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Cranston Fine Arts  Naval Art and Artists Victorian Era Battles  Battle of Hampton Roads |
[UP] - Battle of Tsushima - Battle of Hampton Roads - Battle of Manila Bay - Battle of New Orleans - Battle of Havana - Attack on the Taku Forts - Bombardment of Alexandria |
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Battle of the Ironclads by Ivan Berryman. At Dawn on 9th March 1862, as the American Civil War raged on, an extraordinary combat took place in Hampton Roads, a naval exchange that was to herald a new age and completely change the concept and design of modern warships. Having already destroyed the two Federal warships Cumberland and Congress the previous day, the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia readied herself for another day's work, her target this time being the grounded Minnesota. As the Virginia approached her target, she was confronted by the much smaller Union ironclad Monitor which had just arrived after a fraught journey from New York. Thus began an exchange of fire that lasted more than three hours, each ship's shot merely bouncing and deflecting off its opponent without inflicting any serious damage. With her smokestack shot away, the Virginia now concentrated her shot on the Monitor's tiny wheelhouse where a direct hit blinded the Union ship's commander, necessitating a temporary withdrawal. By the time Monitor was ready to re-engage, the Virginia was limping away, the result of this fierce encounter being nothing more than stalemate. Neither ship could claim any form of victory and neither had sustained any meaningful damage. Though clumsy and difficult to handle, the thick iron plating and low profiles of these very different vessels signaled a direction in warship design that lasted until the Second World War, eighty years later. |
Stalemate at Hampton Roads by Stan Stokes. The USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. |
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