Battle of Hampton Roads

• The CSS Virginia in Drydock

  

  This illustration shows the CSS Virginia in drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The hulk of the Merrimack is being converted into the ironclad Virginia. Take note of the large ram coming from the bow.

  U.S. Naval Historical Center

• The Rotating Turret

  

  The USS Monitor incorporated many innovative naval designs, but its rotating, armored turret may have been the most important.

  U.S. Naval Historical Center

• The Sinking of the USS Cumberland

  

  This Currier & Ives illustration shows the sinking of the USS Cumberland by the CSS Virginia. The Virginia had used its iron ram to smash the hull of this wooden warship.

  Library of Congress

• Disaster Aboard the Cumberland

  

  This painting by James Gurney shows the sinking of the U.S.S. Cumberland at Hampton Roads.

  © James Gurney (http://jamesgurney.com)

• Comparison of the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor

  

  This side by side comparison shows how much larger the CSS Virginia was to the USS Monitor.

  © James Gurney (http://jamesgurney.com)

• The USS Monitor

  

  This famous photo of the deck and turret of the USS Monitor was taken on July 9, 1862 in the James River. Take note of the dents in the turret.

  Library of Congress

• Officers Aboard USS Monitor

  

  Union naval officers pose in front of the turret of the USS Monitor while stationed in the James River.

  Library of Congress

• Sailors Aboard the Monitor

  

  This photograph, taken in July 1862, shows sailors from the USS Monitor cooking on deck. Another sailor with a telescope is on top of the turret.

  Library of Congress

• Aboard the Monitor

  

  Thanks to the Mariners' Museum one can now see that the crew quarters aboard the USS Monitor were more accommodating that many might think.

  Mariners' Museum

• View of the Battle

  

  This Currier & Ives illustration shows the view of the sea battle from the nearby Virginia shore.

  Library of Congress

• The CSS Virginia vs. USS Monitor

  

  This painting shows how close the two ironclads were during their famous duel.

  Mariners' Museum

• Satellite View of Hampton Roads

  

  This modern satellite view of Hampton Roads shows the battleground where the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fought on March 9, 1862

  Google Earth

• Tredegar Iron Works

  

  The only facility that could fabricate the large iron plates needed to cover the CSS Virginia was the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia.

  Library of Congress

• Sinking of the USS Monitor

  

  This Harper's Weekly illustration shows the last moments for the USS Monitor before its sinking off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862.

  U.S. Naval Historical Center

• Restoring the Monitor's Turret

  

  Conservationists at the Mariners' Museum help conserve the USS Monitor's turret.

  Mariners' Museum

• CSS Virginia Replica at the Mariners' Museum

  

  A replica of the CSS Virginia can been seen at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

  Mariners' Museum

• The USS Merrimack

  

  The USS Merrimack, a 4636-ton steam frigate was commissioned in February 1856. In 1861, Federal forces attempted to burn the ship at Norfolk. The Confederate Navy used the hulk to build their CSS Virginia.

  U.S. Naval Historical Center

• CSS Virginia's Anchor

  

  The anchor from the CSS Virginia can be seen at the Museum of the Confederacy.

  Museum of the Confederacy (MOC.org)

• Chain from the USS Cumberland

  

  One of the mighty chains from the USS Cumberland can be seen at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.

  Museum of the Confederacy (MOC.org)

• USS Congress

  

  This painting shows the USS Congress (foreground) and USS Susquehanna in Naples, Italy before the Civil War. The Congress would become one of two ships that the CSS Virginia destroyed in Hampton Roads.

  U.S. Naval Historical Center