There are few battles as famous as the battle at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862. Just a day after the ironclad CSS Virginia (converted from the USS Merrimack) easily destroys several wooden ships on its trial run, the very much different ironclad USS Monitor, also on its trial run, arrives and the two duel to a draw. The day of wooden ships was now over. `Whereas,' said London Times, `we had one hundred and forty-nine first-class warships, we have now but two."

Either of the two vessels could have destroyed the other. The Virginia had no solid shot which may have penetrated the armor of the Monitor. The Monitor, on the other hand, used less than full charges of powder in its gun. The Monitor's designer, Ericsson, was incensed at this and felt that full charges would have enabled the shells to penetrate the 4-inch armor on the Virginia. (The conservative limit on the powder charges can be traced to the USS Princeton disaster in 1844 when an experimental gun exploded, killing the Secretary of State and a Representative. Ericsson was involved in designing a different experimental gun aboard that trail run.) Both vessels had other vulnerabilities. The Confederates had plans to board the Monitor and disable her turret (while the Union had hand-grenades to try to prevent this). The Virginia was most vulnerable at her stern where the propeller was. Neither side was able to take advantage of these vulnerabilities.

Shenedo

Updated 01-01-04

© Bill Burroughs, FAIRWOOD 2000