We recently had the anniversary of this battle which turned naval architecture in its ear back all thos years ago.
From the March 9, 2022, We Are the Mighty "Today in military history: The Battle of the Ironclads."
Formerly known as the United States steam frigate USS Merrimack, the ironclad Virginia was built from the wreck of the U.S. ship. When the Lincoln government learned what the Confederates were up to, they started their own ironclad building program and the USS Monitor was one of them.
On the day before, March 8, the CSS Virginia had attacked the wooden ships of the Union Navy in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and had an easy go of it, sinking two ships.
The Monitor arrived just in the nick of time during the night of March 8-9 and the next morning they two ships clashed in a battle that changed the world. Both ships hit each other with shells, but neither could hurt the other one.
In addition to being covered with iron, the Monitor also had the first gun turret where cannons could change direction of fire without turning the ship. Even today warships have a turret.
The battle changed naval warfare forever.
--Old B-Runner
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