft as the eyes of a seaman never looked upon before - an immense shingle floating in the water, with a gigantic cheesebox rising from its center; no sails, no wheels, no smokestack, no guns. What could it be?" Jones immediately recognized it as Ericsson's iron battery. During the next four hours, the Monitor and Virginia dueled each other, often at a range of less than 10 yards. Neither vessel was able to gain an advantage. Worden hoped that firing his heavy shot, 168-pound spherical projectiles using 15 pounds of powder, would loosen or break the Virginia's ironplates. In turn, the Virginia was at a disadvantage. She had only explosive shells, hot shot, and canister specifically to use against wooden vessels. Thus, Jones's strategy was to concentrate on the Minnesota and if necessary to try to ram or board the Monitor. The Monitor's small size and quickness frustrated the Confederates, who tried to fire at the Union ironclad's gun ports but discovered that the turret revolved too quickly. Nevertheless, there were several problems on board the Monitor despite her many technological advantages. The port stoppers proved to be almost too heavy to operate and only one gun could be fired at a time. Both ports were left open because it was the only way to enhance the gun crew's vision since the communications system between the pilothouse and turret failed to perform. The turret's rotating system also malfunctioned. Thus, the turret could not be stopped with any precision. Eventually, the guns were discharged - on the fly as the turret turned past the target.  After two hours of combat, the Virginia finally was able to move against the Minnesota when the Monitor withdrew to replenish ammunition, yet ran aground. For almost an hour the Union ironclad fired shot against the Confederate vessel's iron sides. The Virginia finally freed itself and rammed the Monitor, but only with a glancing blow. The Monitor's evasive action enabled Jones to attack the Minnesota again until the Monitor once again could block the Virginia's attack against the wooden vessel. The Monitor now decided to ram the Virginia, seeking to strike the larger ironclad propeller and disable her. The Union ironclad missed her target because of a malfunctioning steering system. As the Monitor passed the stern of the Virginia, a shot hit the Monitor's pilothouse, blinding her commander, Lt. John Lorimer Worden, and causing the Monitor to break off action temporarily. Jones considered renewing the attack against the Minnesota but the receding tide prompted him to order the Virginia back to Norfolk. Lt. Samuel Dana Greene, the Monitor's executive officer, finally was able to bring the Federal ironclad back into action as the Virginia steamed away. The first battle between ironclads was over. The two vessels were destined never to fight each other again and both were later destroyed, the Virginia by its own crew on May 11, 1862, the Monitor by a storm on Dec. 31, 1862. Neither ironclad had been damaged seriously during the March 9 engagement and both claimed victory. Tactical success must be accorded to the Monitor, as the Union ironclad had defended the Minnesota and the rest of the wooden Union fleet effectively. The strategic victor, however, was the Virginia, as the Confederate ironclad retained control of Hampton Roads. The Virginia's ability to defend Norfolk and the James River approach to Richmond altered and delayed Union Gen. George B. McClellan's attempt to strike at the Confederate capital by way of the Peninsula.  Perhaps of even greater importance was the engagement's impact on naval warfare. The Virginia's sinking of two wooden vessels on March 8 and the technological superiority of the Monitor's iron revolving turret in effect sank all of the world's wooden navies. Iron now ruled supreme across the seas.
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Acquisition.--Seized by the Confederates in 1861 at Gosport Navy Yard and converted into an ironclad.
| 'It will be remembered that the Virginia was a novelty in naval architecture, wholly unlike any ship that ever floated; that her heaviest guns were equal novelties in ordnance; that her motive power and her obedience to her helm were untried, and her officers and crew strangers comparatively to the ship and to each other, and yet, under all these disadvantages, the dashing courage and consummate professional ability of Flag-Officer Buchanan and his associates achieved the most remarkable victory which naval annals record.' -- S. R. MALLORY, -- Gideon Welles |
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