March 8th, 1862 - The Battle of Hampton Roads

Conflict: American Civil War (1861-1865)

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: Virginia

Outcome: Confederate victory

The Confederate ironclad Virginia (or Merrimack) attacked a Union blockade, sank two vessels and forced a third aground. The Virginia then returned to port for repairs intending to finish off the grounded vessel the following day. During the evening the USS Monitor ironclad took up a position to defend the helpless Union warship.

Battle Between the Monitor and Merrimack by an unknown artist

Points of Interest:

• Hampton Roads was the prelude to the famous battle between the ironclads Monitor and Merrimack.

• The advent of ironclad vessels would quickly render wooden warships obsolete.

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Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.