http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=CSS_VirginiaCSS Virginia - Revision history2026-05-13T01:39:09ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.1http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=7509764&oldid=previmported>Blimperator: /* USS Merrimack becomes CSS Virginia */2026-03-08T22:23:30Z<p><span class="autocomment">USS Merrimack becomes CSS Virginia</span></p>
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<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 22:23, 8 March 2026</td>
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<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>When the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]] seceded from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in 1861, one of the important US military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]]) in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]. Accordingly, orders were sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] hands. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day [[Virginia]] seceded, Engineer in Chief [[Benjamin F. Isherwood|B. F. Isherwood]] managed to get the frigate's engines lit. However, the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats between [[Craney Island (Virginia)|Craney Island]] and [[Sewell's Point]], blocking the channel. On 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U. S. Navy burned ''Merrimack'' to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture.<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 April 1861 |title=BURNING OF GOSPORT NAVY-YARD; Eleven Vessels Scuttled and Burned, The Steam Tug ''Yankee'' Tows the ''Cumberland'' to Sea, Norfolk Not on Fire. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/04/24/archives/burning-of-gosport-navyyard-eleven-vessels-scuttled-and-burned-the.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |access-date=2 August 2022 |quote=The Government vessels had been scuttled in the afternoon before the [[USS Pawnee (1859)|''Pawnee'']] arrived, to prevent their being seized by the Secessionists… The following are the names of the vessels which were destroyed: [[USS Pennsylvania (1837)|''Pennsylvania'']], 74 gun-ship; steam-frigate [[USS Merrimack (1855)|''Merrimac'']], 44 guns; sloop-of-war [[USS Germantown (1846)|''Germantown'']], 22 guns; sloop [[USS Plymouth (1844)|''Plymouth'']], 22 guns; frigate [[USS Raritan (1843)|''Raritan'']], 45 guns; frigate [[USS Columbia (1836)|''Columbia'']], 44 guns; [[USS Delaware (1820)|''Delaware'']], 74 gun-ship; [[USS Columbus (1819)|''Columbus'']], 74 gun-ship; [[USS United States (1797)|''United States'']], in ordinary; brig [[USS Dolphin (1836)|''Dolphin'']], 8 guns; and the powder-boat… [plus] line-of-battle ship [[List of ships of the line of the United States Navy|''New-York'']], on the stocks… Large quantities of provisions, cordage and machinery were also destroyed — besides buildings of great value — but it is not positively known that the [[Drydock Number One, Norfolk Naval Shipyard |[dry] dock]] was blown up.}}</ref> When the Confederate government took possession of the fully provisioned yard,<ref name=Nank>{{cite web |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/ready-war-union-navy-1861 |title=Ready for War? The Union Navy in 1861 |last=Nank |first=Thomas E. |date=23 August 2021 |website=www.battlefields.org |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |access-date=18 August 2022 |quote=The Union's naval infrastructure was dealt a crippling blow on April 20, 1861, when the ill-conceived and botched evacuation of the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] at Gosport, Virginia led to the Confederate capture of over 1000 naval guns, irreplaceable dry dock, and repair facilities.}}</ref> the base's new commander, [[Flag Officer]] [[French Forrest]], contracted on May 18 to [[marine salvage|salvage]] the wreck of the frigate. This was completed by May 30, and she was towed into the shipyard's only [[graving dock|dry dock]] (today known as [[Drydock Number One, Norfolk Naval Shipyard|Drydock Number One]]), where the burned structures were removed.<ref>Quarstein, pp. 62–63</ref></div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>When the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]] seceded from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in 1861, one of the important US military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]]) in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]. Accordingly, orders were sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] hands. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day [[Virginia]] seceded, Engineer in Chief [[Benjamin F. Isherwood|B. F. Isherwood]] managed to get the frigate's engines lit. However, the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats between [[Craney Island (Virginia)|Craney Island]] and [[Sewell's Point]], blocking the channel. On 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U. S. Navy burned ''Merrimack'' to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture.<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 April 1861 |title=BURNING OF GOSPORT NAVY-YARD; Eleven Vessels Scuttled and Burned, The Steam Tug ''Yankee'' Tows the ''Cumberland'' to Sea, Norfolk Not on Fire. