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Ironclads Battle

Abstract

The first battle of the Ironclads, between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, took place during the American Civil War. The Battle of Hampton Roads, also known as the battle of the ironclads was a monumental event that took place on March 8th and March 9th in 1862 off the Virginia coast.[1] The battle which ended in a draw not only changed naval warfare and technology but also promoted engineers and inventors in social status.[2] Most importantly, the first battle between the ironclads changed the course of maritime history. The battle was the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies as it marked a new era in naval warfare. The steam-powered ironclad vessels introduced a new type of naval craft that would make wooden warships obsolete.

The American Civil War saw a dramatic change in naval warfare technology, steam powered ironclads rose in production in both the Union and Confederate States.[3] The ironclads were so powerful that they upset an ancient axiom of naval warfare that forts were stronger than ships. The innovations in the USS Monitor, such as the revolving gun turret, marked the Civil War as the beginning of a new era in naval warfare.[4] The Battle of Hampton Roads was a revolutionary battle that transformed naval warfare and maritime history.

The Monitor and Merrimac painting from the Mariner Museum

Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads changed the history and technology of naval warfare as it marked the beginning of technological advancements in naval warships and an end to wooden tall ships. On March 9, 1862, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia engaged in the first battle between ironclad warships.[5] It was at Hampton Roads that the true power of ironclad warships was discovered. And, it was in this battle that the revolutionary USS Monitor, with its armored rotating turret first entered combat.

Contemporary map of Battle of Hampton Roads; from Century Magazine, March 1885
Map of events of the Battle of Hampton Roads

John Ericsson
Occupation(s)Engineer, innovator












John Ericsson

Swedish American naval architect and engineer John Ericsson, designer of the USS Monitor and the Passaic-class ironclad monitors faced difficulties when building the Monitor ironclad. The inventor and engineer had to convince not only the naval officers but also President Lincoln on the need for an innovative ironclad.[6] John Ericsson died in 1889 and was buried in Stockholm, Sweden.[7] His role in the ironclad ship USS Monitor’s design, gained fame for its exploits during the U.S. Civil War.

USS Monitor

Print: USS Monitor at sea
USS Monitor

The Union USS Monitor was designed as an iron ship and incorporated numerous new mechanisms. It was a radical innovation that elicited broad and complex reactions to the changes it seemed to foreshadow, both for the future of technological warfare and for mankind’s relationship with technology.[8]

The history of the USS Monitor has undeniably influenced the relationship between man and technology; this can be examined by reviewing public accounts of popular culture, the symbolic and speculative work of literary writers, and the personal experiences of those lived, worked, and fought on the warship.[9]

Although there was no clear victory for the USS Monitor in the battle of Hampton Roads, the USS Monitor stopped the CSS Virginia from causing more havoc to the Union wooden warships and was able to maintain the Union blockade.[10]

CSS Virginia

wash drawing of CSS Virginia by Clary Ray (1898)
CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack)

The CSS Virginia also known as the Merrimack/Merrimac was a Confederate steam frigate whose standard wooden structure was basically clad with iron.[11] CSS Virginia had two layers of two inch iron armor plate covering its entire casement. The Confederacy salvaged old scrap iron, melted it down, and created a new ironclad from the wooden USS Merrimack. The CSS Virginia went on to heave havoc onto the Union wooden ships.

Although the battle of Hampton Roads ended in a draw, the victories of the Confederate ironclad against the Union’s warships; the Cumberland, Congress, and the Minnesota cannot be overlooked. The CSS Virginia was truly a force to be reckoned with.[12]

Significance of the Battle

The Battle of Hampton Roads signified the invisibility of the US Navy and a change in international diplomacy. Howard J. Fuller writes in “Monitor was the primary weapon in a forgotten war ... that was never fought, the war of the Union against Great Britain”.[13] In his essay, Fuller examines the Union and British views of the war and the Union’s responses to an ‘Anglo Rebel’ threat. The usual evaluation of the Monitors relative to Confederate defenses, he emphasizes, must be expanded to include their much more decisive though less obvious deterrent success. The ironclads were both responsible for a significant change in maritime history because soon after the battle of Hampton Roads wooden ships became obsolete and new improved Monitors with the renowned revolving turrets became the only choice for the United States Navy.

Currently, the battle Hampton Roads is commemorated with several historical sites and museums, such as the Mariner's Museum, offering information and facts about the American Civil War. As archaeologists continue to find USS Monitor relics and historians continue to ask new questions about the battle, the Battle of Hampton Roads continues to transform maritime history.[14]

Notes

  • Fuller, Howard J., Clad in Iron: The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008.

External links

References

  1. ^ Symonds, Craig L., The Civil War at Sea. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  2. ^ Paul, David Mel. “A Prodigal Return: John Ericsson’s Swedish Triumph”. Swedish-American Historical Quarterly 64, no. 1 (January 2013): 3-16.
  3. ^ Paul, David Mel. “A Prodigal Return: John Ericsson’s Swedish Triumph”. Swedish-American Historical Quarterly 64, no. 1 (January 2013): 3-16.
  4. ^ Marden, Luis. “Search for the Monitor”. Historic Preservation 38, no. 4 (July 1986): 32-37.
  5. ^ Symonds, Craig L., The Civil War at Sea. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  6. ^ Holzer, Harold and Tim Mulligan. The Battle of Hampton Roads: New Perspectives on the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2006.
  7. ^ Paul, David Mel. “A Prodigal Return: John Ericsson’s Swedish Triumph”. Swedish-American Historical Quarterly 64, no. 1 (January 2013): 3-16.
  8. ^ Garrison, Ervan G. “Three Ironclad Warships-The Archaeology of Industrial Process and Historical Myth”. Historical Archaeology 29, no. 4 (1995): 26-38.
  9. ^ Marden, Luis. “Search for the Monitor”. Historic Preservation 38, no. 4 (July 1986): 32-37.
  10. ^ Marden, Luis. “Search for the Monitor”. Historic Preservation 38, no. 4 (July 1986): 32-37.
  11. ^ Garrison, Ervan G. “Three Ironclad Warships-The Archaeology of Industrial Process and Historical Myth”. Historical Archaeology 29, no. 4 (1995): 26-38.
  12. ^ Still, William N. “Confederate Naval Strategy: The Ironclad”. The Journal of Southern History 27, no. 3 (1961): 330-43.
  13. ^ Fuller, Howard J., Clad in Iron: The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008.
  14. ^ Grieve, Susanne. “The Excavation, Conservation, Storage, and Display of Rubber Artifacts Removed From The USS Monitor (1862)”. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 47, no. 2 (2008): 139-48.
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