The ironclad Merrimac (C.S.S. Virginia) had easily overcome wooden U.S. Navy ships, but the encounter with the Monitor was not so decisive. The Merrimac succeeded in hitting the Monitor’s pilothouse, blinding the commanding officer, but the Merrimac also suffered damage. As this French engraving attests, this first encounter of ironclads made news around the world.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Wood engraving, interior of the Merrimac during combat with the Monitor, Le Monde Illustré, ca. 1862–1865
The Monitor and the Merrimac
The 37th and 38th Congresses (1861–1865) played an active role during the Civil War through legislation, appropriations, and oversight. In 1861, Congress encouraged development of the ironclad warship. The U.S.S. Monitor, designed by Swedish-American engineer John Ericsson, was tested in an encounter with the Merrimac, a Union ship the Confederates had captured, fitted with iron armor, and renamed the C.S.S. Virginia. Their March 9, 1862 battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia—the world’s first between steam-powered ironclads—revolutionized naval warfare.
The ironclad Merrimac (C.S.S. Virginia) had easily overcome wooden U.S. Navy ships, but the encounter with the Monitor was not so decisive. The Merrimac succeeded in hitting the Monitor’s pilothouse, blinding the commanding officer, but the Merrimac also suffered damage. As this French engraving attests, this first encounter of ironclads made news around the world.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
