Reference Entry
IRONCLADS CLASH AT HAMPTON ROADS
Just two days after Pea Ridge opened, another kind of revolution unfolded in the waters off Virginia. On March 9th, 1862, the Union ironclad Monitor met the Confederate ironclad Virginia (rebuilt from the scuttled Merrimack) in the confined waters of Hampton Roads, one day after the Virginia had mauled wooden Union warships. For hours the two armored vessels circled, rammed, and fired at close range, with shots that would have shattered older hulls glancing off thick iron plating.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Ironclads clash at Hampton Roads
Just two days after Pea Ridge opened, another kind of revolution unfolded in the waters off Virginia. On March 9th, 1862, the Union ironclad Monitor met the Confederate ironclad Virginia (rebuilt from the scuttled Merrimack) in the confined waters of Hampton Roads, one day after the Virginia had mauled wooden Union warships. For hours the two armored vessels circled, rammed, and fired at close range, with shots that would have shattered older hulls glancing off thick iron plating. The duel ended without either ship sinking the other, but the result was unmistakable: wooden ships-of-the-line were now obsolete against armored steam-powered vessels. Navies around the world took careful note, and both Union and Confederate shipyards accelerated work on new ironclads and coastal defenses. For the United States, the Monitor’s stand preserved control of a vital harbor and marked the beginning of a long preoccupation with technological edge at sea, from turreted guns to steel fleets and, eventually, aircraft carriers and submarines.
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