South Newport News , Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Monitor – Merrimack
The Battle of the Ironclads
— 1862 Peninsula Campaign —
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 11, 2008
1. Monitor – Merrimack Marker
Inscription.
Monitor – Merrimack. The Battle of the Ironclads. Lincoln viewed the March 8, 1862, sinking of the USS Congress and USS Cumberland as the greatest Union calamity since Bull Run. Union Secretary of War Edwin W. Stanton feared that “the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) would soon come up the Potomac and disperse Congress, destroy the Capitol and public buildings…” Stanton believed that “McClellan’s mistaken purpose to advance by the Peninsula must be abandoned.”, As the burning Congress set an eerie glow across the harbor the evening of March 8, the USS Monitor arrived in Hampton Roads. It had almost sank enroute from New York. Whereas the Virginia (Merrimack) was “an ingenious adaptation of materials at hand and a tribute to her builder’s skill at improvision,” the Monitor was a completely new concept of naval design created by Swedish inventor John Ericsson. Its revolving turret housed two 11-inch Dahlgrens., On the morning of March 9, 1862, Lt. Jones was surprised to see this “cheesebox on a raft” approach the Virginia (Merrimack) from alongside of the USS Minnesota. During the next two hours the Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimack) dueled each other. The fight continued until a shell hit the Monitor’s pilothouse, blinding her commander, Lt. Lorimer Worden, and causing the Monitor to break off action temporarily. Believing that the Federal ironclad had had enough and suffering from several leaks, Jones ordered the Virginia (Merrimack) back to Norfolk with the receding tide., The two ironclads never fought each other again. The battle, however, had more immediate implications than being a major turning point in naval warfare, as the undefeated Virginia (Merrimack) blocked the James River and closed this approach to Richmond to Federal use. McClellan was concerned that the Virginia (Merrimack) might “paralyze the movement of his army” yet decided to continue the Peninsula Campaign by way of the York River., (captions) , Arrival of the CSS (sic) Monitor at Hampton Roads by J.O. Davidson. , Battle between the Ironclads. – Courtesy of The Mariner’s Museum
Lincoln viewed the March 8, 1862, sinking of the USS Congress and USS Cumberland as the greatest Union calamity since Bull Run. Union Secretary of War Edwin W. Stanton feared that “the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) would soon come up the Potomac and disperse Congress, destroy the Capitol and public buildings…” Stanton believed that “McClellan’s mistaken purpose to advance by the Peninsula must be abandoned.”
As the burning Congress set an eerie glow across the harbor the evening of March 8, the USS Monitor arrived in Hampton Roads. It had almost sank enroute from New York. Whereas the Virginia (Merrimack) was “an ingenious adaptation of materials at hand and a tribute to her builder’s skill at improvision,” the Monitor was a completely new concept of naval design created by Swedish inventor John Ericsson. Its revolving turret housed two 11-inch Dahlgrens.
On the morning of March 9, 1862, Lt. Jones was surprised to see this “cheesebox on a raft” approach the Virginia (Merrimack) from alongside of the USS Minnesota. During the next two hours the Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimack) dueled each other. The fight continued until a shell hit the Monitor’s pilothouse, blinding her commander, Lt. Lorimer Worden, and causing the Monitor
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to break off action temporarily. Believing that the Federal ironclad had had enough and suffering from several leaks, Jones ordered the Virginia (Merrimack) back to Norfolk with the receding tide.
The two ironclads never fought each other again. The battle, however, had more immediate implications than being a major turning point in naval warfare, as the undefeated Virginia (Merrimack) blocked the James River and closed this approach to Richmond to Federal use. McClellan was concerned that the Virginia (Merrimack) might “paralyze the movement of his army” yet decided to continue the Peninsula Campaign by way of the York River.
(captions)
Arrival of the CSS (sic) Monitor at Hampton Roads by J.O. Davidson.
Battle between the Ironclads. – Courtesy of The Mariner’s Museum
Location. 36° 58.941′ N, 76° 23.764′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in South Newport News.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 11, 2008
2. Markers at the Monitor – Merrimack Overlook Park
Several markers and monuments are found at this location. The Monitor – Merrimack marker is on the left in this photo.
Marker is on 16th Street (Virginia Route 167), on the left when traveling west. Marker is located at the Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Newport News VA 23607, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . The Battle of the Ironclads, 1862. EyeWitness to History.com. (Submitted on August 16, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 11, 2008
3. Markers at Hampton Roads
This photo looks out on the site of the famous March 9, 1862 Battle of the Ironclads between the C.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. Monitor.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 11, 2008
4. Monitor – Merrimack Overlook Park
The naval battle fought in these waters signaled the end of the era of wooden war ships and the dawn of the age of iron naval vessels.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
5. CSS Virginia commanding officers, CSN
Capt. Franklin Buchanan was wounded and Lt. Catesby R. Jones assumed command.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
6. USS Monitor commanding officers, USN
Lt. John L. Worden was wounded and Lt. Dana Greene assumed command.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,264 times since then and 36 times this year. Last updated on August 28, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 16, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 5, 6. submitted on August 5, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.