Naval Battles 



Civil War - Monitor vs. Merrimack
        



        The battle on March 9, 1862, between the USS Monitor and the 
 CSS Merrimack, officially the CSS Virginia, is one of the most 
 revolutionary naval battles in world history. Up until that point, all 
 battles had been waged between wooden ships. This was the first battle 
 in maritime history that two ironclad ships waged war.

         The USS Merrimack was a Union frigate throughout most of its 
 existence, up until the Union Navy abandoned the Norfolk Naval Yard. 
 To prevent the Confederate Navy from using her against them, the Union 
 Navy scuttled her. The Confederates, however, raised the ship from the 
 shallow floor of the ocean and began making some major modifications. 
 Confederate engineers cut the hull down to the water line and built a 
 slanted top on it. Then, they bolted four layers of iron sheets, each 
 two inches thick, to the entire structure. Also added was a huge 
 battering ram to the bow of the ship to be used in ramming maneuvers. 
 The ship was then fitted with ten twelve-pound cannons. There were 
 four guns placed on the starboard and port sides, and one on the bow 
 and stern sides. Due to its massive nature the ship's draft was 
 enormous, it stretched twenty-two feet to the bottom. The ship was so 
 slow and long, that it required a turning radius of about one mile. 
 Likened to a "floating barn roof (DesJardien 2)" and not predicted to 
 float, the only individual willing to take command of the ship was 
 Captain Franklin Buchanan. After all the modifications were complete, 
 the ship was rechristened the CSS Virginia, but the original name
 the CSS Merrimack is the preferred name.

         The USS Monitor was the creation of Swedish-American engineer, 
 John Ericsson. The ship was considered small for a warship, only 172 
 feet long and 42 feet wide. Confederate sailors were baffled by the 
 ship. One was quoted describing her as ". . . a craft such as the eyes 
 of a seaman never looked upon before, an immense shingle floating on 
 the water with a giant cheese box rising from its center" (Ward 101). 
 The "cheese box" was a nine by twenty foot revolving turret with two 
 massive guns inside. "The USS Monitor used two of the eleven inch 
 Dahlgran guns . . ." (Lavy 2). These Dahlgran guns were massive rifled 
 cannons that were capable of firing a variety of shot. The armor of 
 this ship was a two inch thick layer of steel that shielded the ship. 
 The deck was so low to the water line, about one foot, that waves 
 frequently washed over the deck causing the ship to lose its balance 
 in the water. Due to the low profile, the entire crew was located 
 below the water line, so one armor piercing hit would kill the entire 
 crew. Like the CSS Merrimack, the USS Monitor was expected to sink, it 
 was referred to as "Ericsson's Folly" (DesJardien 2). The only 
 individual willing to take command of the ship was Lieutenant John 
 Worden.

         The battle at Hampton Roads was part of the Peninsula Campaign 
 that lasted from March to August of 1862. There was a total of five 
 ships engaged in the battle. From the US Navy, there were four ships, 
 the USS Congress, USS Minnesota, USS Cumberland, and the USS Monitor. 
 The CS Navy had one ship, the CSS Merrimack. On March 8, 1862, the CSS
 Merrimack steamed into Hampton Roads. She proceeded to sink the USS 
 Cumberland and then ran the USS Congress aground. Captain Buchanan 
 then set his sights on the already handicapped USS Minnesota. The USS 
 Minnesota was run aground on one of the shores. Capt. Buchanan did not 
 know, but the USS Monitor was lying in wait, ordered to protect the
 wounded USS Minnesota. Lt. Worden steamed out into the middle of the 
 bay to meet the CSS Merrimack. The USS Monitor fired first in a drawn 
 out battle that lasted about four and a half hours. "They fired shot, 
 shell, grape, canister, musket and rifle balls doing no damage to each 
 other" (Lavy 3). 

         After four and a half hours, the CSS Merrimack withdrew due to 
 falling tides. The USS Monitor did not make chase because of a crack 
 in the turret. The results of the battle were inconclusive, neither 
 side could claim victory. The estimated casualties resulting from the 
 battle were extensive. The Union lost about 409 sailors and the 
 Confederacy lost about 24 sailors. The battle was so impressive to
 the leaders of both the Union and the Confederacy, that they 
 contracted their Naval yards to have more ironclad ships built.
 Additions to the Confederate fleet included the CSS Tennessee, a 209 
 foot long blockade runner with four broadside cannons and pivoted 
 cannons at the bow and stern. Additions to the Union Navy included the 
 USS Carondelet. Armed with thirteen guns and stationed on the 
 Mississippi, she was a formidable opponent. Prior to the building of 
 the USS Monitor, the USS New Ironsides was built. "It was the 
 strongest ship ever built by the Northern Navy" (Lavy 4). Wooden ships 
 were now obsolete. Ironclad ships began to roll out of ship yards more 
 often than their wooden counterparts. "The invention of ironclads in 
 the Civil War set examples for the future of ship building in the 
 United States" (Lavy 5).

         The ironclads were at an advantage over the wooden ships of 
 the two Navies because of their superior technology. Ironclads could 
 withstand hours of battering by artillery, and they could be used to 
 cut traffic lanes through mine fields. Their armor could resist the 
 blast from a mine considerably better than any wooden ship could. They 
 could also carry more powerful guns. Due to their increased stability 
 in the water these massive ships could easily endure the recoil of a 
 huge cannon. Another useful characteristic of the ironclads was their 
 ability to be used in ramming missions. The hull of the ship would not 
 be compromised by a hit associated with ramming a wooden vessel. 

         Because of Civil War technology, the United States has never 
 built another wooden battleship since the introduction of the 
 ironclads. Every armed conflict since then has seen more and more 
 improvements in the way ironclad ships were built. The introduction of 
 multiple massive turrets in the late 1800s improved the firepower 
 dramatically. Later renovations included improved power plants and 
 more devastating weapons. Perhaps the greatest renovation came in the 
 pre-World War I era with the introduction of the aircraft carrier. 
 Today, ironclad ships are so advanced that they are scarcely bigger 
 than the ironclads used in the Civil War, but they are hundreds if not 
 thousands times more powerful.

         Although the wooden ship has proved extremely effective in 
 naval battles throughout history, the advent of the ironclad totally
 revolutionized the way in which naval forces around the world approach 
 warfare. "From the moment the two ships opened fire that Sunday 
 morning, every other navy on earth was obsolete" (Ward 102).

 ---
 Works Cited

 DesJardien, Matt. "The Ironclads." www.shorelin.wednet.edu/Echo 
 Lake/Civil War/Matt D*Ironclads.html.

 Lavy, Gabe. "A Comparison of the Role and Importance of the Northern 
 and Southern Navies to the Fighting of the Civil War."
 www.geocities.com/Athens/2391/Final.htm.

 "Monitor v. Merrimack," Microsoft Encarta 1996 Encyclopedia. Microsoft 
 Corp., Funk and Wagnalls Corp. 1993-95.

 Ward, Geoffrey C. The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: 
 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990.



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