4/13/2024 0 Comments Virginia beach civil warCatesby Jones, now in command of Virginia, prepares the Rebel ironclad for another assault. Steaming towards the steam frigate USS Minnesota, the Virginia begins to take her new victim under fire. As the Virginia approaches Minnesota, Jones notices a strange raft-like vessel by its side. With the Monitor now bearing down on the Virginia, the Confederate ironclad shifts its fire to this newcomer with the large, two-gun rotating iron turret. The two ironclads settle down to a close-range slug fest. With daylight waning and its captain needing medical attention, the Virginia halts its attack and returns to the safety of the Elizabeth River. Virginia pounds the frigate with its powerful broadsides. Unable to maneuver, Congress is quickly wrecked by Confederate gunfire and catches fire. Around 4:00 p.m., Congress lowers her flag. Hoping to accept Congress’s formal surrender, Buchanan, who has come out onto his ship’s upper deck under a white flag, is wounded by a musket ball fired from Union infantry ashore. With one opponent vanquished, Virginia turns on the nearby USS Congress. Seeking to avoid the same fate that befell the Cumberland, the Congress runs aground nearby. Cumberland goes to the bottom with her colors flying, taking 121 Union sailors down with her. Virginia dislodges itself from Cumberland’s side, but the lethal iron ram breaks off. Under the command of Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, Virginia heads straight for the sloop of war USS Cumberland off Newport News Point. Around 2:00 p.m., Virginia strikes the Cumberland with its ram, smashing a huge hole in Cumberland’s wooden hull. While the battle was inconclusive, the Monitor’s action’s prevented the destruction of the Union navy. Worden, it was prepared to defend the rest of the Federal fleet from the seemingly invincible Confederate monster. A new and innovative warship silently slipped into Hampton Roads during the night of March 8, 1862. The USS Monitor, a steam-powered ironclad with a revolving gun turret, was the radical invention of John Ericsson. The Union navy quickly had to come up with their own answer to the ironclad warship. News of the Virginia caused panic in Washington. They rechristened the ship the CSS Virginia. The Confederates raised Merrimack from the mud of the Elizabeth River, moved her into an undamaged graving dock, and transformed her into a heavily armed ironclad vessel. The USS Merrimack had been scuttled and her upper works destroyed by fire. Navy at the Gosport Naval Yard in Portsmouth were hastily sunk or destroyed by retreating Union forces. To achieve this goal, the Confederates sought to take advantage of what the Yankees left behind. After Virginia seceded in April 1861, many of the ships and repair facilities of the U. With no formidable vessels to choose from, Mallory decided instead to challenge the Union navy with the latest technology: warships clad with iron. Confederate secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, scrambled to find a solution. Warships were needed to break the blockade, but the Confederates had few resources at hand. In the earliest weeks of the war, President Abraham Lincoln implemented a blockade off the southern coast, preventing Confederate trade, particularly the sale of cotton, with the outside world. However, the Monitor halted Confederate threats to the Union blockade and prevented damage to the Federal fleet. The USS Monitor and CSS Virginia battled for hours before reaching a stalemate-neither carried the kind of armor-piercing shells necessary to pierce an iron hull. While neither side could claim victory, the battle demonstrated the viability of ironclad technology and provided a glimpse into the future of naval warfare. The Battle of Hampton Roads was the first engagement of ironclad warships during the Civil War and was fought between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaigns.Stop the Largest Rezoning in Orange County History.Protect the Heart of Chancellorsville Battlefield.Stop the Prince William Digital Gateway & Protect Manassas Battlefield.Send Students to Learn History Where It Occurred. Phase Four of Gaines’ Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign.Preserve 15 Acres at Gettysburg – Willoughby's Run.Help Save 261 Acres of Revolutionary War History.Save 184 Tennessee Western Theater Acres at Shiloh and Stones River.Help Save 29 Critical Acres of Hallowed Ground in Virginia.Virtual Tours View All See Antietam now!.National Teacher Institute July 11 - 14, 2024 Learn More.USS Constitution In 4 Minutes Watch Video.African Americans During the Revolutionary War.The First American President: Setting the Precedent.
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