March 8-9, 1862 - Hampton Roads; Monitor-Merrimack Battle
March 9, 1862
Hampton Roads; Monitor-Merrimack Battle; Battle of the Ironclads
Hampton Roads, VA
Union John L. Worden > USS Monitor
vs.
Confederate Franklin Buchanan > CSS Virginia
* "The first engagement of ironclad warships during the Civil War"
* Really, the first engagement of ironclad warships <period>
* On the first day, the CSS Virginia kicks ASS, sinking one ship via ramming and disabling another while deflecting all shots. The next day the Monitor shows up.
* The ironclads fought to a draw, but the Monitor halted Confederate threats to the Union blockage and prevented further damage to Federal ships
My first stop tracing the battle of the Ironclads was Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park in Newport News on the water, essentially overlooking the spot of some of the action.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=180514 Again, I am asking you for the sake of my sanity to pretend that this marker is physically identical to the one pictured in the database; don't look too hard. "From this spot March 9, 1862, observers anxiously awaited the outcome of one of the most famous naval battles of all time – between the Confederate ironclad Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) and the Union ironclad Monitor. After four hours inconclusive combat, with neither vessel able to destroy the other, the contest ended in a draw. But the world took notice and the age of iron shipbuilding was so ushered into being there." And more, from some un-photographed markers: Monitor – MerrimackThe Battle of the Ironclads— 1862 Peninsula Campaign —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 en-route 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." And, also at this location: Birth of Naval Aviation“The value of the aeroplane for the Navy is unquestioned.” – Eugene B. Ely "Naval aviation dates from November 14, 1910, when stunt pilot Eugene B. Ely coaxed a Curtiss “Pusher” biplane from the deck of the cruiser “Birmingham” in these waters, landing in nearby Norfolk. Despite detractors, Ely secured private funding and Navy aid for his daring effort, launching a virtual revolution in military aviation." |
Next, I visited the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, which houses parts of the actual Monitor and all sorts of exhibits about it.
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| Titus Andronicus fans get it. (If you haven't heard their rock-opera about the Battle of the Ironclads then you should.) |
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| Yep, the museum is proud to display the actual turret. |
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| Actual lantern from The Monitor. |
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| This might be a life-size recreation of the Merrimack, or parts of it. |
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| Brief mention of Prof. Thaddeus Lowe and his magnificent flying balloons, seen here on a model of a USS barge. |
"the greatest event in naval history"
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| Life-size replica of the Monitor outside. |
From the wreck of The Monitor.
Restoring The Monitor.
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Hey, I'll take what I can get at this point.     More on Lee's Mill later Then it was on to Christopher Newport Park, downtown on the water. The park has fallen into disrepair. In fact, it was closed, crumbling, and populated with unsavory characters - but of course that did not stop me. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=16568 |
"Newport News
1607 - 1957This area was blessed with abundant springs famous to mariners for centuries after the great sea captain Christopher Newport visited here en-route to Jamestown in May 1607 in command of the first permanent English settlers of the New World. Thus began the great ports of Hampton Roads. First called Point Hope, it became Newport News between 1608 and 1619 and is the oldest English place name of any city in America. The name derives by tradition from the news received here of Captain Newport on his return voyages to supply Jamestown. Newport News was settled shortly after Jamestown and before 1619 was included in the corporation of Kecoughtan. In 1621, an extensive fortified plantation was established by Daniel Gookin, a native of Kent England. It was one of the few places to withstand the Great Indian Massacre of 1622. The future city was divided in 1634 between Elizabeth City Shire and Warwick River Shire. While the tobacco convoys made up off Newport News from the earliest days and ships stopped for water, the community was basically devoted to agriculture until the War Between the States, when a large Federal encampment was established. The major part of the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac (Virginia), ushering in the Age of Iron Ships, took place off-shore in 1862. Collis P. Huntington founded in 1880 the Atlantic terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In 1882 most of Newport News became a part of Warwick County. Mr. Huntington further developed the area by establishing what is now the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in 1886. The county seat of Warwick was moved here from 1888 until 1896, when Newport News became an independent city on January 16. It was a leading military port in the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. The American invasion of North Africa was launched from Newport News in 1942. It is now the largest tobacco and single terminal coal port in the world. In its shipyard have been built many of the nation’s largest and most famous naval and merchant ships, including U.S.S. Newport News, a flagship of the U.S. Navy.   "Born October 22, 1821, Harwinton, Connecticut Died August 13, 1900, “Pine Knot Camp.” New York ---------- • ---------- Sculpted and presented by Anna Hyatt Huntington Dedicated October 22, 1966 Right of Monument: Collis Potter Huntington Founder, 1869 – 1881 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Deep-Water Terminal ---------- • ---------- “This is a point so designed and adapted by nature that it will require comparatively little at the hands of man to fit it for our purpose. The roadstead, well known to all maritime circles, is large enough to float the ocean commerce of the world.” ---------- • ---------- “It’s the best half acre in the world.” Back of Monument: Collis Potter Huntington Founder, 1871 – 1896 City of Newport News ---------- • ---------- “I was first there in 1837, and thought then that there was no better place in this country for a city, which should sometime be the greatest in the United States.” ---------- • ---------- Tribute by Joaquin Miller – 1897: "to Collis P. Huntington, who has done the greater west and south more enduring good than any other living man.” Left of Monument: Collis Potter Huntington Founder, 1886 – 1890 Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company ---------- • ---------- “We shall build good ships here, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good ships.” ---------- • ---------- “I am particularly anxious for the sake of the old flag and what it shall represent on the high seas, that the Newport News Shipyard shall turn out for the nation splendid vessels of which the country and the builders may be proud.”   re: March 8th 
And in honor of the 252 valiant American sailors – 5 Confederate, 247 Union – who gave their lives to defend a cause they believed to be just on March 8, 1862, during the battle off Newport News between the Confederate ironclad Virginia (ex-Merrimack), 2 killed; the Confederate gunboats Raleigh and Beaufort, 3 killed; the Union sloop-of-war Cumberland, 121 killed; the Union frigate Congress, 120 killed; the Union steam frigate Minnesota, 3 killed; and the Union stream tender Whitehall, 3 and killed. This was the day before the celebrated duel between the C.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. Monitor which ended in a draw and in which no lives were lost." "A cause they believed to be just" I'll allow it. And also  A Great Confederate Naval Victory"On March 8, 1862, the day before her epic battle with the U.S.S. Monitor, the Confederate ironclad ram Virginia (formerly the U.S.S. Merrimack) engaged and sank in the James River two powerful Union sailing Ships of War, the U.S.S. Cumberland and the U.S.S. Congress, and also silenced Union shore batteries on the bluffs at Newport News. Despite the gallant defense of these vessels, that day’s action vividly demonstrated the superiority of metal over wood. The victory was a high point in the hopes of the Confederacy. The sinking of these powerful wooden warships was witnessed with dismay by Federal forces at Camp Butler which then included the site of this park. The length of anchor chain from the U.S.S. Cumberland displayed here was recovered from the river bottom in 1909." And now I understand where Camp Butler was located. No site of the anchor chain though. It's probably in the Mariner's Museum now. IDK  Hampton Comes Alive  And then finally a visit to Lee Hall while in the area. Like the War Museum, there were exhibits here about the Ironclads and Big Bethel. See May 4, 1862 for more on Lee Hall.   In conclusion  I like this map because it shows the various locations covered here and elsewhere for the Peninsula Campaign, including the park, Fort Monroe, and the Mariner's Museum. Big Bethel is where Langley is. The Confederates were in Norfolk. Oh, and by the way, that armor on the sides of the Monitor... from iron works in the Canton area of Baltimore, baby! |
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/hampton-roads
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