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The Battle of Hampton Roads
The age of the wooden ship and fixed cannons orderly protruding from the hulls of these ships was in far swing when the Civil War rolled around. The Anaconda plan put into action by the Union utilized the warships they had to cut off the Confederacy and sever their lifeline. Of course, the Confederacy did not stand for this. They sent a ship, the CSS Virginia, a ship made off the scuttle lower hull of the steamship USS Merrimack and was outfitted with a cast-iron ram, as well as iron plates around it. The ship, unlike wooden ships, was low to the surface of the water and appeared much like a turtle with the shell protruding. The sides of the ship had cannons coming out of the hull, much like the wooden ships commonly seen. The iron ship had 14 cannons, and the iron plates allowed the Merrimack to be nearly invincible to iron shot.
Only something truly special could stop the iron juggernaut about to roll into Hampton Roads and steamroll the wooden frigates there, and the Union had a plan. What met the CSS Virginia was what described as “a cheesebox on a raft”, and did look like that. A small, short cylinder on top of an oblong undersection was what looked like the USS Monitor. The cylinder was what made the USS Monitor so special – It was the first of the design of a turret that contained two cannons and freely rotated to allow the Monitor to attack without positioning the whole ship. The small understory of the Monitor, which was submerged sometimes, contained cramped quarters where the crew moved about.
The CSS Virginia managed to pillage Hampton Roads for a while, sinking the USS Cumberland, a sloop of war, with her ram, and sunk the USS Congress with cannon. The Union ships were unprepared and did not manage to effectively stop the Virginia, as she also injured the USS Minnesota. The Monitor managed to meet the Virginia after struggling through the waters and began a long duel. Due to a large amount of armor, the duel was a practical stalemate. At one point, the Virginia hit the pilothouse and blinded the pilot of the Monitor. The attempts to ram by the larger Virginia had no effect. Eventually, the Virginia was forced back by the tide and the time.
Though the battle ended in a stalemate, the effect of the battle established the dominance of armored ships and most importantly the power of the turreted cannon.
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By Joshua Wu
5
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The age of the wooden ship and fixed cannons orderly protruding from the hulls of these ships was in far swing when the Civil War rolled around. The Anaconda plan put into action by the Union utilized the warships they had to cut off the Confederacy and sever their lifeline. Of course, the Confederacy did not stand for this. They sent a ship, the CSS Virginia, a ship made off the scuttle lower hull of the steamship USS Merrimack and was outfitted with a cast-iron ram, as well as iron plates around it. The ship, unlike wooden ships, was low to the surface of the water and appeared much like a turtle with the shell protruding. The sides of the ship had cannons coming out of the hull, much like the wooden ships commonly seen. The iron ship had 14 cannons, and the iron plates allowed the Merrimack to be nearly invincible to iron shot.
Only something truly special could stop the iron juggernaut about to roll into Hampton Roads and steamroll the wooden frigates there, and the Union had a plan. What met the CSS Virginia was what described as “a cheesebox on a raft”, and did look like that. A small, short cylinder on top of an oblong undersection was what looked like the USS Monitor. The cylinder was what made the USS Monitor so special – It was the first of the design of a turret that contained two cannons and freely rotated to allow the Monitor to attack without positioning the whole ship. The small understory of the Monitor, which was submerged sometimes, contained cramped quarters where the crew moved about.
The CSS Virginia managed to pillage Hampton Roads for a while, sinking the USS Cumberland, a sloop of war, with her ram, and sunk the USS Congress with cannon. The Union ships were unprepared and did not manage to effectively stop the Virginia, as she also injured the USS Minnesota. The Monitor managed to meet the Virginia after struggling through the waters and began a long duel. Due to a large amount of armor, the duel was a practical stalemate. At one point, the Virginia hit the pilothouse and blinded the pilot of the Monitor. The attempts to ram by the larger Virginia had no effect. Eventually, the Virginia was forced back by the tide and the time.
Though the battle ended in a stalemate, the effect of the battle established the dominance of armored ships and most importantly the power of the turreted cannon.