Information AboutCss Virginia |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CSS VIRGINIA | |
| naval ships of the confederate states of america | |
| virginia | |
| shipwrecks of the virginia coast | |
CSS ''Virginia'' was an Ironclad Warship of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War (built using the remains of the scuttled USS ''Merrimack'' ). She was one of the participants in the Battle Of Hampton Roads in March, 1862 opposite the USS ''Monitor'' . The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between two powered Ironclad Warship s, which came to be known as ''ironclads''. Prior to then, nearly all warships were made primarily of wood. Afterwards, the design of ships and the nature of naval warfare changed dramatically. USS ''MERRIMACK'' BECOMES CSS ''VIRGINIA'' When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861 , one of the important federal military bases threatened was Gosport Shipyard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard ) in Portsmouth, Virginia . Accordingly, the order was sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into Confederate hands. Unfortunately for the Union, these orders were bungled. The steam frigate USS ''Merrimack'' sank before it completely burned. When the Confederates entered the yard, they raised the ''Merrimack'' and decided to use the engines and hull to build an Ironclad Ram . This new ship was named ''Virginia''. It had an Iron deck and casement, four inches (102 mm) thick. It mounted ten cannons, one in front and rear and four on each side. Further, the designers of the ''Virginia'' had heard of plans by the North to build an ironclad. Figuring that cannon would be unable to harm such a ship, and to conserve gunpowder, they equipped the ''Virginia'' with a ram—the first ship so-equipped in over a thousand yearsdeKay, James, "Monitor", p. 131, Ballantine Books, 1997. The ''Merrimack'''s engines, now part of the ''Virginia'', had not been in good working order, and the salty Elizabeth River water did not help it very much. The addition of a number of tons of iron did not improve the situation. BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS The Battle Of Hampton Roads began on March 8 1862 when ''Virginia'' set out for Hampton Roads . Despite an all-out effort to complete her, the ship still had workmen on board when she sailed. Supported by ''Raleigh'' and ''Beaufort'' , and accompanied by ''Patrick Henry'' , ''Jamestown'' , and ''Teaser'' , ''Virginia'' took on the blockading fleet. The first ship engaged, USS ''Cumberland'' , was sunk after being rammed. However, in sinking, ''Cumberland'' broke off ''Virginia's'' ram. Seeing what happened to ''Cumberland'', the captain of USS ''Congress'' ordered his ship grounded in shallow water. ''Congress'' and ''Virginia'' traded fire for an hour, after which the badly-damaged ''Congress'' surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of ''Congress'' were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on ''Virginia''. In retaliation, the captain of ''Virginia'' ordered ''Congress'' fired upon with red-hot shot, to set her ablaze. ''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 9 March 1862 , the world's first battle between ironclad warships took place. The smaller and nimbler ''Monitor'' was able to outmaneuver ''Virginia'', but neither ship proved able to do significant damage to the other. The Monitor was much closer to the water, so it was much harder to hit by the Virginia's guns. Finally, ''Virginia'' retreated up the James River, leaving ''Monitor'' and the rest of the Union fleet in possession of the "battlefield." 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 refused to fight. 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 burnt to keep her from being captured. 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. ]] 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''". MEMORIAL, HERITAGE
The name of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel , built in Hampton Roads in the general vicinity of the famous engagment, with both Virginia and federal funds, also reflects the more recent version. Should the periodic modern efforts to recover more of the Confederate vessel from the depths of Hampton Roads prove successful, it is unclear what name will be applied to the remains. SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES Military Heritage did a feature on the Merrimack (CSS Virginia), USS Monitor, and the Battle at Hampton Roads (Keith Milton, Military Heritage, December 2001, Volume 3, No. 3, pp.38 to 45 and p. 97). EXTERNAL LINKS
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