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/04/24/archives/burning-of-gosport-navyyard-eleven-vessels-scuttled-and-burned-the.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |access-date=2 August 2022 |quote=The Government vessels had been scuttled in the afternoon before the [[USS Pawnee (1859)|''Pawnee'']] arrived, to prevent their being seized by the Secessionists… The following are the names of the vessels which were destroyed: [[USS Pennsylvania (1837)|''Pennsylvania'']], 74 gun-ship; steam-frigate [[USS Merrimack (1855)|''Merrimac'']], 44 guns; sloop-of-war [[USS Germantown (1846)|''Germantown'']], 22 guns; sloop [[USS Plymouth (1844)|''Plymouth'']], 22 guns; frigate [[USS Raritan (1843)|''Raritan'']], 45 guns; frigate [[USS Columbia (1836)|''Columbia'']], 44 guns; [[USS Delaware (1820)|''Delaware'']], 74 gun-ship; [[USS Columbus (1819)|''Columbus'']], 74 gun-ship; [[USS United States (1797)|''United States'']], in ordinary; brig [[USS Dolphin (1836)|''Dolphin'']], 8 guns; and the powder-boat… [plus] line-of-battle ship [[List of ships of the line of the United States Navy|''New-York'']], on the stocks… Large quantities of provisions, cordage and machinery were also destroyed — besides buildings of great value — but it is not positively known that the [[Drydock Number One, Norfolk Naval Shipyard |[dry] dock]] was blown up.}}</ref> When the Confederate government took possession of the fully provisioned yard,<ref name=Nank>{{cite web |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/ready-war-union-navy-1861 |title=Ready for War? The Union Navy in 1861 |last=Nank |first=Thomas E. |date=23 August 2021 |website=www.battlefields.org |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |access-date=18 August 2022 |quote=The Union's naval infrastructure was dealt a crippling blow on April 20, 1861, when the ill-conceived and botched evacuation of the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] at Gosport, Virginia led to the Confederate capture of over 1000 naval guns, irreplaceable dry dock, and repair facilities.}}</ref> the base's new commander, [[Flag Officer]] [[French Forrest]], contracted on May 18 to [[marine salvage|salvage]] the wreck of the frigate. This was completed by May 30, and she was towed into the shipyard's only [[graving dock|dry dock]] (today known as [[Drydock Number One, Norfolk Naval Shipyard|Drydock Number One]]), where the burned structures were removed.<ref>Quarstein, pp. 62–63</ref></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The wreck was surveyed and her lower hull and machinery were discovered to be undamaged. [[Stephen Mallory]], [[Confederate States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] decided to convert ''Merrimack'' into an [[ironclad warship|ironclad]], since she was the only large ship with intact engines available in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] area. Preliminary sketch designs were submitted by [[Lieutenant]]s [[John Mercer Brooke]] and [[John L. Porter]], each of whom envisaged the ship as a casemate ironclad. Brooke's general design showed the bow and stern portions submerged, and his design was the one finally selected. The detailed design work would be completed by Porter, who was a trained [[Naval architecture |naval constructor]].Porter had overall responsibility for the conversion,<ref>Egan, pp. 373, 376</ref> but Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance, while William P. Williamson, Chief Engineer of the Navy, was responsible for the ship's machinery.<ref>Quarstein, p. 65</ref></div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The wreck was surveyed and her lower hull and machinery were discovered to be undamaged. [[Stephen Mallory]], [[Confederate States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] decided to convert ''Merrimack'' into an [[ironclad warship|ironclad]], since she was the only large ship with intact engines available in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] area. Preliminary sketch designs were submitted by [[Lieutenant]]s [[John Mercer Brooke]] and [[John L. Porter]], each of whom envisaged the ship as a casemate ironclad. Brooke's general design showed the bow and stern portions submerged, and his design was the one finally selected. The detailed design work would be completed by Porter, who was a trained [[Naval architecture |naval constructor]]. Porter had overall responsibility for the conversion,<ref>Egan, pp. 373, 376</ref> but Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance, while William P. Williamson, Chief Engineer of the Navy, was responsible for the ship's machinery.