At which Civil War battle did the first-ever battle between ironclad ships occur?
1 Answer
The battle between the Virginia ( the renamed iron clad Merrimack) and the Monitor. Also known as the Battle of Hampton Roads.
Explanation:
The South had armored the captured union vessel the Merrimack. The goal was to break the blockade of the Union fleet that was stationed at Hampton Roads.
The Merrimack renamed the Virginia sailed down the James River on March 8 1862 and attacked the wooded hulled ships of the Union fleet. The Virginia destroyed the USS Congress and the USS Cumberland and damaged the USS Minnesota. The Southern ironclad proved that the armored Virginia could destroy the Union fleet and break the blockade that was damaging the southern war effort
Union spies had discovered the plans of the south to build an ironclad ship. In response the north had built the Monitor. The Monitor was a new type of ship. The Monitor was iron clad with a single rotating turret that sat low in the water and could fire in all directions. On March 9 the Monitor was in position to defend the USS Minnesota and the rest of the wooden hulled Union Fleet.
The two Iron ships exchanged gunfire for hours with neither being able to gain an advantage. The southern Virginia retired back to its base leaving the Monitor guarding the Union fleet and the blockade intact.
This battle changed the nature of naval warfare forever. The Monitor sank on its way back to port ( not being very seaworthy) The Virginia was burned and destroyed in the advance of Union land forces on her base. Neither vessel survived long after their famous battle, but the effects of the battle between the Merrimack and the Monitor would continue even today.
