Monitor vs. MerrimackThe Civil War at Sea

Anaconda at SeaDirectly after shells

were first fired at Fort Sumpter, President Lincoln ordered the navy to blockade southern ports

Civil War Naval Strength - NorthThe United States

Navy had approximately 90 ships

By the end of the war the North had approximately 600 ships in service

Civil War Naval Strength - SouthThe Confederates

knew they could never match the north in terms of numbers of ships Lack of industry &

manpowerAt the start of the

war the Confederacy had approximately 12 sea going vessels

C.S.S. Governor Moore

Civil War Naval Strength - SouthConfederates

secretly order “fast cruisers” from English shipyards

The South decided to plate some of their ships with ironUp to that time

almost all ships were made of wood

Shipyard in Liverpool, England.

C.S.S. Galena

Naval TechnologyUp until the Civil War, ironclad ships had not

been tested in battleAll navies of the world still used predominantly

wooden shipsWooden ships were fast and easy to float, but

they were also fragile, and flammable

C.S.S. Richmond

CSS VirginiaA Union ship named

Merrimack was sunk near Norfolk, VirginiaThe Confederates raised

the ship out of the water, and covered her with iron plating

On each side of the roof were holes for five powerful guns

The Confederate Navy renames the Merrimac the C.S.S. Virginia

CSS VirginiaOn March 8,1862,

the Virginia slid into the waterOn that same day,

the Virginia fought and sunk the U.S.S Cumberland and Minnesota

Battle of Hampton RoadsThree Union ships had attempted to save their two

shipsBut, with shells bouncing harmlessly off the Virginia’s

side, the captains chose to fleeWhen the news of the battle reached Washington,

people were in a panic. The South had unleashed a new super weapon.

U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton said the Virginia cold sink every vessel in the North, and it could steam up the Potomac River to Washington and “disperse Congress, destroy the Capitol and public buildings.”

Battle of Hampton Roads

MonitorLong before the launching, spies had

informed the U.S. Navy that the Virginia was being builtThe U.S. Navy decided to secretly build its own

ironclad vessel

A “shingle” with a “chees box” on top

MonitorInside the pilot house of the Monitor, which

revolved around, were two powerful gunsThe Virginia’s guns were stationary

The Monitor was smaller than the Virginia (Merrimack) and easier to maneuver

Monitor vs. MerrimackSunday,

March 9, 1862The shores

of Hampton Roads were lined with people eager to see the battle

Scenes from the BattleNeither ship is able to sink the

otherCannon-fire bounces harmlessly

off of the sides of the new ironclads

Monitor vs. MerrimackThe two fought to a

tactical draw, but again the Virginia had to withdraw to deeper waters giving the Monitor a strategic victory

The Virginia remained a threat, but fears that she would single-handedly destroy the Federal fleet were now abated

Monitor vs. MerrimackOn May 3 the

Confederates began to evacuate Yorktown and withdraw up the York-James PeninsulaThis opened up the

York and James River to Federal gunboats

It also forced the abandonment of Gosport Naval Yard and scuttling of the Virginia which opened up the James River to the Federals

Currier and Ives print of the destruction of the Virginia

Legacy of the BattleThe battle was a draw, although both sides

claimed victoryActually, it was iron ships that won, that battle

finished wooden warshipsCharles F. Adams, U.S. minister to England,

wrote from England that the battle “has been the main talk of the town even in Parliament, …The impression is that it dates the commencement of a new era in warfare.”

Harpers Weekly

Legacy of the Battle