<ref>Quarstein, p. 65</ref></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>===Reconstruction as an ironclad===</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>===Reconstruction as an ironclad===</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[File:Cumberland rammed by Merrimac.png|thumb|left|CSS ''Virginia'' ramming and sinking USS ''Cumberland'']]</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[File:Cumberland rammed by Merrimac.png|thumb|left|CSS ''Virginia'' ramming and sinking USS ''Cumberland'']]</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The first Union ship to be engaged by ''Virginia'' was the all-wood, sail-powered {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}}, which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by ''Virginia''. As ''Cumberland'' began to sink, the port side half of ''Virginia''{{'}}s iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to ''Cumberland'', the captain of {{USS|Congress|1841|6}} ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. ''Congress'' and ''Virginia'' traded cannon fire for an hour, after which the badly damaged ''Congress'' finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of ''Congress'' were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on ''Virginia''. Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation ''Virginia''{{'}}s now angry captain, [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with [[Heated shot|hot-shot]] on the surrendered ''Congress'' as he rushed to ''Virginia''{{'}}s exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. ''Congress'', now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The first Union ship to be engaged by ''Virginia'' was the all-wood, sail-powered {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}}, which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by ''Virginia''. As ''Cumberland'' began to sink, the port side half of ''Virginia''{{'}}s iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to ''Cumberland'', the captain of {{USS|Congress|1841|6}} ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. ''Congress'' and ''Virginia'' traded cannon fire for an hour, after which the badly damaged ''Congress'' finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of ''Congress'' were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on ''Virginia<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">,</ins>'' <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">killing multiple crew aboard</ins>.<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><ref>{{Cite book |last=Buchanan |first=Franklin |title=Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 7 |date=1898 |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1898 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=45}}</ref> </ins>Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation ''Virginia''{{'}}s now angry captain, [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with [[Heated shot|hot-shot]] on the surrendered ''Congress'' as he rushed to ''Virginia''{{'}}s exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. ''Congress'', now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Virginia'' did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming ''Cumberland''; the bow was leaking from the loss of the ram's port side half; shot from ''Cumberland'', ''Congress'', and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of ''Virginia''{{'}}s {{convert|22|ft|adj=on}} [[cutter (boat)|cutters]] had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of the deck [[stanchions]], [[guard rail|railings]], and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on {{USS|Minnesota|1855|6}}, which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape ''Virginia''. However, because of the ironclad's {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=on}} [[draft (hull)|draft]] (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, ''Virginia'' retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Virginia'' did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming ''Cumberland''; the bow was leaking from the loss of the ram's port side half; shot from ''Cumberland'', ''Congress'', and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of ''Virginia''{{'}}s {{convert|22|ft|adj=on}} [[cutter (boat)|cutters]] had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of the deck [[stanchions]], [[guard rail|railings]], and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on {{USS|Minnesota|1855|6}}, which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape ''Virginia''. However, because of the ironclad's {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=on}} [[draft (hull)|draft]] (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, ''Virginia'' retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Later that night, {{USS|Monitor}} arrived at Union-held [[Fort Monroe]]. She had been rushed to [[Hampton Roads]], still not quite complete, all the way from the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], in hopes of defending the force of wooden ships and preventing "the rebel monster" from further threatening the Union's blockading fleet and nearby cities, like [[Washington, D.C.]] While under tow, she nearly [[shipwreck (accident)|foundered]] twice during heavy storms on her voyage south, arriving in Hampton Roads by the bright firelight from the still-burning triumph of ''Virginia''{{'}}s first day of handiwork.