As this French engraving attests, the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac––the first encounter of ironclads––made news around the world.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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.
As this French engraving attests, the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac––the first encounter of ironclads––made news around the world.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
