Coastal Ironclads: C.S.S. Virginia By CivilWarTalk Published: December 11, 2006 PrintEmail
Virginia did not emerge from the battle unscathed. Shot from Cumberland, Congress, and 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, which had run aground on a sandbank trying to escape Virginia. However, because of the deep draft of the ship, 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 fleet.
Later that night, the USS Monitor arrived at Union-held Fort Monroe. This Union ironclad had been rushed to Hampton Roads in hopes of protecting the Union fleet and preventing Virginia from threatening Union cities.
The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclad warships took place. The smaller and nimbler Monitor was able to out-maneuver Virginia, but neither ship proved able to do significant damage to the other although both were damaged. The Monitor was much closer to the water, so it was much harder to hit by the Virginia's guns, but vulnerable to ramming and boarding. Finally, Monitor retreated leaving the CSS Virginia in possession of the "battlefield." This was due to the fact that the captain of the Monitor was hit by gunpowder in his eyes which caused the Monitor to back off and the captain of the Virginia, Catesby ap Roger Jones, thought it best to then back off to tend to any damages. The Union fleet remained, but well out of the way of the Confederate ironclad and the Monitor refused to fight the Virginia again.
During the next two months, Virginia made several sorties to Hampton Roads hoping to draw Monitor into battle. Monitor, however, was under orders not to engage Virginia and thus refused to fight the Virginia. Neither ironclad was ever to fight again.
Finally on May 10, 1862, advancing Union troops occupied Norfolk. Virginia was unable to retreat further up the James River due to her deep draft, nor was she seaworthy enough to enter the ocean. Without a home port, Virginia was ordered blown up to keep her from being captured. This task was that of Catesby ap Roger Jones, the last man to leave the CSS Virginia after all of her guns had been safely removed and carried to Drewy's Bluff to fight again. Early on the morning of May 11, 1862, off Craney Island, the flames reached her magazine and the ship was destroyed by a great explosion. The Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras while being towed taking 16 lives down with her.
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.
She was commissioned by the Confederacy as Virginia. However, even after she was rebuilt, the Union preferred to call the Confederate ironclad warship by her earlier name, Merrimack. Perhaps because the Union won the US Civil War, the history of the United States generally records the Union version. However, in an apparent quirk in history, at some later time, the name commonly used was shortened to drop the final "-k", hence "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac". There had been several ships named Merrimac but this one was named Merrimack after the Merrimack River, and this difference led to some of the confusion in spelling. Even many Confederates called her the Merrimac as attested to by their correspondence.
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