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Later that night, {{USS|Monitor}} arrived at Union-held [[Fort Monroe]]. She had been rushed to [[Hampton Roads]], still not quite complete, all the way from the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], in hopes of defending the force of wooden ships and preventing "the rebel monster" from further threatening the Union's blockading fleet and nearby cities, like [[Washington, D.C.]] While under tow, she nearly [[shipwreck (accident)|foundered]] twice during heavy storms on her voyage south, arriving in Hampton Roads by the bright firelight from the still-burning triumph of ''Virginia''{{'}}s first day of handiwork.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">[[File:CSS_Virginia_Flag.png|thumb|Ship's flag]]</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler, and faster ''Monitor'' was able to outmaneuver the larger, slower ''Virginia'', but neither ship proved able to do any severe damage to the other, despite numerous shell hits by both combatants, many fired at virtually point-blank range. ''Monitor'' had a much lower freeboard and only its single, rotating, two-cannon gun turret and forward [[pilothouse]] sitting above her deck, and thus was much harder to hit with ''Virginia''{{'}}s heavy cannon. After hours of shell exchanges, ''Monitor'' finally retreated into shallower water after a direct shell hit to her armored pilothouse forced her away from the conflict to assess the damage. The captain of the ''Monitor'', Lieutenant [[John L. Worden]], had taken a direct gunpowder explosion to his face and eyes, blinding him, while looking through the pilothouse's narrow, horizontal viewing slits. ''Monitor'' remained in the shallows, but as it was late in the day, ''Virginia'' steamed for her home port, the battle ending without a clear victor. The captain of ''Virginia'' that day, Lieutenant [[Catesby ap Roger Jones]], received advice from his pilots to depart over the sandbar toward Norfolk until the next day. Lieutenant Jones wanted to continue the fight, but the pilots emphasized that the ''Virginia'' had "nearly three miles to run to the bar" and that she could not remain and "take the ground on a falling tide." To prevent running aground, Lieutenant Jones reluctantly moved the ironclad back toward port.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/cssvirginia.htm |title=The Sailors Creed<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=6 December 2008 |archive-date=17 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917073533/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/cssvirginia.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Virginia'' retired to the Gosport Naval Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and remained in drydock for repairs until April 4, 1862.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler, and faster ''Monitor'' was able to outmaneuver the larger, slower ''Virginia'', but neither ship proved able to do any severe damage to the other, despite numerous shell hits by both combatants, many fired at virtually point-blank range. ''Monitor'' had a much lower freeboard and only its single, rotating, two-cannon gun turret and forward [[pilothouse]] sitting above her deck, and thus was much harder to hit with ''Virginia''{{'}}s heavy cannon. After hours of shell exchanges, ''Monitor'' finally retreated into shallower water after a direct shell hit to her armored pilothouse forced her away from the conflict to assess the damage. The captain of the ''Monitor'', Lieutenant [[John L. Worden]], had taken a direct gunpowder explosion to his face and eyes, blinding him, while looking through the pilothouse's narrow, horizontal viewing slits. ''Monitor'' remained in the shallows, but as it was late in the day, ''Virginia'' steamed for her home port, the battle ending without a clear victor. The captain of ''Virginia'' that day, Lieutenant [[Catesby ap Roger Jones]], received advice from his pilots to depart over the sandbar toward Norfolk until the next day. Lieutenant Jones wanted to continue the fight, but the pilots emphasized that the ''Virginia'' had "nearly three miles to run to the bar" and that she could not remain and "take the ground on a falling tide." To prevent running aground, Lieutenant Jones reluctantly moved the ironclad back toward port.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/cssvirginia.htm |title=The Sailors Creed<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=6 December 2008 |archive-date=17 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917073533/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/cssvirginia.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Virginia'' retired to the Gosport Naval Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and remained in drydock for repairs until April 4, 1862.</div></td></tr>
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</table>imported>Blimperatorhttp://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=3109337&oldid=previmported>Mackensen: /* Memorial, heritage */ fix ref which misidentified the source2025-11-19T11:19:42Z<p><span class="autocomment">Memorial, heritage: </span> fix ref which misidentified the source</p>
<a href="http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=3109337&oldid=722276">Show changes</a>imported>Mackensenhttp://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=722276&oldid=previmported>Chris the speller: /* Battle of Hampton Roads */ replaced: badly-damaged → badly damaged2025-06-23T12:28:57Z<p><span class="autocomment">Battle of Hampton Roads: </span> replaced: badly-damaged → badly damaged</p>
