What was the battle of the USS Monitor vs CSS Virginia?

Answer 1

== == The Merrimack (CSS Virginia) was larger, heavier and mounted more guns. The USS Monitor was smaller and lighter but that made it more maneuverable and gave it a shallower draft, allowing it to go into much shallower water than could the Virginia. Although the Monitor had only two guns, they were mounted in a rotating turret, allowing her to train them on the Virginia regardless of the relative positions of the two ships. The Virginia, like all other ships of the day, had to maneuver the entire ship in order to bring her guns to bear.

Answer 2

Both the North and South claimed victory, but the engagement at the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 9, 1862) was not a conclusive one. It did, however, encourage both sides to built further fleets of ironclads. The CSS Virginia (Merrimac) retired from the battle, but had sunk two Union sailing ships the preceding day.

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History is resplendid with examples of one adversary utterly defeating another with a single battlefield technology that represented a quantum leap over the other. Such examples are the Hitties use of bronze weapons over the Egyptians, the Byzantines use of Greek Fire over the Moslems, the Chinese (Koreans) use of iron-sided gun galleys (Admiral Yu) over the Japanese and America's use of Atomic Weapons over the Japanese Empire.

However, nowhere in the annals of recorded history have two adversaries battled each other with competing quantum leaps of technology as occurred in the drawn naval epoch in 1862 at Hampton Roads (Battle of USS Monitor vrs CSS Virginia).

In 1861, the global standard naval technology of excellence in naval technology was

the sail powered wooden frigate (whose technology was approximately 500 years old and was being slowly transitioning to steam propulsion).

On the first day of battle, the CSS Virginia single-handedly decimated the Union fleet because it's sloped, ironclad, steam-powered technology was impervious to the standard naval armaments of the time (Napoleonic era cannonball shot). Had the South kept quiet about the construction of ironclad technologies, and simply showed up for battle. they might easily have destroyed Lincoln's blockade of southern ports and possibly shifted the balance of world support to them.

On the second day, the CSS Virginia encountered a turreted, steam-powered ironclad that was as impervious to cannon ball technology as the CSS Virginia had been, which resulted in a drawn battle. The damage to the Virginia was mainly its unarmored smokestack.

When England reviewed the battle and its effect on British Naval Supremacy, the admirality wrote that except for HMS Warrior, there wasn't a single ship in Her Majesty's Navy that could stand up to the American ironclads. This led to an immediate arms race to acquire the technology for Britain and France.

After building a huge fleet of ironclads during the Civil War, the US returned to building fast sailing ships for ocean travel. But the US Navy eventually used new technology to build its own ocean-going fleet of steel battleships in the 1880's. This culminated in the Great White Fleet which sailed the world in 1907.

Answer 3

The first naval encounter between ironclad ships was the Battle of Hampton Roads (the channel and harbor near Norfolk and Virginia Beach) on March 9, 1862. After sinking two Union sailing ships, the ironclad CSS Virginia (nee USS Merrimac) was engaged by the newest Union vessel, the USS Monitor. After inconclusive fighting, both withdrew from the fight.

The Virginia was trapped 2 months later when the North captured Norfolk, and was burned by its crew.The Monitorsank at sea 9 months later.
Neither ship destroyed the other so there was no victor in the actual battle. However, since the mission of the Virginia (Merrimack) was to break the Union blockade and the mission of the Monitor was to stop the Virginia, the Monitor was the victor. To give the Virginia credit, the presence of the Virginia did substantially contribute to blocking the Union army in its initial Pennisular campaign in Virginia, which resulted the early failure to capture Richmond and possibly end the war. Following the battle, both the Confederacy and the Union each built a large amount of ironclads. The Confederacy based theirs on the Virginia and the Union based theirs on the Monitor. Probably the most important result of the battle was that the presence of the Monitor and subsequent versions, plus the USS New Ironsides, made both Great Britain and France realize that they could not intervene in the war on the side of the Confederacy and win an easy victory against the Unon navy.

Answer 4

The fighting remained undecided, so that based upon a tactical point of view it was a stalemate. But from a strategical point of view it was a decisive Confederate victory. This was because the CSS Virginia had inflicted severe damage to the smaller Monitor. The Union feared that another battle between the two would sink their Monitor. The ironclad Virginia was destroyed on May 9,1861 by the retreating Confederates forces to avoid her capture by the advancing Union army.

Answer 5

In early March of 1862, the reconstructed Union warship, the USS Merrimack had been turned into an ironclad warship by the Confederacy. It's new name was the CSS Virginia. The new ironclad warship of the Union, the USS Monitor, sailed south from New York and confronted the CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads on March 8, 1862. The sea battle was called a draw and the Virginia withdrew to his home in Norfolk and the Monitor retired to the Union Fort Monroe. The two ships never battled again.

Answer 6

It can be said without a doubt that the CSS Virginia was destroying Union ships at Harper's Ferry to the great alarm of Lincoln and others in Washington DC. There was a genuine fear that the Southern ironclad could sail right into the New York harbor and wreak havoc there. The USS Monitor, however, sailed into Harpers Ferry and challenged the Virginia. By all accounts the battle was a draw although the Virginia suffered leakage problems and headed back to Norfolk. The two ships never fought again. The Virginia was destroyed by the Confederates to avoid it being captured. The Monitor sank in the Atlantic Ocean en route to another port. The design of the Monitor, by a Swedish inventor was copied in the US and later in Europe as it had a new "piece of equipment, a revolving turret.

Answer 7

The first ironclad battle between two ironclads was the sea battle at Hampton Roads. Technically it was a draw. Neither ship could significantly harm one another. That the CSS Virginia was later destroyed by the Confederates adds nothing to the battle between the two warships.