The Battle of Hampton Roads Killed Wooden Warships Once and For All
Hampton Roads was the first time in military history that two ironclad warships squared off.
March 8-9, 2025, marked the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads. This battle, though tactically inconclusive in terms of the immediate aftermath, proved to be one of the most epic battles in the history of naval warfare, as it affected both a literal and figurative sea change in the way maritime warfare was waged.
After all, this was the first time in military history that two ironclad warships squared off against each other: the legendary American Civil War showdown between the Monitor and the Merrimack, or more accurately, the USS Monitor vs. the CSS Virginia.
USS Merrimack cum CSS Virginia Early History & Specifications
Let’s start by clarifying the whole “Merrimack” (alternate spelling “Merrimac,” sans the “k”) vs. “Virginia” nomenclature/semantics. This vessel started off in 1855 as a United States (Union) Navy wooden steam frigate bearing the name USS Merrimack, but was scuttled in-dock at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, in April 1861 to prevent capture. However, the Confederate States Navy had other ideas, successfully raising the vessel, rebuilding it as a casemate ironclad ram—co-designed by then-Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke (1826-1906) and John Luke Porter (1813-1893), using the razéed (cut down) original lower hull and engines—and recommissioning it as CSS Virginia on February 17, 1862. However, the Union continued to refer to the Confederate ironclad by either its original name, Merrimack, or by the nickname “The Rebel Monster.” In the aftermath of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the monikers Virginia and Merrimack/Merrimac were used interchangeably by both sides, as attested to by various newspapers and correspondence of the day.
In its ironclad configuration, the Virginia had a hull length of 275 feet, a beam width of 51 feet 2 inches, a draft of 21 feet, a displacement of roughly 4,100 tons, and a crew complement of roughly 320 commissioned officers and enlisted sailors. Max speed was 6 knots (6.9 mph). Armament consisted of two 7-inch Brooke rifles, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, six 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, and two 12-lb. howitzers. Armor thickness was 1 to 3 inches at the belt, 1 inch at the deck, and 4 inches at the casemate.
USS Monitor Early History & Specifications
Unlike the Merrimack/Virginia, the USS Monitor—aka, “cheesebox on a raft”—was designed from the get-go as an ironclad, the brainchild of legendary Swedish-American inventor and engineer John Ericsson (1803-1889). The then-state-of-the-art revolving gun turret was actually invented by New York-born Theodore Ruggles Timby (1819-1909).
Monitor’s keel was laid in October 1861, and it was launched in January 1862 and commissioned the following month. The Monitor had a hull length of 179 feet, a beam width of 41 feet 6 inches, a draft of 10 feet 6 inches, a displacement of 1,003 tons, and a crew complement of forty-nine officers and men. Maximum speed matched that of Virginia at 6 knots. It was armed with two 11-inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns on the turret. Armor thickness was 8 inches at the turret, 3 to 5 inches at the waterline belt, 1 inch at the deck, and 9 inches at the pilot house.
The Battle of Hampton Roads
The engagement signaled both the literal and figurative death knell for wooden warships, as both the USS Congress and USS Cumberland were sunk by the Virginia before the Monitor entered the fray.
Virginia had the advantages of size and number of guns, whilst Monitor had the advantages of maneuverability as well as flexibility thanks to that turret.
Virginia/Merrimack was commanded by then-Lieutenant (later commander) Catesby ap Roger Jones (1821-1877), who led the ship during the most famous phase of the battle. Monitor, meanwhile, was skippered by then-Lieutenant (later rear admiral) John Lorimer Worden (1818-1897).
Regarding the proverbial clash of these seagoing titans, American Battlefield Trust (formerly known as Civil War Preservation Trust) describes it thusly:
“The two ironclads then settled down to a close range slug-fest, both landing hits that took little effect. After several hours of close combat, Monitor disengaged and headed for the safety of shallower waters, its commander temporarily blinded by a shell that exploded near the viewing slit of the pilothouse. Virginia, short on ammunition and conscious of the retreating tide, retired to Norfolk. The first battle between steam-powered, ironclad warships had ended in a draw.”
Total Union casualties amounted to 261 killed and 108 wounded (including LT Warden); Confederate personnel losses came to seven killed and seventeen wounded.
Where Are They Now?
What goes around comes around: fast-forward to May 11, 1862, and it was now the Confederates’ turn to scuttle their beloved ship to avoid capture, as the Union Army occupied the city of Norfolk. Virginia’s scuttling took place off Craney Island.
Sadly, most of the proud ship’s recovered iron remains were melted down and sold for scrap. Luckily, however, the vessel’s brass bell is preserved at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, while one of its anchors now rests in front of the American Civil War Museum in the state capital city of Richmond.
USS Monitor outlived its Rebel opponent by a mere six months, as it was lost at sea during a storm on New Year’s Eve 1862. Sixteen of her crew, including four officers, went down with the ship to its watery grave. Its wreck was discovered on August 27, 1973, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and partial salvage operations took place over the course of the next thirty years.
Today, the Monitor’s remains are undergoing preservation and conservation at The Mariners’ Museum and Park’s USS Monitor Center in Newport News, Virginia.
Every year (except during the COVID lockdown nightmare years, of course), the National Capital Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States takes a road trip to Mariner’s Museum to commemorate the anniversary of the battle. I’ve done the tour twice, in 2020 and 2023, and had a tremendous amount of fun both times.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