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<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 12:28, 23 June 2025</td>
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<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[File:Cumberland rammed by Merrimac.png|thumb|left|CSS ''Virginia'' ramming and sinking USS ''Cumberland'']]</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[File:Cumberland rammed by Merrimac.png|thumb|left|CSS ''Virginia'' ramming and sinking USS ''Cumberland'']]</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The first Union ship to be engaged by ''Virginia'' was the all-wood, sail-powered {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}}, which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by ''Virginia''. As ''Cumberland'' began to sink, the port side half of ''Virginia''{{'}}s iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to ''Cumberland'', the captain of {{USS|Congress|1841|6}} ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. ''Congress'' and ''Virginia'' traded cannon fire for an hour, after which the badly<del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">-</del>damaged ''Congress'' finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of ''Congress'' were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on ''Virginia''. Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation ''Virginia''{{'}}s now angry captain, [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with [[Heated shot|hot-shot]] on the surrendered ''Congress'' as he rushed to ''Virginia''{{'}}s exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. ''Congress'', now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The first Union ship to be engaged by ''Virginia'' was the all-wood, sail-powered {{USS|Cumberland|1842|6}}, which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by ''Virginia''. As ''Cumberland'' began to sink, the port side half of ''Virginia''{{'}}s iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to ''Cumberland'', the captain of {{USS|Congress|1841|6}} ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. ''Congress'' and ''Virginia'' traded cannon fire for an hour, after which the badly damaged ''Congress'' finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of ''Congress'' were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on ''Virginia''. Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation ''Virginia''{{'}}s now angry captain, [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with [[Heated shot|hot-shot]] on the surrendered ''Congress'' as he rushed to ''Virginia''{{'}}s exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. ''Congress'', now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Virginia'' did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming ''Cumberland''; the bow was leaking from the loss of the ram's port side half; shot from ''Cumberland'', ''Congress'', and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of ''Virginia''{{'}}s {{convert|22|ft|adj=on}} [[cutter (boat)|cutters]] had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of the deck [[stanchions]], [[guard rail|railings]], and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on {{USS|Minnesota|1855|6}}, which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape ''Virginia''. However, because of the ironclad's {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=on}} [[draft (hull)|draft]] (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, ''Virginia'' retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Virginia'' did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming ''Cumberland''; the bow was leaking from the loss of the ram's port side half; shot from ''Cumberland'', ''Congress'', and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of ''Virginia''{{'}}s {{convert|22|ft|adj=on}} [[cutter (boat)|cutters]] had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of the deck [[stanchions]], [[guard rail|railings]], and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on {{USS|Minnesota|1855|6}}, which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape ''Virginia''. However, because of the ironclad's {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=on}} [[draft (hull)|draft]] (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, ''Virginia'' retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders.</div></td></tr>
</table>imported>Chris the spellerhttp://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=3631&oldid=previmported>GreenC bot: Move 2 urls. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#navy.mil2025-04-17T22:55:19Z<p>Move 2 urls. <a href="/wiki143/index.php?title=User:GreenC/WaybackMedic_2.5&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:GreenC/WaybackMedic 2.5 (page does not exist)">Wayback Medic 2.5</a> per <a href="/wiki143/index.php?title=WP:URLREQ&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="WP:URLREQ (page does not exist)">WP:URLREQ#navy.mil</a></p>
<a href="http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&diff=3631">Show changes</a>imported>GreenC bot